Children’s weeks are often filled with activities with the best of intentions: more opportunities, more advantages. But research reminds us of the importance of unstructured time. In this episode, we reflect on the role of free time, boredom, and autonomy in children’s development. A simple experiment is proposed: clear one hour in the week and see what happens.

This episode draws in part on research in:

• Cognitive Load Theory (Sweller, Kirschner)

• Attention and cognitive limits (Kahneman, Baumeister)

• Expert performance and deliberate practice (Ericsson)

• Executive function and self-regulation (Diamond, Zelazo)

• Autonomy and intrinsic motivation (Deci & Ryan, Gray)