We live in a world where children are rarely bored. Between structured schedules, academic pressures, and constant digital stimulation, there’s little room left for wandering thoughts or unstructured time. But what if boredom is exactly what our kids need?

On this episode of What’s Your Shine? The Happy Podcast, we sit down with Ashlynn McKay—former teacher, content creator, and thoughtful voice on creativity and culture—for a deeply insightful conversation on the quiet crisis affecting today’s youth: the erosion of imagination.

Ashlynn shares candidly from her own experience in the classroom, her creative work online, and her heart as a soon-to-be mother. Through it all, one message rings clear: If we want to raise emotionally healthy, resilient, and curious children, we need to reclaim time, space, and practices that invite wonder

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“I was watching bright kids lose their light.”

Ashlynn didn’t plan to leave teaching. But after years in the classroom, she began to notice a troubling shift. Kids were more anxious, less curious, and increasingly uncomfortable with silence or self-directed thought.

“I was watching bright kids lose their light,” she shares. “They weren’t dreaming. They weren’t imagining. They were exhausted and overwhelmed.”

It wasn’t just the students. Ashlynn reflects on her own burnout as an educator—how the demands of standardized testing, rigid schedules, and increasing screen time left little room for organic connection or creativity.

“I had to ask myself: are we educating kids to conform, or are we equipping them to think?” she says.

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The Importance of Boredom

In a culture that glorifies busyness, boredom is often seen as a problem to be solved. But Ashlynn makes the case for boredom as a gateway to creativity.

“Boredom is not the enemy—it’s the starting point for imagination,” she says. “When kids have nothing to do, that’s when they start to wonder, explore, and create.”

Ashlynn recalls a moment in her classroom when, after a tech glitch forced her to go analog, students became surprisingly engaged.

“They started doodling. Talking. Asking questions,” she says. “It reminded me that silence and space are not voids—they’re invitations.”

In a world of constant input, children rarely have the chance to hear their own thoughts. Ashlynn believes that’s one of the biggest threats to their well-being—and to our collective future.

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Journaling as Resistance and Reflection

One of the antidotes Ashlynn offers is deceptively simple: journaling.

Journaling, she explains, helps children (and adults) slow down, process their feelings, and build emotional resilience. It creates a private, pressure-free space for reflection—something that’s increasingly rare in an online world where everything is expected to be public and polished.

“In the classroom, I used to tell my students: this journal is just for you. No grades. No rules. Just write what you’re thinking,” Ashlynn says. “And what they wrote? It was beautiful. Honest. Sometimes heartbreaking. But it was theirs.”

She believes journaling is one of the most powerful tools we can give young people—not just as writers, but as thinkers and feelers.

“It teaches you how to sit with yourself,” she says. “And that’s a skill most adults haven’t even mastered.”

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Rethinking the Role of Technology

Ashlynn isn’t anti-tech. She’s a content creator, after all. But she is critical of the way tech dominates our lives—especially for kids.

She recalls seeing third graders melt down after being separated from their iPads for 15 minutes. “That’s not normal,” she says. “That’s addiction.”

Technology, when used without boundaries, can replace the very experiences that build imagination: play, problem-solving, face-to-face conversation, and even boredom.

“When we overfill every moment, we rob kids of the ability to be present, curious, and connected,” she explains.

She challenges parents and educators to model healthier tech habits, to create device-free zones, and to resist the urge to fill every moment with entertainment.

“Sometimes the best thing we can do is let our kids be bored,” she says. “And trust that their minds will take them somewhere magical.“

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Home as a Culture of Reflection

Ashlynn also offers practical insight into how families can build habits of reflection at home. One of her favorite rituals? The dinner table question: “What made you think today?”

“It shifts the focus away from what you did and toward how you grew,” she explains. “It invites everyone to pause and reflect.”

She encourages parents to create space for journaling, unstructured play, reading for fun, and device-free time. These small practices, she says, send big messages: Your thoughts matter. Your voice matters. Stillness matters.

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A Word to Educators

To fellow teachers, Ashlynn offers compassion and challenge in equal measure.

“You’re carrying so much,” she acknowledges. “But you also have incredible power to shape culture.”

She encourages educators to look for small ways to invite creativity and curiosity back into the classroom: open-ended writing prompts, quiet moments, opportunities for student-led inquiry.

“You don’t have to overhaul everything,” she says. “But even giving kids five minutes to think without a screen can change the tone of the day.”

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Slowing Down to Shine

At House of Shine, we believe every person—especially every young person—has a unique light to share. But that light doesn’t emerge from hustle, noise, or comparison. It shines most brightly when we slow down, reflect, and reconnect with who we are.

Ashlynn’s message is a timely reminder that protecting space for imagination isn’t a luxury—it’s a necessity. Whether through journaling, play, or simply pausing long enough to ask a good question, we can help the next generation become not just achievers, but thinkers, dreamers, and whole human beings.

Start a conversation tonight:
Ask your child (or yourself!): What made you think today?
Try one tech-free hour and see what opens up.
Grab a notebook and journal for five minutes without editing.

Sometimes, the smallest practices leave the biggest mark.

🎧 You can hear Ashlynn’s full conversation with Dr. Shine on What’s Your Shine? The Happy Podcast wherever you listen to podcasts

• Spotify
• Apple Podcasts
• Your favorite podcast network