Ask HN: How to make being bored more fun (for kids)?

With my now 9yr old, I have agreed on the following rule. Whenever I see sign that she’s getting bored, we start a timer and she has to wait it out for 20min. Obviously, whenever that’s the case, she can get frustrated which I understand. No one likes being bored.

But it seems to work. Today, she showed me a mailbox she has build for in-house family mails. That’s such a great idea. The intervention seems to work. Instead of her first instinct to ask for the iPad or some TV time (“someone please entertain me!”), she has been creative. And she seems to understand the concept behind our rule.

I was wondering what you do when your kids get bored or how you deal with it yourself? How much time does it take from boredom to creativity?