To quote the song by Alice Cooper..
“School’s Out for Summer!!”
Now what do you do to keep you teen(s) busy and not living their best life on social media or binge watching on a certain streaming network?
Here are some ideas for you:
Get a Job
Well first if your teen is 15+, such as in our home, we hope that they find a part time/full time job. But sometimes that is not in the cards, so Plan B is to keep them busy.
Helping Around the House
Giving them a list of chores to help around the house. I can hear the ‘groans and moans’ now!! Some may even use this as incentive to having their ‘screen time’. A list of 5 things to do will get you the wifi password. Or in our home, we used to hide their smartphones until the chores were complete and they could get their phones back.. Now no teenager wants to be away from their phones for that long, so usually these chores were done ‘quickly’ and with no grumbling so that they could get their ‘extra appendage’, as I like to call it or phones back.
Get Outside
To quote one of my daughter’s friends…‘
I Like Outside!!
Well who doesn’t like being outside in the summer. Soaking in some much needed Vitamin D after the long winter months, fresh air and activity. We are so lucky to live in a city with plenty of hiking and bike trails close by. Time to explore what your city has to offer. Maybe even make a day trip out to those amazing Rocky Mountains. Seriously, I always say we don’t get out there often enough.
Have you tried floating down the Bow River? A great activity for the family or for the older 18+ to venture out on their own with parents.
Check out Christine’s post on Floating down the Bow with Teens.
If you feel the need for some speed, how about the Skyline Luge. This is great for tweens, teens, those young adults who think they are too cool and even us parents. Seriously, you can’t go just once!!
Read a Book
Well this one might be like pulling teeth. Teens who read books nowadays seem to be going the way of the dinosaur. Extinct! Why read when you can watch or listen instead.
Bucket List
Have your child make up a ‘bucket list’ of ideas that they would like to accomplish during the summer. My daughter did this a few years ago and we would cross things off the list as it was finished.
Some ideas might be:
- Pull an all nighter (super easy for teens since then like to stay up late anyways)
- Workout
- Go to a concert
- Go for ice cream (this may happen more then once)
- Go watch fireworks
- Have a water balloon fight
The list really is endless when you start to think about it.
Good luck keeping your teen busy this summer. Let’s hope the sounds of summer are not the constant spiel of I’m Bored.!!
Only 66 days until they are back in school.
Danni
