Yes, your kids may have an after school job, or sports practice, and a ton of homework, but I recommend you make time to have some fun, too. Why wait for summertime to create family memories?
An Awesome Mom’s Question
Dear Deborah,
Now that my kids are in their teens, they don’t want to participate in family activities anymore. I know this is a normal part of growing up, but it seems like whenever I can corral everybody at the same time, they complain that we never do anything different. Any suggestions?
10 Fun, Fantastic and Fabulous (albeit, somewhat oddball) Activities
Do I have any suggestions? Of course I have suggestions!* I mean, why head for the weekend wondering how you are going to spend it? Plan ahead with these 10 Fun, Fantastic and Fabulous (albeit, somewhat oddball) Activities into your schedule.
*You can find 100+ activities in my course, Connecting with Kids in a Disconnected World: The Ultimate Parenting Toolkit.
The 1st 5 Fun, Fantastic and Fabulous Activities
- Form a Quidditch team and set up a tournament.
- Play Capture the Flag – Zombieland version – at a local park (Team Humans versus Team Zombies).
- Mow the lawn so it looks like a PacMan game. Assign roles (PacMan, Ghosts, etc.) and challenge your neighbors.
- Spray paint the lawn like a chessboard layout, and then gather the neighborhood to play a game of chess or checkers, using people as the playing pieces. Not your game? How about Chutes and Ladders, Monopoly, or Twister?
- Set up a Scavenger Hunt around town, centering the clues around a theme (Summer Movies, Twilight series, Harry Potter, Avengers, X-men, Barbie…you get the idea). Or, set up a Library Scavenger Hunt using your favorite books.
The 2nd 5 Fun, Fantastic and Fabulous Activities
- Set up an Obstacle Course. Run through it timing yourself, and then beat your time. Eventually invite others to partake, which can lead to setting up teams.
- Form a Family Book Club that acts out a chapter from your current read.
- Invite your friends and neighbors to Weekend Recess at an elementary school. Play Dodge Ball, Kick the Can, Hopscotch, Four Square, Double Dutch, Tag, Hide & Seek, Simon Says, Red Light, Horse, etc. It will be a whole new experience with teen players.
- Put glow sticks in water-filled plastic bottles for nighttime lawn bowling in the dark. Pair that up with a marshmallow roast and s’mores.
- Hold a Craft Until Dawn Party. Create fantastic crafts together (Jewelry. Bookmarks. Baskets. Bedazzling. String Art. Convert T-Shirts to Purses. Pencil Holders. Cup Holders. Cell Phone Covers. Bath salts jars.) Directions and suggestions can be found online.
Not your typical family activity list, is it? You don’t have to settle for a typical weekend or an ordinary summer. 10 Fun Fantastic Fabulous Activities, instead of your normal, everyday, fair weather activities, can make the difference between an ordinary adolescence, and a Fun Fantastic Fabulous Family time.
Your kids may not remember all the quirky things you do with them, but they’ll remember how they felt when you were together. Enjoy your teens while they’re still young!
Happily,
Deborah
PS Say, do you have an unusual teen-friendly summer or weekend activity you could suggest? Please share!
