So My Child of 12 has been so creative and really inspired with all her crafts and book writing . We have spent past summers working on school stuff so she would not loose the brain of things LOl. We have done themes where we create and study Africa, or space or horses and stuff like that...... But now this summer we are in a new faze. She is bored and not knowing how to keep her busy. She reads all the time, spends time in her room and paces back and forth waiting for her one hour comp time and one hour tv time each day. I did sign her up for a few classes and she is doing a swim rec team 4 days a week but that is only an hour. I let her sleep in to whenever. I know she is due for a break. She worked hard this year with all A's. She has no desire to do school practice stuff this summer and I respect that.............but what can she do ? What do these kids do at this age. They are all into computer games, texting, tv.......... My daughter does not have a phone, does not want one, not intrest in texting. She loves the computer but gosh, can't be on that all day. So these ages are hard to entertain and modivate. What do your teenagers do to keep busy ?
This is a great site, by Barnes & Noble bookstore.
It is where a child can write/illustrate and "publish" and buy their books.
Here is the link:
http://www.tikatok.com/
It is great for kids and is a Mom awarded site.
Sign her up to volunteer somewhere - be it with younger kids at a Vacation Bible School, at a farm, at the ASPCA, whatever! Service to others makes you really appreciate what you have.
LBC
My daughter will be 13 in a couple months. I don't think an hour of computer time is very much per day. Not that she should sit on it all day, but at least a few hours so she can enjoy what she is doing. Right now, I'm on Roblox with my daughter, she is building things and there are learning things they can do. Also, my 9 yo son is at the boys and girls club. He is WAY more active than she is and she would be bored at home all day. Have you checked into the public pools? They are usually $2 for adults and $1 for kids and they have slides and fun things to do and she can hang out with other girls there also. Good luck!
My daughter just turned thirteen. For her, it's all about time with friends. We belong to a pool so she will be there a lot this summer, along with many of her friends. She's also going to do some art classes, a sewing class and maybe a hip-hop/tumbling class. And she has started babysitting so hopefully she'll be making a little money too! In between her activities she either has friends over here or she goes over to someone else's house. Sometimes they go to the movies or just hang out in the village.
It's great that you're daughter is swimming four days a week, and taking some classes, that will get her out of the house and she'll meet new people. Encourage her to have friends over, that will keep her from getting bored. When my daughter's friends come over they usually end up doing something creative, like baking cupcakes or making silly movies on my Flip video :)
My daughters spend at least 2 weeks at camp each summer. Now that they're older, they volunteer at camp.
Depending on what she's doing on the computer, why not 2 or 3 hours? If she's just wasting time that's one thing, but if she's playing an educational game or learning something I consider giving her additional time.
Since she likes to read, take a weekly trip to the library. See if the library has any programs. Maybe she would like to do some volunteer work there.
Even though my girls aren't really into shopping, they do like to take a trip to the mall ocassionally just to get out of the house. Or go out for lunch once a week.
My teens walk to the park with friends, walk to ice cream shop, swim, walk to our local kohls, hang out snacking here with friends, chill in their room (not long) with music.... all kinds of things :) As she gets older she will start doing more. She wont look to you for ideas as much. My 3rd will be 11 and she is starting the" i'm bored" stage...lol! Thank god for the pool season.... i will hear the bored statement rarely when it rains!
Being that you are in Peoria and you mentioned your daughter likes to read, I suggest checking out the NW Regional Library in Surprise for their summer reading program, Plus they are offering some awesome prizes this year! They have a ton of teen activities planned for the summer. When my teenage niece was visiting a couple years ago, they had a henna demonstration that she loved.
http://libcat.mcldaz.org/teens/
**And to give my husband credit, he created the video featured on the page.
:-)
volunteer....spca, food banks...etc....
I second the suggestion to sign her up for volunteering somewhere.......
My oldest will turn 13 this summer. We buy a summer season pass to our local pool. It's a decent bike ride distance from our house, and she is old enough to bike down with a friend and hang out at the pool. Since it is a community pool, the kids always see bunches of people they know from school and such. Sometimes we go to other pools and waterparks for some variety. She can also bike with her friend to the local yogurt place and small neighborhood movie theater. She used to have a cell phone, but no longer does, I think it's good thing for her, actually. DH has given her the job of lawn mower and lawn care-taker, so she can earn a little extra money. She would love to babysit, but hasn't found any families interested in hiring her yet. Sometimes she plays with her sister. She takes the dog for walks. She reads a little. Friendships ebb and flow, and I think she is finding a lot of kids she thought were friends aren't so much, as she has had a tough 7th grade year. She's not one to put herself out there and make calls to invite friends if they've had the ups and downs of girl drama, so it's tough. We schedule lots of time with grandparents and cousins, she enjoys that. She will also do a swim club in July, and an indoor rock climbing camp in August, but just for one week. I tend to splurge a little on day trips to the museums, mini golf, bowling, and other fun activities just to get the kids out of the house. I don't mind a little screen time if they spend the larger chunk of the day out and about with other activities. My challenge is when my kids don't want to do the same thing, and we get stuck at home. My oldest wants to go go go. My youngest often likes to stay home. Summer is also when our family likes to do some camping trips and family vacations, because travel is so difficult during the school year with our kids on different schedules.
My daughter is 17. Her last day of school will be Friday 6/1.
She is a cheerleader and was just named the squad captain for the upcoming season. She has already started getting her group emails and group text info into her phone since she is the main contact between coaches and other cheerleaders. She has a big job and is preparing ahead of time.
She started cheering in 8th grade and she continues to train during the summer. Some of the training is simple and some is more complicated such as working with a personal cheer coach weekly.
She also plays the violin but due to her schedule, she can't be in orchestra, cheer and fashion design. So in the summer, she goes to her favorite orchestra director's home for private lessons to keep on her toes. They pick out some fun new song to master.
She loves arts and crafts and making things. She has numerous sketches of dresses, clothing, etc and she'll go to the fabic store to look around for ideas on her creations.
I've always been much more lenient with tv and computer time. Your daughter does not text or communicate with friends, I would at least allow a little more freedom with the tv and computer. She can do educational things on the computer as well... it is not all bad.
Does she have friends to come over or go visit? Community pool? Social life is a big deal... get her involved in something she loves. They have cooking schools around here and my daughter loved it. Go to a babysitting course and get certified.
Some summer camps are a week or 2 overnights but there are also daily summer camps to be involved with as well. Try the rec center, Y, etc.
If she is so into reading, utilize the public library.
We are going on a mom/daughter trip to the beach, she will complete her college apps so she'll be ready to submit everything as soon as the transcripts are official in September. She has some photo shoots lined up because she does model when it fits her schedule. She also babysits. Sitters here make good money. She averages $12-$15 an hour cash. However, she is very active with the children and that is why she is paid more than the going rate of $10/hr.
Think outside the box and help her find things that interest her.
The 'Raising Arizona Kids' magazine has been a great resource of activities for summertime. Just google them and click on the events calendar on their webpage.
Have Fun!
