Yes I said it – a top 10 list of ways you can spend time with your Teenagers that do not cost any money! Many of my clients have a more difficult time (I even did) thinking of ways to spend time with their teens. It is so easy when they are little. I used to play hide and seek with my kids, legos, matchbox cars, color, paint, have a picnic or simply just chase each other. Well, when they are older they really don’t like to color so much and they will only play hide and seek or ghost in the graveyard outside in the summer with their friends – NOT THEIR PARENTS!
So what do you do with teens when they are older and you are under a budget? I polled my Facebook Friends for help on this one! Thanks for everyone’s input. Here they are the top 10! Great idea from Donna LaMar is to have them bring friends with too! You will all have fun!
1. Talk to them about the new Facebook interface! Do they like it?
2. Cook dinner with them and make their favorite meal or try something new
3. When they are 16 they need 100 + hours drive time in the car (at least in Illinois). I took my kids to lunch 1 1/2 hours away and back to get drive time.
4. Bring up a subject that is controversial in their mind and they will talk about it (I guarantee it - just don’t judge them at all)
5. Teach them how to fix something at your house or have them help you paint a room or the house (my kids really got into painting our house a couple years ago)
6. Go to a zoo or museum on the free admission day or to a local state park and explore
7. Watch a favorite TV show or movie (American Idol, Miss America Pageant, Lost, or favorite movies from the library)
8. Play games (suggestions were Scrabble, cards, Uno, Wii and etc..)
9. Play sports – what kind? Well what are you into? BMX racing, baseball, softball, football, Frisbee, badminton, volleyball, hiking, biking, etc………
10. Volunteer together – the local food pantry, soup kitchen, animal shelter, sending supplies to Haiti – watch the newspaper for ideas or use Google
Enjoy! Remember kids really do enjoy spending fun times with the family. Don’t bring up the chores or anything like that. Make this a time where your kids can just be themselves to build their confidence. They really need you to know this side of them because I know you think they are amazing! Sometimes we don’t let them know enough that we know they are amazing!
