Parenting My Teen

Summer is here, school is out, and you’re probably already hearing your children say, “Mom, I’m bored.” Unfortunately, it’s only the second week of summer break and your kids already have the summertime blues. Here are some ideas to keep your children busy and happy so you won’t have to listen to the blues all summer long.

Of course, children are used to having their entire day structured from the time they get up, every waking moment while they’re at school, and then to the time they go to bed. They may be a little shell-shocked from all the free time they have. This summer, you don’t have to let the entire summer be wasted in front of the television or gaming console.

Put a moratorium on anything electronic during daytime hours. Yes, this means the computer, the television, and video games. Instead, spend some time with your children actually conversing with them. Play a board or card game that will get them thinking rather than staring at a monitor all day.

Enlist your children to help you start, care for, and harvest a garden. Not only will this activity get your children away from the TV, they will be outside in the fresh air working toward something concrete the whole family can enjoy. Spending time in the garden is also a great opportunity to sneak in some science and health lessons without your children realizing it. Best of all, your children’s efforts will be rewarded when they taste how wonderful fruits and vegetables fresh from the garden are.

Ask your children to take over one night a week. Teach them how to plan for, shop for, and prepare dinner for the whole family. Make sure they also clean up after dinner so they get the full effect of what feeding a family entails.

Learn a new hobby and learn it together. If you’re both interested in scrapbooking, this would be a great time to delve into the family photographs, organize them, and create beautiful books that you’ll want to show off. Perhaps you could spend a week working with each child to create their own scrapbook.

Visit the library often. Encourage your children to read a certain number of books during the summer. You may want to give them points for each book they read so they can earn a special treat before heading back to school in the fall.

Head outside and go for a hike. Try to identify the different trees, birds, and plants that you see on your hike. Remember to use sunscreen and insect repellant to ensure you’ll enjoy yourselves.

You don’t need to have every moment of the summer planned, and your children will probably appreciate it if they do have some free time. If the summer break has just started and your child is already frustrated, the summer time blues have hit. These ideas to beat the summer time blues will help you be ready when they cry “I’m bored.”

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