How do your 13 year old boys entertain themselves?

[JarOfRocks]

Outside of school my 13 year old son has several sports clubs that he attends each week and a music lesson, but other than that all he wants to do is play FIFA and mess about on his phone. I know this is normal, but it seems to result in bad behaviour for him personally so I really want to reduce the screen time. But what to replace it with? He's signed up for a lot of activities, but that's just an hour at a time. What do your sons do for the rest of the time, outside of school and organised activities?

Googling sarcastic replies to hit me with and contemplating the unfairness of his life I think.

Yesssss!

I used to walk home from school with my friends, phoned them on the house phone as soon as I got in (even though they lived round the corner) eat tea then we’d all meet at someone’s house and either watch a film (on a tiny square tv in the kitchen - although my parents were ‘cool’ and let us watch in the living room) - or play Megadrive until curfew. Rinse and repeat. In summer we’d play football on the field outside my friend’s house.

There was loads of teens at the park drinking at that age but my group wasn’t interested in all that, thankfully!

Brings back amazing memories!

My DS nearly 14 is barely on his PlayStation anymore, generally he is out with friends at the park playing football or at each others houses or going into town.

He will also play basketball or go in the pool at home, play with younger siblings on occasion, draw, listen to music, phone friends, watch films or be eating. Only if all these have been exhausted will he then revert back to playstation.

my first thought!

Mine is on screens too but he is often looking at interesting things about countries or aeroplanes. He reads and he plays with his brother (nearly 11) - ping pong, swingball or they hit a tennis ball in the drive. Mainly they do that while listening to music and chatting.
He plays tennis 3-4 times a week as well and school doesn’t finish until 4.30 or 5 so I don’t really begrudge him downtime on a screen.

At 13 my son was playing football 4 times a week and then playing football outside at home, riding his bike with friends and gaming.

Mine spends every waking hour with his mates 😂. They’re a really sporty bunch so a lot of time at the gym or in the park. Or they’re in and out of each others houses eating all our food 😄

Thing is teenage life is just less time consuming for them. When I was 13 and decided I really wanted to listen to Papa don’t Preach I had to get on my bike, go to my friend’s house, borrow her Madonna cassette, cycle home, record it on my dual deck ghetto blaster ( first find sellotape to make cassette recordable). Overcome unwinding tape crisis. Return cassette to mate. Settle down to listen while creating artsy insert with berol fine liners.

That's such a brilliantly evocative description, @illiterato!
Takes me right back. We're of the same vintage.
Listening to R1's top 40, finger poised to press 'stop' when bloody Bruno Brookes spoke between tracks and to re-start when he shut up...
Snapping off the cassette's plastic tab to prevent accidentally recording over it all.

Happy days 🙂

(Sorry for digressing, OP).

I agree! To learn the song lyrics we had to persuade mum to buy smash hits, go round to your neighbours house and pour over them together while doing handstands whereas now my kid just reads it as he plays it on his device.