Activities with teens in the evenings

[BrightNewLife]

What do you all do with your kids in the evening.?

I am a solo parent and looking for nice ideas to create a bit more harmony / bonding in the evening with DS aged 12 and 14.

They don't seem to have a lot of homework, and don't play instruments. They do sport 2 or 3 times a week and at weekends, but I am still finding there's quite a lot of time between after school 4.30 and bedtime at 9pm.

We've had some rough patches and I feel I'm always getting at them with chores etc, so I'd like to balance this with indoor activities that we can all do.

I have two DDs around the same age. We are generally out most evenings for sport, so we only have one or two free evenings a week. They generally don't go out on their own much socially so we're usually home together.

As we don't have a lot of time at home, TV is a treat. We enjoy series like Interior Design Masters, GBBO, Frozen Planet. The key for us is finding sth we all want to watch and get excited about. It's then a good conversation topic at other times. We also might watch a film on Saturday night, and we have a list of ones we want to watch, which again helps with the enjoyment.

Board games have also served us well over the years. We like ones like Catan and Pandemic. Though we're more likely to play at the weekend or in the holidays.

I've also recently started doing yoga with my eldest. We just follow videos by Yoga with Adriene on YouTube, so it's easy to do at home any time. Yoga might not work for you, but perhaps some other fitness videos if you and your DSs are so inclined?

You mention indoor activities, but if you have the time and money, perhaps you could find a new shared hobby outside the home? I've heard that martial arts are good ones for families to do together. Or indoor climbing?

What are your kids' interests? Have you spoken to them about what else they'd like to do with their spare time?

Eating at the table ahs been a big one for us. We sometimes play a board game- 5 second rule mostly.

Maybe have a weekly cinema and pizza hut night? That's what i would do if I could afford it.

We all eat at the table every night and chat about our days. Always ask them to set the table together and clear up together after.

Evenings often involve a box set / series - currently all loving The Crown- along with homework tasks (I help the younger one a bit / test him etc) and they’ll usually do a bit of gaming either with friends or with each other. Not too much, we try to keep that to under an hour or it escalates

With teens maintaining low key, regular connections are key. You won’t be their confidante, and nor should you be.

Funny memes on the family WhatsApp through the week are a good no pressure way to laugh together too!

Thanks, all nice suggestions.

We do sit down for dinner each evening and they help clear up.

We are a member of a health club and can play tennis in the evenings when not raining; we can also do gym sessions together there although teen gym stops at 5.30, understandably, so there's not enough time in the evenings to go, but we do this at the weekend.

As they're tired after school, I'm looking for cosy indoor suggestions.

Also because its dark early now, I don't want them hanging around local town after school, which they are allowed to do in summer/September (park, skateboarding etc).

I think TV shows could be a good way to go and getting them to cook a meal. I will look up 5-second rule/Pandemic: we did get into Dominion, and they loved it.

We don't have a family WhatsApp group! That will definitely be a fun thing to do.

There's been too much xbox/sitting around solo on iPhones (me included), so I just want to rein that all in and get some togetherness back.

Could they perhaps start learning to cook? Have an evening a week each to help you cook dinner. Or a baking evening?

Occasional jigsaw puzzles - I say occasional because they can be a bit of a pain if you don't have much space to keep them out whilst being completed.

Play on the Xbox with them.
Watch a film/series.
Play a game.