What do your teenagers do in school holidays?

[littlecats]

I’m interested in what your teenagers do during the school holidays. My 13 year old has defaulted to playing video games most of the Easter holidays. My husband and I both work full time from home and clearly don’t have as many holidays as the kids do so he has time where he needs to entertain himself. He has tried to meet up with friends but he has a small circle and some have been away. He’s met up with a couple of friends but it seems they still played video games. He’s too young to get a job and he’s not inclined to kick a football around by himself. I need some ideas for the next school holidays please.

My 13 yo has been swimming, to see grandparents, to the pictures with friends, sorted out her bedroom, out for lunch with me, and baking.

This is one of the reasons we are thinking to leave the uk. Teenagers spend too much time in front of screens. We have family all over and it is so different. Holidays are spent at the beach, sailing, swimming, snorkelling or in the countryside walking, riding horses, playing games in the fields or in parks (volley ball, basketball, football) or in the mountains skiing or walking. Screen time is for the late afternoons, evenings or rainy day. I am very concerned even teenagers living in the uk countryside or beachside seem to be home on the screen all the time.

Go swimming and / or play tennis with each other or with friends
Play football with friends
cycling to local park
reading, watching videos
visit grandparents
Natural History Museum

Once they were 15 they both worked p/t for a relative.

My 14-year-old DS3 has been staying with his grandparents this week. We'll do some family stuff over the weekend, then next week it'll be a mixture of chores (his bedroom needs a good old sort out!), hobbies and some screens. He does have a paper round, which gets him up, out and exercised first thing each morning, as well as some money coming in to pay for the bits and pieces he wants for his main hobby.

Could your DS help with cooking/preparing meals during the holidays? We started that with our older DSs (now 19 and 20) in lockdown and although it was fairly painful to start with, they now each cook one meal a week :-)

They go on residential camps for music, sport, languages, drama etc. The rest of the time, they are doing other school camps or going on holiday with us or their friends’ families. I certainly wouldn’t be letting them play games all summer.

It varies! 18 yo is studying, and in charge of her own timetable. 16yo likes to meet friends and bake cookies. 14yo is into sports and has training sessions to go to with friends. 12yo is the only one that needs active management, so I have to organise him a bit. I’ve made some ‘payable jobs’ available - weeding, toy/book clearouts, window washing, car cleaning, painting (semi supervised) - so I budget an allowance that then gives them cash for cinema, bus fares, bowling or ice cream/hot chocolates. I WFH and will adjust my hours a bit to allow for lie-ins, but everyone needs to be doing something by 10am.

If it's any consolation, my older son played video games incessantly - especially in lockdown - he is now at university and rarely plays and has a really good job to go to and a lovely girlfriend. So no lasting damage

My younger one is signed up for an RYA Youth sailing course for a week in the summer. We'll go away for a couple of weeks, but in between he can spend a few weeks lollygagging around, playing his games, going to the gym, cinema , out in his bike, going for lunch with his friends, going to shop to buy sweets with his friends, and sleeping. Maybe he'll go mow the lawn at his Nan's for £20 to fund some more lunches. Having to be productive with his time is going to come soon enough.

I’ve worked through but last week my DD (16) was with her dad and this week she’s mainly chilled at home, been on her phone , revised or been to cinema the other day with family

Following for ideas, thank you