As a mum what do you find to do with a 14 year old boy.

[conway]

Feel I have nothing in common with my 14 year old boy. He loves to watch football with his dad and also plays football.
If I suggest we do anything he is not interested. We used to play tennis but now I am not good enough for him. He doesn't like any films I suggest.
I feel he doesn't even like me and all I am here for are as a taxi driver and chef.
Any tips how to engage.
(His 9 year old brother still likes to do things with me.)

Settlers of Catan and pandemic board game

Cooking together - he can choose what to make

MIL was a lone parent. With DH she did hillwalkung, crosswords and Nintendo gaming! They went to the cinema too until he began going with friends.
Gdydg- how do you play Catan with two please?

Mine likes to go for a walk with me and ask endless questions about astrophysics, evolution etc which I can never answer.....

We all used to sit together and watch The Apprentice.

Mine is 16.

We watch football. We walk the dogs. We listen to endless audio books ( especially in the car).

DH does more. He cycles, plays footie, cricket, darts etc

Oh and table tennis. We all like that.

My DS is 14, we go to Costa, play table tennis out and about in London, I watch films with him (Interstellar, twice) in the holidays we watch box sets, I take him to the park with his unicycle while I walk the dog, listen to him playing the piano, and we bake cakes together (masses this year - cake sales for his World Challenge).

We love table tennis too, we have a table and it gets well used

It's lovely that so many of you have such great relationships with your teenage sons, believe me, I have tried nearly everything suggested on this thread (apart from playing computer games - well, I did try once ).

Only this afternoon I bought him his favourite snack (sushi) and gave it to him - not expecting a huge thank you or anything - but he just snarled in my face and told me to shut the door when I left the room. .

I know he only directs his poor behaviour towards me, my elderly mother and her friend came round earlier and he was so polite and gracious to them, but I find it hard that he can treat me so horribly and reduce me to tears.

Rag - I would have taken the sushi away if I'd been met with such rudeness I know what you mean though , they take it out on the ones closest to them.

Another thing is, I never refuse if he wants a lift anywhere
I know, I know... But it's a chance to spend some time with him and I always make sure we have a chat on the way!

Ragwort

Rag that's absolutely unacceptable. I'd shoot into orbit if my nearly 14 yr old son treated me with such disdain.

We sometimes bond on books and tv shows, and we definitely share a soh. It has to be said though...it is hard finding common ground and shared interests atm. He's quite unimpressed by most things just now.

DS is 16, we have very little in common, but are enjoying spending time together now that he has finished his GCSEs.

Mainly our activities are centred around me spending money on him, clothes and meals / coffees etc

My step sons are older now (21 and 19) but when they come i find they still need to do something physical each day. We often go to Laser Game or the bowling alley. Water sports in the summer or treetop adventure places.
In the evening we often play board games or quiz games together. DSS1 is quite introverted and adores jigsaw puzzles so we tend to buy a huge (10,000 piece) one a couple of times a year and do a bit each day he's here.

My DS no longer wants to do 1:1 activities with me in public but quite happy if his dad is also there eg bowling, cinema, meals out. However we do have a good relationship generally and he is very chatty to me about what is going on at school and with his friends. We also sit and watch TV or films together which are pretty much of his choosing so football, boxing, action films. DS also likes quiz shows. I have attempted to play FIFA but couldn't get the hang of the controls. Also play board games. In general I let him talk to me about what interests him so I now have a great unwanted knowledge about the lives of various 'you-tubers' , footballers and the 'plots' of Fast and Furious. But as others have said its no more boring than Thomas the Tank and at least we no longer have to sit on the floor pushing toy trains around a track.

All that said my DS is only just 14 so I may have the grunting and door slamming to come!

My ds is 14 in September, he will sometimes come running or swimming with me, will still come to the cinema with me, I watch him play sport, we go to theme parks and are going away to France in two weeks where we will go to an aqua park, eat out and do outdoorsy type activities. He is a typical teenage boy in that he spends a lot of time playing sport, on his ps4 and with his mates but is still happy to do a lot with me. I think the fact its been only me and him for a long time helps and I am a (relatively) young mum.

My ds and l bonded over quizzes which l have always loved on TV and lm so thrilled he loves them. Others all hate them. Also we really chat in the car. I pick him up everywhere and l never mind a s he really chats. As soon as we get home he is onto his laptop. He is 19 now but at 15 he loved museums too..more than me but l went of course. I also watch a lot of sport with both my ds as they love it so much and golf and sometimes even bloody darts!