Activities for teenagers please!

[bestbefore]

Please share your best ideas for things to do with teenagers during isolation - we have played with a basketball and sat and chatted etc but I am a bit stumped, they are so used to doing their own thing. We have been in the garden but was thinking about attempting to engage them in a wholesome activity like we used to when they were small....thanks!!!

I’ve arranged and invited them to
Cards night
Games night
Party night - roll in Friday’s music and dancing
Quiz night with prizes try Kahoot online
I’m going to do a foot and hand challenge today

You draw - hands and feet then put them out so righ hand foot foot both hands one food so they hop down the hall

I’m also going to use string to do a 007 type challenge ... there are ways

Mine love making quizzes for each other. We've played loads of board games. Gone for walks. They are quite enjoying making their own lunches and, of course, there is some staring at their phones time.

Excellent, excellent - keep them coming!
Mine won't go for a walk...think they are fearful of going outside...but we have a garden so they are going outside...

Build a Rube Goldberg machine - the more complex the better!

I've been enjoying going for a long walk with mine each evening - it never fails to amaze me how much conversation increases while we're out walking...

I also think it's really important to not be too isolated from their friends - encourage them to spend time with them online each day (play on the X-box with a group of them or something?) or I'm very old-fashioned perhaps get them to phone each other and chat?

I've also enjoyed sitting outside with mine in the later evening once it's dark and looking at the stars (or last night, at the amazing moon). This probably only works if you live rurally though as I suspect cities have too much light pollution to see much...

Cooking, they'll soon be adults.
Growing herbs/few salad veg in the garden, even just pots. Tomatoes are easy. Supermarkets have seeds.
Take turns to chose a daily TED talk to watch together.

Thanks all! Keep ups going for a bit!

Just Dance marathons
Letting them teach me TikTok dances
One dd has taken to painting phone cases with acrylic paints and ds is making massive Lego creations and learning Python
Joe Wicks (dismissed initially as “for babies” but they soon realised it was much harder than that)
They have to each cook two meals a week using what we have, and they are enjoying that
I’ve taught them to clean and am paying them both small sums for bathrooms and kitchen cleaning
We like the Star Walk app for spotting constellations
Board games
Working our way through The Big Bang Theory on Netflix
At home manicure/spa sessions with the girls
Making Spotify playlists to blast throughout the house
Old editions of I’m Sorry I Haven’t A Clue
Sorting out their bedrooms with them

All of this sounds very wholesome. There is a lot of screen time and sleeping while I work. And the occasional row. And not nearly enough improving activities.

We’ve been playing badminton in the garden. We were all rubbish to start but improving each day

DS15 is really up for making a film and learning editing skills. I had high hopes that he'd produce a sleek video of his life to date with all the videoing of him we've done from 0-15 but he's only doing it if he can make a film of his best wins on Xbox, which he has apparently filmed and saved for years. 🙄

When I saw the thread title I immediately thought:

Snogging
Shagging
Writing bad poetry

The first two are a bit tricky at the moment so I suggest they focus their efforts on the third.

My suggestion probably sounds childish for teenagers but my nieces and nephew who range from nearly 2-17 love doing things like painting and colouring steal my sons crayons every time they are over also if you have a patio get them using chalk on the patio playing 0&x's or just drawing, writing quotes for the day.

@eurochick lol...

Thanks everyone...hope this also helps others...I am glad I don't have little ones needing constant entertainment at this time

Today i bought some decorate your own gingerbread men and that went down well, especially the eating bit! Am planning a beauty day for them both tomorrow (inc ds, he will have a foot spa and face mask I think), and also my dd wants to paint her wall.

if were you i would go hunting in a sewage pipe for entertainment

Monopoly, Yahtzee, othello, cluedo. Anything in the garden to work on ? A little project that needs painting maybe ?

You are all putting me to shame, my is almost constantly on screens either watching you tube or on the PlayStation

Mine have both got back into Minecraft, my daughter is playing online with her friends and chatting at the same time.

Do they need activities? My two are quite happy in their bedrooms on their own, either chatting to their mates, doing their hobbies or being introverted. No change really.

Painting / making cards / other crafts if they are at all arty.

Cycling

We made up our own hiit session and did in the garden, DD has been journaling and drawing, and baking.

@Concerdyummymummy what do you mean?

Mine have spent a lot of time online chatting to mates etc but I sense some boredom settling in and I'd like to keep their spirits up.

Working our way through The Big Bang Theory on Netflix

Also free on E4 pretty much daily. We've watched it so often DS15 can quote chunks of it .

Thank you for posting this. My 15 year old DS is ‘an only’ and is missing his friends and sport. I am considered the most boring parent on the planet.
We were going for walks but won’t this weekend as we have a garden and want to leave space for others.
He did cheer up yesterday when he helped his Dad collecting for a food bank.
Suggested he had a project but building a bike from ebay cast offs wasn’t a great idea.
I think I’ll see if there is a dart board and badminton set in Argos. Can’t do Amazon. We do have a ton of lego in the loft???
He does not dance! Why oh why didn’t I have a daughter!
Wonder if he can put a dance playlist for me??

ds(16) made a cake yesterday, turned out not too bad. 🍰

He had me in stitches when the recipe asked for 6 tbsp of boiling water and he emptied the kettle to put in 6 tbsp of water to boil 🤦‍♀️🤣

@Newme19 would he do chopping/ sawing wood in the garden with supervision/ training? My son had a pleasant time with an axe hacking loads of old wood up...I nearly had kittens but it was all ok & def got rid of some of the steam.

My teens are having an Easter egg hunt today...but old for it but think they will enjoy it.

They do seem to have watched the entire Netflix catalogue