What to do in the summer holiday

[LucyLatimer]

Ds13 doesn’t know what to do in the upcoming school holiday. He’s feeling a bit disconnected after lockdown and wants to make new friends. He says that he would like to go to a youth club or similar but j can’t find anything locally. All of the organized holiday stuff seems to finish at 12/13. What do your teens do to get out and about in the holidays?

This is a tricky one. A lot will depend on the area you live in.
There just aren’t youth clubs any more!! Not like in my day.......
Previously my ds’s have had a week each summer at a scout camp but this year that’s been stopped (and last year)
What is your ds in to? Skateboarding? Surfing? Football? Cycling?
Are you at work during the summer or are you about and available to drop him off to places?
Does he have friends he hangs out with usually? What are their summer plans?
My youngest ds is 14 and this summer I have managed to get 3 weeks of annual leave, not all together. We are away for one week. I’m hoping he will arrange stuff with friends but he’s not got a great deal of friends as he’s not your usual 14 yr old lad! Not into football, and it seems every other boy is!
It’s a tough one, don’t want them stuck to screens 24/7 for 6 weeks!!!

No, I can find any clubs locally just for socialising, which is what he wants. He is week on/week off here and at his dads over the summer and dad does the sports stuff, so he says he just wants to relax when he is here. I can take time off and drop him anywhere. We had a holiday in France booked but that’s looking very unlikely now. He’s having a bit of a friendship crisis at school and wants to get to know other kids locally who aren’t at school. We’re in herts. You’re right about screens and I’ll go with him wherever he wants to go, but he seems to want to branch out

I know sports aren't his first choice but how about joining the local Cricket Club? Most will lend you the equipment to start off with or have secondhand fir sale. Some often have some summer coaching available to.

I don’t know how he feels about cricket, I’ll bet he will give it a go. Thanks

Kings sport camp?

My kids have already been off for two weeks and we're going to have to find something as they just watch tv otherwise.

Some of our local theatres and drama groups have week long sessions, would he be interested in something like that?

The only other thing I can think of is a local company do things like outward bound days, so you get to do things like canoeing.

Camp Beaumont holidays. Brilliant for teens

If it’s anything like half term, my 11&13yr old will be glued to their screens unless I am on my lunch break (12-2) and dragging them out. It seems like the 13yr old’s entire school hangs out in random groups, however, he’s not joining any of them, and I feel like I can’t force the issue. Mine also won’t go to groups.

Mine does swimming courses, other than that we do family stuff.

St Johns Ambulance do kids sessions, they look good.

DS just hangs about with his friends, does sports with the clubs he is already in (cricket and football) there is a Marine Adventure Centre near us so he has done surfing etc with them before when he was 12/13 but now at 14 going on 21 thinks he is too cool for such things.

I wish I had the answer! DS is 14 and would love to still play at parks but it's not the done thing. So he does very little...

Like @Lotsachocolateplease my ds isn't into football and has a very small circle of friends too.