Summer holidays!

[Motherhood86]

I'm working 3/4 long days a week during holiday. Feeling guilty but not much I can do. Have a week annual leave in Aug. What do you guys do with your teens in holiday if you have to work? 14year old boy. Sensible and independent.

Its tricky isn't it? I have a 14 year old ds, and tbh I dont think he really wants to do activities with me anyway! We are going away on holiday for 2 weeks which helps massively. Other than that he's kicking his ball in the streeet, occasionally meeting up with a friend, doing his weights in his bedroom, and hopefully going to a football camp for a week.

Lots of time lying around looking at a screen as well though unfortunatley!

I’ve got a week off, and she’s going to grandparents for a few days.
Other than that Pretty much left to her own plans during the day; I had a parent at home during the holidays and it was pretty much the same with a parent in the house.
If she wants to go out to see friends when I’m at work that’s fine but I need to know when, where and who with.

My ds13 would stare at a screen all day if he could, for the days I'm working- we tend to make a list of activities and a list of chores and he has to pick a couple off each to do. Then once he's done those, he can chill on the screen as much as he wants. That seems to help with balance a bit.

We are lucky the local youth club has a few activity days on in the summer as well, a circus skills one, a day of inflatables- like the sumo suits etc.... so I'll probably sign him up for them.

I'm hoping to also encourage him to get the bus to town this year to meet up with friends, a few of them like badminton, so might see if I can hire the courts for them now and again.

Essentially, not loads, no big holidays, no holiday clubs, just enough things that he doesn't become surgically attached to a screen whilst I'm at work.

Hi thanks for replies, yes it's so tricky like you mentioned @MissyB1 if I was there it's a struggle to get him to do anything with me that doesn't involve a trip to MC Donald's or spending lots of money! Even then it's hard. He is quite happy but I know he will be just attached to some kind of device the whole day. I guess it's their holiday and down time for them. He will meet a mate occasionally. Other than that I'm going to try not to stres, gone are the days I could arrange day camps etc for him!

I wouldn’t stress too much about what a 14 year old is doing over the summer. If he spends all day on his phone/games console/watching you tube it’s no big deal. You can encourage them to do other stuff but if you’re at work you can’t really make them so no point stressing.

dd15 will probably spend a fair amount of time on screens. She’ll also go out and about with friends/boyfriend. We have a weeks holiday abroad over the summer and I’ll take some other time off to do some stuff, but most of the time she’ll be left to her own devices as DH, older dd and I will all be working. It’s just how it is.

Same thing here. My DD15 is with her grandparents for three weeks (coast of a Mediterranean country), but misses her friends and boyfriend. We are not taking vacation, as DH just had a surgery and needs four weeks recovery time. Usually we have two weeks together; I don't think she will miss us at all, it's the fact that she couldn't bring a friend along that bothers her.
She has a language camp with a friend for a week later in the summer, I'm hoping it'll make up for being surrounded by adults the rest of the time. And yes, she spends almost all of her time she's not at the beach on her phone.

I have just been wondering this same thing! Was actually hoping to find a thread on it, so it's reassuring to find I'm not alone.

My DS1 is 14. He will be at Scout Camp (as a Young Leader) for the first week. Then at home for 4 days before we go on holiday for 10 days, with extended family. So that's the first 3 weeks taken care of.

I'm struggling a bit with the other 3. I work 3 days per week, although not full days. We do have Merlin passes so will do a few theme parks on my days off, which will help. I think the days I'm pondering mostly are when I go out with his younger brothers & he won't come with any more - often because we are meeting their younger friends.

I guess he'll do whatever homework is set (he is very conscientious, doing very well at school, no concerns there). Then screens! I will also get him to cook a few times.

Unfortunately, not many of his friends will be around as he goes to an international school & most of them go to see family for the 6 weeks.