School holiday activities for teens

[LemonBeag79]

I have 13 year old twin daughters and I was wondering what other families with teenage children did during the school summer holidays. When the girls were younger we’d usually split the holidays up between days at holiday clubs, time away with me and my husband and staying at grandparents. But now they’re a bit older understandably they don’t want to do the holiday clubs anymore but I don’t want them just sitting around for days on end staring at their phones.
I suggest they meet friends etc but they’re not very proactive about arranging anything and then they want me to give them money every day, which I just can’t afford to do for the summer!

It's a problem! I have a 15 year old ds who will get very bored. But there really isn't much on offer for this age group, certainly not in our town anyway. Ds is actually quite sporty, but most organised activities stop at age 12. His friends don't all live locally and are away a lot in the holidays. He will go on bike rides by himself and play football in a local field but he's better in a structured environment.

Definitely not holiday clubs at 13. I have one the same age. It's a problem because she's not into sports or music either.

Last year, DC went on a week's camp with the guides. Otherwise, she stays home and we take her out. Either DH and I taking annual leave or we just go somewhere after work.

My dd enjoys PGL - lots of activities and meeting new people.
It is a hard age for clubs as a lot of them are aimed at age 5-9 really, the 10+ yo always look bored and a bit put out.

Theme parks, cinema, dog walks (my pro tip is to find a village bakery you can walk to for a treat as bribery here), see if you can take in turns with other parents to do day trips for 3 or 4 of them - beach/walk/London whatever.

Dd and I are probably going to go to London for a day or two and watch something at the West end and do a foodie tour. We love the V&A and you've got the Nat History there free too.

What I'd really like is a maths club locally - or some sort of tutoring circle/club. She is worrying about maths (see my name!) but we are in a grammar area and the chance of getting a tutor is slim to none as they are used by everyone in school and highly sought after.

@mathsAIoptions Definitely, 9 yo DC2 already said she's too old for the holiday clubs. They are mostly for very young they say. Luckily for me, DC2 is more sporty and there are sports related activity days I can send her to. Not DC1.

Interesting discussion.
We have 2 separate weeks' holiday, one in July and one in August. 2 weeks with grandparents (yes will moan about getting bored but we are working so needs be)
Couple of days out/family visiting
Couple of days with friends/playdates.
Some sports activities at the end of the summer (last week).
That's it really. It feels like we have been 'winging it' for years and with 4 teens I agree that by 13/14 they don't want to do clubs..

I suspect the reason they "don't want to do clubs" is because all the clubs are really aimed at younger kids. I do feel there is a gap for clubs / activities aimed at 13 plus.

I’ve seen a few holiday clubs where the older kids get to be helpers/ mini leaders (with supervision, well hopefully) which is less babyish and good for their CVs later too. Is there anything like that near you, maybe check out the clubs they’ve done previously?

As yours are twins they are in a good position to arrange social meet ups as even if nobody joins, they have each other! Can they send a casual message like “we will be in X square at 12 on Friday if anyone wants to meet up” - I bet lots of their mates would jump at the chance. Someone just needs to be brave and get the ball rolling.

Swimming, our local leisure centre has an inflatable obstacle course a couple of times a week, which they enjoy. Also have an outdoor pool nearby which is great.

Cinema

Beach days

Shopping trip

Theme park

My DM takes them out for a day of their choice 1-1 which they love. They've done aquariums, castle with a re-enactment thing, zoo, seafront arcades, art gallery etc & usually travel by train or bus which is a novelty.

Ah that’s a good suggestion, I’ll see if they do this at some of the local ones.

And you’re right being a twin means they always have someone there to do things with but they have very separate friend groups which makes it a little difficult at times. We live in a small town so there’s not a lot going on here unfortunately!

Thank you, great suggestions here @PhantomErik Think I’m just going to have to make a list of things they can do, either on their own/with friends or with a parent/grandparent etc and then I’m sure they won’t get too bored!
We’re away for the last couple of weeks so it’s only 4 we have to cover!

At this age I stopped organising anything for my teen.
I'd give your girls slightly more pocket money - maybe in exchange for some more chores around the house?
Take some time off and organise some family stuff and otherwise leave them to it.

My 13 year old still does holiday activities, the ones he goes to take up to 16 or 18 and there are usually a few other teenagers there. He also loves the park, soft play and the trampoline park. My 16 year old has decided he is too old for holiday activities apart from one this year but he likes a mooch around town with his mates, running and more screen time than I would prefer.

There is definitely a gap in the market I think.

DD normally went for a week with the Scouts and then needed a week to recover (they are very outdoorsy). She also did the odd day at the stable helping but that depended on us being available to drive her.

2 weeks family holiday.

Her school also always set holiday homework, especially pre-reading and then advanced work before Y10 and Y12 . They encouraged a reading program (like the libray challenge but they had to write reviews) in exchange for house points.

But she also spend a lot of time at home, TV, screens, meeting with friends.

Depending where you live there may be clubs that are activity based - they’re not childcare and might just be half days. DS did film making and football, DD did various arty ones. I know you said not holiday clubs but they’re really not like the clubs for younger ones

agree you cld look at a week residential like PGL then they would be worn out!

My 12 yr old - Im in a whatsapp group with his friends parents which has been really helpful for saying 'hey X is free today shall we push them all off the swim pool'

sadly the loss of 'free play' and 'roaming' just means kids are on screens a lot - really they cld /shld be a bit more independent - ie. taking bikes and just heading out to a park or hanging out but the art of hanging out is certainly being lost.

• local lido
• youth club? Is there one anywhere near? some have survived!
• bike ride to park or picnic

Watching as I have exact same problem! DS13 won't arrange anything, and even on my days off it's a problem because my two never want to do the same thing.

Could they get a job? A bit of dog walking, babysitting or something to give their days structure? My DM was a single parent and left me a list of chores to do every day whilst she was at work.

Where I am all teenagers have jobs from 13/14 but it's a touristy area desperate for staff in cafes, restaurants, pubs etc.

Your local library may be looking for volunteers if they'd be interested in that? Here they ask 13+ to volunteer to help administer the summer reading scheme for younger children.

There is quite a lot around here for teens- tends not to be full days but it gets them out of the house for, say, every morning for 5 days.

A few of the private schools and sports clubs run sports camps for anyone who wants to sign up which are often 9-4 for a week - however admittedly most of them are development camps for kids who already play the sport- some take beginners though.

the university does art and creative writing/ STEM courses.

one of mine sails and the club has a youth racing week.

Mine also go on outward bound ( residential) for a week. We’re on family vacation for a week and then going to Carfest for a long weekend.

They both know they need to do some preseason fitness for rugby.

There will still be a lot of tv/ PS/ scrolling though.

Jobs would be great but it’s strictly 15 round here ( pot washing) and 16 for anything “front of house” unless you’re happy with them doing CIH labouring or scrap collection which I’m probably not tbh.

Set aside the money you would have spent on holiday clubs and given it to them throughout the summer to do things with their friends.

My ds is 13, he won't go to holiday clubs now and will spend most of the day gaming. He will go to the gym, or meet friends at the local 5G football pitch or just hang about. They might occasionally go bowling, or KFC or the like so it's good to have a bit money they can choose to do those things, buy a drink etc.

We'll take some time off and do a few family trips too but we have to drag him now he's older, usually enjoys it once we're there though. Trip into nearby cities, mini golf, axe throwing, karting, those kind of things.

For 12 Yr old DD we have 9 weeks to fill:
PGL for 5 nights
Pony Club Championships where she is competing 2 nights + 5 days of prep/revision
Pony Club camp for 4 days + nights
Youth Council camp for 4 nights
Choir trip for 5 nights
Volunteering at her old primary school for 5 days
1 week family holiday

The rest she can have/needs downtime

For 12 Yr old DD we have 9 weeks to fill:
PGL for 5 nights
Pony Club Championships where she is competing 2 nights + 5 days of prep/revision
Pony Club camp for 4 days + nights
Youth Council camp for 4 nights
Choir trip for 5 nights
Volunteering at her old primary school for 5 days
1 week family holiday

The rest she can have/needs downtime

@LaPalmaLlama the university stuff sounds amazing! Is there a title for the courses? There's a uni near me but I've googled teens and summer classes and nothing has come up - feels like I'm missing a possible resource!

One of mine at that age did a week drama camp with a friend which she enjoyed.