Discussions

How do you keep your teen busy during summer when parents work all day? (12 and 13 year olds) the goal here is to keep them out of trouble and off electronics.

Brandon YAC has free day camps all summer. There are also many week-long camps like wannakumbac or mini u for teens.. or babysitting jobs.

I've heard YAC is good. Or would encourage our kids to make plans with others and go to a pool etc.  
 
Would leave mine a list of chores. When they were done could phone and I would tell them where I hid their electronics! LOL  
 
We would encourage reading each day. Writing one piece of paper of what they had done the day before (to keep up on skills for school).  
 
And encourage physical activity each day such as walk the dog, bike, go to a playground and play basketball etc.  
 
But I know...its tough!!

......leave a list of chores every day for them to have done by time you get home from work. They can sleep as late as they want but you expect the list of chores to be finished.

For the summer, the only device my kids are allowed to use is the iPad. I set up ScreenTime on it so they can only watch during certain hours, and I put a daily time limit on all non educational apps (educational ones are unrestricted). If teens are bored they will think of something to do... boredom is a powerful creative tool! They may even ask for chores to earn money!

How about getting your teens to volunteer somewhere? There are ALWAYS organizations looking for help. When I was a 12 -18 y.o. my mother did volunteer work with homeless people / extremely low income people / veterans through the Notre Dame De Grace (Montreal) women's Club. She'd take me along to the Ste. Anne de Bellevieu Veterans' Hospital where a family friend was & I'd play cribbage with them etc. I'd be taken to nursing homes where just chatting with the residents or writing letters for them meant the world to them. I still remember going to a place in Montreal where the people were so poor the floor was PACKED DIRT - literally, packed dirt. I taught one of the older children how to use a sewing machine (donated by a benefactor) so that she could mend clothes or even make new ones. The other summer activity I used to enjoy was going to the local humane society & walking the dogs there & helping clean cages etc. So there's all sorts of things for kids to do if you think outside the box.

I agree with Brandon YAC, I believe info and schedules is on city of Brandon website. My kids went as early tweens/teens and they had a great time. As said it’s a free program. They do all sorts of activities with them and change up what they do daily.  
 
Edited by Cheezies, 2019-06-21 13:32:09

I say this every time but, if you are restricting ANYONE from electronics at summer, you are really strict  
 
Edited by Rodrigo007, 2019-06-21 23:22:38

Tech is a big part of all of our lives. And we all have to accept it.  
 
Yes you think restricting it will get them to find something to do like chores.  
 
More likely find something to get into trouble.

Maybe babysitting, dog walking, mowing? It's great to see young kids helping neighbours. Keeps them outside doing things.  
 
And make sure they keep the house clean with a few chores that are manageable for their age.

Tech is apart of our lives , but really, are our only 2 options 1)free for all on electronics or 2) chores? And honestly, there is lots of trouble to find online now days, so not restricting screen time in hopes it keeps them out of trouble is kind of contradictory. Why not ask the kids what they'd be interested in doing this summer? If they were to do something other than sit inside watching Netflix, I'm sure they have some great ideas. If it's something they are truly interested in, I bet the "getting into trouble" bit would be kept to a minimum. If I were to have a vacation, I'd seriously hate someone loading all my time up with a mass amount of chores , it would probably make me a bit resentful.... although I will say (before people jump down my throat) I do believe contributing to the family home in the form of work is essential for all members, regardless of age. I will just add that I do think a 2 month summer break is ridiculous...but I suppose thats a whole other story.

I got a roll of toonies for the local pool and told my young teen that he had to do YAC everyday or the pool. If he didn’t, then screens were taken away. He was happy to get out and do things and then enjoyed his screen time even more. I also ensured there was still a bedtime and chores list. He got to take a vacation from school, but not from life.