The holiday season is the perfect opportunity to catch up, connect and check-in with those we love. But how do we do this with the teenagers in our life who are looking forward to spending more time with...
The holiday season is the perfect opportunity to catch up, connect and check-in with those we love. But how do we do this with the teenagers in our life who are looking forward to spending more time with – you guessed it – their friends! We have asked around for some inspiration on ways to connect and re-connect with the precious young people in our lives. Here are the top 5 tips we received:
Be happy to be taxi! – Car rides are the perfect time to chat, see any traffic as a blessing that extends your time together and enjoy their almost undivided attention (when they are not preoccupied with changing the playlist and blasting music through the speakers!).
Tickets please – A great gift or just an opportunity to do something together, book tickets to an event that you’ll all enjoy. Sporting events and cinema are a great option, but laser quest and bowling are often good options to leverage their sense of healthy competition and beating the oldies! It’s a great way to spend a few precious hours doing something together.
Make something together – Whether it’s the playlist for the family BBQ or a dish for dinner, many teens enjoy the occasion so much more when they make a contribution or feel a part of the event in some way.
Support something new – the holidays can be a good time to explore something new such as job hunting. As teens embark on becoming more independent, some might like the help with finding a little job to earn some extra cash of their own – having a little more time on your hands the holidays can be a good chance to help them find their perfect role! They might get an urge to start surfing or a desire to make jewellery, the point is to look out for the signs to give them encouragement and support with making it a reality.
Finally, If you can’t beat them join them – it can also be a great opportunity to play host, let them have friends over to join your family BBQ or pitch the tent in the backyard and let them sleep under the stars. And as teens often remind us ‘remember they are my friends, you don’t have to talk to them’! just providing the food, water and shelter is enough! Lots of young people like the chance to be host and do things that they might not get the chance to do in term time – like simple sleepovers too.
Stuck for ideas or don’t know what’s on these holidays – Google it – a good search of ‘things to do near me with teenagers’ will often give you some great inspiration and exposure to special events and things that are happening just during the holiday season.
We would love to hear about any other big hits and ideas – please share them as a ‘Time with Teens’ headed post on our facebook page.