Summer plans for younger teens?
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Summer plans for younger teens?
| Sun, 02-04-2007 - 12:02pm |
I just realized that most of the summer activities seem to only serve kids up to age 12 or 13. So what do you do with your kids who are too young to have a summer job? I work, there's no one else home, and I don't want him sitting in the house all summer, 9 hours a day watching tv, playing vids, and finding ways to cure his boredom (that's just asking for trouble).
I've seen a few things for older kids, but usually they are outrageously priced or have stupid hours for working parents (ie., 10-3.. who makes up the schedules for these things?).
So what the heck do other working parent families do with their teen kids during the summer?
k
I've seen a few things for older kids, but usually they are outrageously priced or have stupid hours for working parents (ie., 10-3.. who makes up the schedules for these things?).
So what the heck do other working parent families do with their teen kids during the summer?
k

Pray - a LOT.
When DD was too old for the programs available to her and too young for a job, she did some mom's helper things for a friend of mine. My sons did yard work for a few people. Neither of these things filled all the hours of their days, but it did give them a lot less time to just hang out - and think of things to do that they shouldn't be doing.
Rose
We end up piecing together smaller pieces - last summer my DD volunteered in my office (it's a non-profit) for a month, did two weeks at a college program for HS students, then we went on vacation for two weeks, and then she did the hanging out with friends bit.
In previous summers, she's done a couple of weeks of horseback riding camp (it's 10-3 or something like that but she can walk or take the bus), some time with my parents, was a teacher's aide in a day care center (GREAT for getting teens to delay sex/parenthood lolol).
I'm not sure what we're doing this summer. We've just started looking. It does end up being less structured than when they were younger (my DS7 has 10 weeks, 9-5).
DS14 wants to go to summer school again, so that covers 6 of the 11 weeks. In the past few years he's gone to age-appropriate art camp (clay and glass) and now that he will be an entering sophomore, they said he can be a 'teen intern' there and work all day and then get to take the later afternoon teen classes free. We don't have the details worked out yet, but I'd guess 4 of those 5 weeks will do this, and then we go on vacation one week. He's excited about being an intern (unpaid) as he's more or less helped all the littler ones in his classes the last couple of summers. Those classes go from 9-12 and 12:30-3:30, and the teen class is 4-5:30 so it may be a long day, but it's great for me; I'll just shift my work hours around his schedule those 4 weeks. Summer school is 5 hours/day and he comes home and does homework, so that takes care of those 6 (he wants to take US studies if they offer it; they haven't put the schedule out yet).
Sue
Last summer, dd14 and her cousin 13 yo alternated working in a relatives home daycare... they really got ripped off pay wise, but it got them some spending money and lots of experience w/ lots and lots of little kids. She did that, went on a school trip for a week, we went on vacation for 10 days and then mid-August, cheering started. It really worked out well. This summer she has more options, since she will be 15. Dunken Donuts will hire at this age for summer help. Our town recreation center, that has summer rec for the younger kids in the summer, hires teens to be camp counselors, and our local amusement park will hire 15 year olds.
Thankfully the Y here in DC has a 'Clubhouse' camp for teens 12-18 and they also have classes to train the younger teens to be counselors there.
I am thinking about this issue for my 11 yo son (he will be 12 on 9/1). Last summer he stayed home. We have 2 teenage girls, so he wasn't really alone. My DD, who was 17, worked part-time, but she is the type that if she had a day off, she was always at the beach or out w/ friends. My DSD, who was 16, never got a job, so she was home all the time. By the end of the summer, they weren't speaking to each other! She liked to sleep until noon and then spent most of the time in her a/c room watching TV or something and not much time being w/ him. It worked out ok in that my ex had a day off during the week, so he would usually sleep over there one night, then he also invited himself to stay w/ my elderly mother & aunt about three times during the summer, which they loved. We had a week of vacation, but other than that, I couldn't take time off from work.
Before that, he always went to a day camp run by the town. It's so convenient. It's actually at his elem. school, which is about 1/2 mile from our house. From my point of view, it seems like it would be nice. We are right near the beach, so they take them to the beach, do sports and other activities. However, he says he hates it! None of his friends go and from his POV, he says he has to be in school all year, so I guess he doesn't want the structure of having to go to camp and be there all day. They also have 1/2 day sessions, which I have never done since I work all day. Actually if he went 1/2 day, it would probably be better for him to go in the afternoon since the kids like to sleep late. I'm not worried about him getting into trouble, it's more that I don't want him to be bored and watching TV all summer. my DSD has said that she wants to work this summer and she would actually like to be a counsellor at this camp. She already works after school helping w/ the kids in the elem. after school daycare program, so this would be a good job for her and she could walk back & forth. That will only make him not want to go more if she is there.
My DD finally rebelled against camp when she was 12 and I did let her stay home, although I made my DS go because I wasn't going to trust her watching him all summer. She would have her friends over a lot but they didn't get into any trouble. It's a tough age when they aren't old enough to work and as someone said, a lot of activites aren't compatible w/ parents who work all day. She started working the summer she turned 16. The only place that hired at 15 was Stop & Shop. I'll probably make my son get a job there the summer he is 15, since he turns 16 at the end of the summer. I had the same problem since my birthday is in Aug., that my friends were turning 16 and getting work before I did. I did get a job at the only place where you could work at 15, which was the library. I actually liked the job. The summer before when I was 14, I volunteered at a political campaign. My dad was into politics which is how I met the people involved (and besides RI is a very small state) and I felt pretty important although I was just doing office work, stuffing envelopes and passing around fliers, but I did it w/ my friend and we met a lot of people.
My DD (then 14) got a job as an assistant day-camp counselor at one of the museums in Balboa Park (we live in San Diego county) last summer. She has a service requirement to meet each year for high school so this worked out really great for her.
I don't work, and had to drive her there, but I imagine you may be able to find volunteer type work in your community -- community centers need extra help during the summer for day-care programs and serving senior meals, churches need bodies to help with vacation Bible school, etc. and your DS could probably walk or ride his bike to the locations.
Just some thoughrs.
Julie
We live in a really small town that just doesn't offer much in the way of jobs and/or activities for that 12-15 age crowd. I finally decided to "hire" my younger boy to clean house while I was at work. Actually, I did the same with my older, but he didn't do as well with it as my younger has. Anyway, he tends to sleep until noon, and it would take an hour or so to clean house, mow, or whatever needed to be done, so that only left him with a couple hours to just hang out.
He turns 16 in May, so I'm hoping he can get a *real* job this summer. :)