How to Keep Your Teen Busy During the Summer

Teenagers are always looking for something to do during the summer break. Some teens get a job, complete an internship or volunteer at a local agency. Others attend camps or participate in volunteer activities. Of course, many just want to hang out with their friends and (just maybe) get into trouble. To keep your teen focused and on the right path, you'll want to find some ways to keep him busy over the summer.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

1. Sit down with your teen during the spring to start brainstorming things for her to do during the upcoming summer months. Discuss whether or not she'll plan to work and how much time of her schedule will need to be devoted to her job. Then you can start coming up with ideas to fill her free time.

2. Help your teen locate a summer job by pointing out job resources such as classified ads in newspapers and temp agencies, and advise him to meet with his school guidance counselor to discuss job opportunities related to his skills and interests. You'll also want to check out sites like CoolWorks.com and SnagAJob.com to troll for local summer work opportunities (see Resources below).

3. Speak with your teen about volunteering at a local shelter, hospital, nursing home or YMCA. Remind your teen that while a volunteer position is unpaid, she will gain valuable work experience that she can use in the future. Also, volunteer experience can be used on resumes and college and scholarship applications.

4. Suggest that your teen join a community sports team. This is a great way for kids who aren't necessarily serious athletes to keep physically fit, make new friends and engage in friendly competition. Your nearest community center or park office should have information on tennis, soccer, baseball, softball, volleyball and football programs for summer. Summer is also a good time to test out more unconventional sports, such as water polo, horseback riding or ultimate Frisbee.

5. Keep your teen busy by giving him extra chores and housework to do, such as light landscaping, painting, lawn-mowing or organizing an area of your home. Be sure to offer him an incentive like money or gift cards so he doesn't resent the project.

6. Send your teen to a summer camp such as an adventure, church, education or sports camp. Visit SummerCamps.org to locate local and national camps (see Resources below). No matter where your teen's interests lie, you're likely to find a corresponding camp--there are dance camps, music camps, drama camps, science camps, art camps--even chess camps.

7. Help your older teen look into mentoring opportunities. Mentoring can be a very rewarding experience, and can open doors down the road. Visit the National Mentoring Partnership website to locate local opportunities (see Resources below).

8. Create activities for your teen to do, such as arts and craft projects, scrapbooking or cooking and baking. If she has a creative streak, encourage her to use the summer to undertake an ambitious project, such as completing a collection of paintings, writing several short stories, designing and sewing an outfit for herself or organizing a performance with her friends. Not only will this keep her busy and engaged, but it will develop her abilities and improve her confidence.

Resources

• CoolWorks.com for summer jobs
• SnagAJob.com for summer jobs
• SummerCamps.org for camp information
• National Mentoring Partnership for local mentoring opportunities

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