Teenager Engagement & Relationship Building 

Written by: Darlene Conway 

May 1, 2020 

So, in the midst of talking about camp and trying to get our younger ones involved and excited. I feel like I left out our older group of campers.  The ones who have been with us for years or who have just joined us to “hang” with their friends for the summer. This is about them and how, even while their social lives are in limbo and their activities are on hold, they are still working hard at getting their school work done and spending what seems like eternity to them with their parents and siblings.

 We have this thing that we do (when not in quarantine), usually around dinner time.  We ask our daughter to share 5 things about her day. They have to be full sentences.  It doesn’t matter what it is about, whether its school or friend related BUT something miraculous happens...She talks!  She keeps talking and elaborates on her 5 things!  And because she chose her 5 things to talk about, they are interesting to her.  If I just ask how school is, she will say “Fine.” Like most teenagers would.  

 So, between binge-watching Netflix, Hulu and Amazon Prime series, playing X-Box, and Snap-Chatting and watching Tik-Toks, we, as parents,  try to grab their attention.  We pulled out our old Wii system and tried that for a day. It held our attention for a little while and we are having dinner as a family every night so I can sneak in a “how was school?” or  “whatcha watchin?”  But, for the most part, they are maybe 5 word answers. I get it. I was a teenager once and I am sure she misses that connection with her friends. So, I have come up with a few ways to pull her out of her “cave” as we call it.  We have baked cookies, played games, and watched movies but I needed some new ideas so I literally googled activities to do with your teenager during quarantine and lo and behold I found some so I thought I would share them with you.  

Some of the ideas were pretty basic..emails to family, plant in-doors, arts and crafts…

These are the ones I found more interesting..

Question of the Day- Each family member has a QOTD and shares it at dinner time.  

Photo a Day- This is more for them to have pictures to go with how they are feeling on a particular day.

Journal- Encourage your child to journal.  It could be in any form of writing.  This is only meant for them to be able to express their thoughts, feelings and record how the day is going.

Wish List- Have them create a wish list of the “normal” things they cannot wait to do.  Ex: go to Starbucks, movies, visit their friends..etc

Podcasts- Find podcasts that you and your child are interested in and can listen to together

https://www.thecubiclechick.com/2020/03/17/36-indoor-activities-for-teens-during-a-quarantine/

I hope some of these suggestions have sparked a few ideas that you and your tween/teenager can do while stuck at home.