Being a teenager can be a difficult thing. You’re going through a confusing time, and your hormones are wreaking havoc with your thoughts and feelings. If you’re a parent who’s watched a child slowly (and sometimes suddenly) turn into a teenager, then you might have just as much difficulty adjusting to the transition.
Finding the time to bond with your teenager will help to reassure them that you’re still their mum or their dad, even if they’re in the process of becoming a very different person. So, what activities might you consider?
Learning to drive
Helping your teenager to learn to drive won’t just provide you with time together. It’ll also serve the practical purpose of getting them on the road more quickly. It’ll also demonstrate your confidence in them – especially if you’re able to adopt a calm, reassuring manner when they’re behind the wheel. To lower the cost of learning, you might insure a car for a day, which will provide cover even if you’re only letting them drive for a few hours.
Volunteer together
If there’s a cause that’s near and dear to both of your hearts, then you might offer to support it. You can do this not just with your money, but with your time. There are many kinds of activities that you might do together – from helping out at your local old people’s home to training for a marathon in support of a particular cause.
Show them that you care about their interests
While they’re a teenager, they’re likely to develop new interests. You don’t want to muscle in on their personal space when they’re in this process of discovery, but that doesn’t mean that you can’t make time to pursue some favoured activity together. For example, if they’re spending a lot of time playing games (as just about all teenagers are), then you might make time to play games together with them.
Get outdoors
If your teenager is spending a lot of time buried in their phone, then it might be time that you got out into the wild together, away from technology. Even if you’re just committing a few hours to a walk in the local woods, it can provide an invaluable time to find out what’s going on in their life. Fortunately, there’s no shortage of spectacular outdoor locations in the UK – so pick out one that matches your tastes.
Share an extreme experience
You can create a memory that will last for years with the help of a one-off, extreme experience. If your teenager is on the lookout for new things, or they need a little bit of encouragement to come out of their shell, then something adrenaline-fuelled like zip-lining or bungee-jumping might provide exactly what’s required.
