Activity ideas for teens

As well as fun and games, teens like a project they can get their teeth into. Action for Children’s parenting coach Joanna Miskin shares some activities for teens.

• Start a book club. Choose a book everyone will want to read. Reading apps, such as Kindle, often suggest book club questions at the end of your book. Or you can come up with your own.
• Help your teen rearrange their bedroom. This is a great excuse to tidy up and clear out some drawers. Give them separate bags or boxes for items to recycle, donate or keep.

• Plan a three-course meal with items that you already have in the house. Get them to design the menu, set the table and cook the meal themselves.
• Get them to research a new topic that interests them and pull together a project on it.

• Have a drawing competition. Challenge the family to recreate a still life in different mediums, like paint or collage.

• Upcycle some old clothes. Cut off old jeans to make shorts, lose sleeves or change a neckline to create something new. If your sewing skills aren’t up to the challenge, there are plenty of ideas at Love Your Clothes.

• Rediscover old jigsaws or board games. They’ll may think it’s boring to start off with, but will soon get involved.
• Have a stand-up comedy night. Every family member gets a 10-minute slot and has to come up with as many jokes as possible.

• Put on an exercise DVD or find a class online and have a gym session in the front room. Physical activity benefits emotional wellbeing, especially if you can’t get outside.

• Create a vision board. They could include things that make them happy, travel ideas or positive affirmations. Cut things out from magazine or print items from the internet to stick on to the board.

• Have a careers day. Ask them to think about what careers interest them, and what to do next to pursue them.