Family activities you can do with teenagers

By Bridie McArthur 

How do you keep hyperactive kids busy for six weeks? What activities can you do as a family that your teenager will actually want to take part in? On behalf of all of us, we are so grateful that you have to drive us everywhere during this six-week stretch of hot, hot, hot limbo between school years. 

Summer holidays have a strange duality of seeming both never-ending and miserably finite – but really, they’re just a time to have fun without the pressures of academic stress.  

If you ever find yourself hearing the words ‘I’m boooooored, can we do something fun?’, here’s a list of just that – fun things you can do as a family. 

Go for a walk 

This one is good for the mind, good for the body, and if it’s a long one you mind find everyone is super tired when they get home. Walk around the neighbourhood, the local mountain or trail, a lake — anywhere that has some great views and will allow you to get your legs moving. 

Have an at-home movie marathon 

Bring Hoyts to your living room! It’s much cheaper, and there’s no travel – win-win. Pop some popcorn, maybe pick a theme – Marvel, Disney, Star Wars, 90s/00s rom-coms – and settle in.  

Swim 

There isn’t much better than swimming on a super-hot day, so jump in – whether that be into your or a friends’ backyard pool, a public pool, the beach, lake, etc. Remember sunscreen and hats! 

Hit the library 

Some of my best memories are checking out a teetering pile of library books for the holidays and tearing through them lying on the grass in the backyard. Make it a family affair: set a challenge that every member of the family has to borrow at least three items, with different genres, numbers of pages, authors, etc — it’s up to you if fishing magazines count (cue pointed look at my dad). Libraries also have audiobooks, movies, and CDs, so there’s something for everyone. 

Enrol your kids in a class 

This is a great way for kids to make friends and explore their passions (and also get them out of the house). There are so many options: theatre classes, dance classes, cooking classes, swimming classes, sewing classes, athletic classes — the possibilities are endless. 

Have a cook-off 

This is another at-home option, and the best part is it will (hopefully) result in something you can eat. Have a cook-off! You can set teams and you could compete for the best brownies, cupcakes, or more healthier options such as vegetable muffins or even a whole dinner. 

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