Teenagers can be a real pain. I know, I used to be one. It can be difficult to try and bond with teenagers since they like to spend most of their time in their room on their laptop watching Netflix. Here are a few ways that you can spend quality time with your troublesome teens, without making them cringe and roll their eyes.
For The Sports Nut
It’s all too common knowledge that the youth of today spend too much time on their phones and behind a screen. Don’t we all, though? It is estimated that people spend up to two hours and fifty minutes a day consuming media on their smartphones alone. That’s a lot. If you’d like to get away from the screen for a while and spend some time with your kids, why not go for a bike ride? Robin from Cycles Galleria offers his advice why a bike ride is a great way to spend some time with your teen. “Is it possible to get teenagers into cycling? It sure is! The outlook for our sons' and daughter's life expectancy can be radically improved if they stay active during their teenage years. Using skill, cunning, persuasion and varying doses of tough love during these crucial formative years, parents can influence this significantly. But don’t expect any thanks!
Whether it's to boost fitness, health or bank balance, or as an environmental choice, taking up bicycle riding could be one of the best decisions your teenager could ever make.
When hitting the road for a family ride with your teenage son or daughter, it doesn’t matter if your paces aren’t perfectly matched – just slow down and enjoy each other’s company. And cycling makes sense: exercise helps release feel-good hormones, so after a ride, you’ll once again enjoy that loving feeling towards each other even if he fails to clean his room or her hair straightener was left on again! So hit the open road, take in the fresh air and enjoy the numerous health benefits of cycling with your teenager (even if they think it's not "cool"). Find out more about Cycles Galleria by following them on Facebook and Instagram.
For The Fashionista
Teens have the world at their fingertips thanks to the world of smartphones. They have their finger constantly on the pulse with the latest trends, whether it be in fashion or technology, so if they’re keeping tabs on what’s the next big thing, why not share that love with them? Take your kids on a trip to Madame Tussaud’s, where they have a huge new exhibition for Fashion Week. “The all-new Fashion Week experience recently launched in Madame Tussauds Sydney. Guests can immerse themselves in the glitz and glamour of the fashion world like never before. Get up-close and personal with some of the hottest faces in fashion, including Miranda Kerr, Elle McPherson and our newest wax figure edition, Megan Gale.” Find out more about Madame Tussaud’s latest exhibition by following them on Facebook and Instagram.
For The Tech Head
The techy teenagers can be often hard to please, as they’re happy spending time on their laptops and phones for hours on end. However, as easy as it is to want to leave them be, it’s important to find out what they’re doing. Whether they’re learning some new coding tricks, investigating their 3D printer or even just watching Game of Thrones, sit down with them for a minute or two and find out about it. Actually, if they’re watching Game of Thrones, maybe just let them be. You can’t watch that show with your kids. Once you find out what they’re doing, you can begin doing some fun projects with them. These can include making your own hologram projector for your smartphone, design robots together and even make little life hacks that can make your life so much easier. You can easily make these things with your home decor, and spend some quality time with your family creating something exciting!
For The Budding Gardener
Getting down in the dirt is a great way to spend some time with your family. Grab your shovel, lawn mower and even some seedlings and spend the afternoon outside. What’s great about gardening, is that you can spend some time together, but you don’t have to spend every second together, leaving you both enough space to enjoy yourselves. Jaime Turner from Urban Food Garden explains why gardening is a great bonding activity to spend with your family, even after the age of twelve. “Children this age want to feel like they are contributing to family life and may wish to cook a gourmet meal using their own veggies and herbs. Gardens are also like "living laboratories" for school assignments on ecology and animal and plant life. Kids who learn to appreciate Mother Nature from an early age will mature into teenagers who are able to respect people, nature and the community. And who knows, they might be budding botanists or landscape designers in the making!” Find out more about Urban Food Garden by following them on Facebook and Instagram.
For Everyone In Between
Sometimes you can’t think of anything to do, so you just want to hang out with your kid. This is totally fine, and it can be a lot of fun! You can sit and watch TV together, go shopping for some new gadgets, or even help renovate parts of the house together! It can be a great bonding experience if you let them grab a paintbrush and work on parts of the house; it’s a bonding moment that they’ll remember, plus they’ll gain the feeling of trust from their parents, which is always a plus. Sit them down, have a chat. Yeah, it can be cringe worthy for both you and them, but just talking to your kids can improve your relationship massively. Teenagers may act as if they want to spend all their time alone, but more often than not, they need advice from someone older, even if you “don’t understand” what they’re going through. Who knows, they may have something huge to share, or maybe they don’t feel well, or maybe they just need a new bed frame because they’ve grown faster than expected. You never know unless you have a chat with them.
Teens can be a real hassle, but they’re just in between stages and don’t know what they’re doing. I guess we’re all kind of in that phase too. Rather than avoiding them at all costs, get to know their interests, and even if you’re completely clueless on the subject, sit down and learn about it. It can be really rewarding for both of you.
