Is your teen spending summer just slouching around? Even without a summer job, there are plenty of productive and interesting things teens can do with their time. Here are 22 fresh ideas.

 

by Ryan G. Van Cleave

Here's the bad news:  more teens are staying home in the summers instead of getting a job. Sure, some are simply too young to work. But even those who are old enough and are eager to work are having an extraordinarily difficult time finding anything. In May 2010, employment for 16- to 19-year-olds grew by less than 6,000, which is the smallest increase since 1969! By comparison, the past two Mays saw teen employment grow by more than 100,000 each year.

Blame the lousy economy. Blame the leisure and hospitality industry for cutting back on jobs at theme parks, restaurants, and hotels—all prime-time venues for teen summer jobs. Blame the elderly who are going back to work. Blame President Obama. Blame the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The fact is that the kids are home, so what the heck are we to do with them?

No single option will work for every teen, but here are 22 possibilities that can help keep a teen from being bored this summer and save your parenting style from descending into madness. Just don't tell them that these are all educational in their own way! Share this list with your teen and see what happens.

1.  Get a part-time job at home. Pet sitting. Basic office work. Washing the cars every week.

2.  Tour your own hometown. Visit the museums, parks, and historic areas in your own area.

3.  Learn to play an instrument. Set aside an hour a day to learn the guitar, drums, or piano. Supplement with professional lessons, or simply go it alone.

4.  Volunteer. The local library, animal shelter, and elderly care facility always need extra hands. Also consider offering your time and expertise for vacation Bible school or a park district youth sports program.

5.  Make a YouTube viral video. Get creative with the video camera and have some fun. See if you can create the next "Star Wars Kid" or "Numa Numa" video.

6.  Challenge yourself to complete a summer reading list. Most libraries have one. Or find a "Reading Group Favorites" or "Teen Summer Reading List" online—like the “Ultimate Teen Reading List” at Teenreads.com.

7.  Write a poem. Read some of Shakespeare's poems for inspiration, then give it a shot. Give yourself permission to write an especially awful one first. Then try a good one. Try carrying a notebook or journal to keep track of your poetic ideas as they come to you.

8.  Research colleges and universities. Consider visiting some of the likeliest candidates, too. It's never too early to start planning (or saving) for college.

9.  Got to a summer camp. It sounds like a cliché, but there are more summer camp options for teens than ever before. Check TeenSummerCamps.com, TeensCamp.net, and the American Camp Association to locate camps especially for teens.

10.  Create a digital archive. Gather all the old snapshots and VHS home movies, then digitize them. (Don't throw away the originals—just in case!)

11.  Invest in a foreign language training program. See if you can develop some passable French, Spanish, or Chinese. It'll look great on job resumes and college applications.

12.  Spend time with parents. Plan a Monopoly evening, a "Kids Do the Cooking" dinner, or a "Clean the Car from Top to Bottom" Saturday afternoon. Try a different event or two each week and use these times to improve parent/teen communication.

13.  Start your own business. Start a dog-walking business, an envelope-stuffing group, or a designer cupcake company.

14.  Think BIG. Make a list of 10 ways the world could be a better place. Select any one and do what you can to make a difference.

15.  Give back to the community. Pick up roadside trash, mow the grass in an empty lot, or sweep up broken glass in the street.

16.  Exercise. Whether you're in shape or not, get on that bike, take up jogging, play basketball with friends, or join the YMCA. Try to get some quality exercise at least three times a week.

17.  Start a garden. Help keep your family healthy by growing your own fruits and vegetables. This will help keep the grocery bill down too.

18.  Begin a blog. Learn how to start a blog and get writing on any of your favorite topics. Try to post an entry at least every other day for an entire month. (Pick a topic that you're really interested in or you'll lose momentum fast.)

19.  Help a charity. Organize a neighborhood garage sale and donate the proceeds to the Red Cross, or have a book drive for a local church or charter school.

20.  Learn a magic trick. Get a good magic how-to book and teach yourself a card or coin trick.

21.  Take a community college class. Community colleges have lots of inexpensive (sometimes free) classes for the general public. Take a class or two in cooking, golf, or anything else you're interested in.

22.  Find an internship. There might not be enough actual summer jobs for every teen, but there are tons of unpaid internships where you can learn useful skills, improve the resume, and get the inside track to a future full-time job.

And parents, remember to keep an eye out for last-minute openings at your own place of work that aren't well publicized.

The thing about teens is that they will find something to keep themselves busy on their own, but more often than not, it seems, what they choose is expensive, noisy, or something that will drive you crazy. Reward and support them when they find activities that you approve of.

 

The father of two, Ryan G. Van Cleave teaches writing and literature at the Ringling College of Art & Design. His writing has appeared in many venues, including The Christian Science Monitor, National Geographic Adventures, The New York Times Review of Books, People, and Writers' Digest.

© Photo by Michael Danielson | Dreamstime.com

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Inspire Your Kids to Cook

 

by Christina DiMartino

 

Your kids—boys and girls alike—express a desire to cook from a very early age, likely without your even realizing it. They make mud pies in the sandbox, play with child-sized cooking sets, and organize kitchens in doll houses or play areas, and they probably inquire about what you’re cooking from the time they begin to communicate.

 

Kids Cooking Activities offers up reasons why you should encourage cooking activities with your kids. (Set up link at underlining to http://www.kids-cooking-activities.com)

 

* Cooking with your children helps them to learn about nutrition and healthy eating. 

* Cooking in the kitchen will give children a boost of self confidence. They are accomplishing a task, learning something important, and contributing to the family.

* Taking time to cook with your kids will give them lasting memories. They will pass the traditions on when they are grown and have their own families.

* In the enthusiasm of creating something themselves, your children will be more likely to eat what they had a hand in making.

* Kids learn real lessons in science, language, math, and creativity in the kitchen. Cooking will help reinforce all these subjects.

* Cooking is a great way to learn life skills. This is especially helpful when children are older and more independent. They won't have to rely on fast food and junk food to sustain them.

* Working together in the kitchen teaches your child teamwork.

* Cooking teaches children planning and making choices skills.

* Kids practice creativity and imagination in the kitchen. Cooking activities are a great way for kids to express themselves and enjoy their creations.  

 

It may take longer to get the meal or snack done, but the moments with your children will be priceless. Remember to have patience. Don't worry about flour on the floor or spilled milk.

 

A role model for cooking with kids

 

Cooking With Kids, a series of 90-second videos, is hosted by James Beard Award-winning chef John Sarich. Development of the program was inspired by the reality of childhood obesity, anorexia and other eating disorders, Type II Diabetes, and low bone density, which have all become national issues. Cooking With Kids encourages parents and children to spend time in the kitchen together preparing healthy meals in ways that improve communication and help children develop healthy nutritional habits. (Set up link at underlining to http://www.cookingwithkids.org/fact.html)

 

The program shows how easy it is for kids to prepare snacks and meals that taste good and that are good for them. It uses the five food groups as a platform for nutrition messages. You can watch the videos with your children through the website, then print out the recipe and go try it yourselves.

 

The recipes that Sarich prepares with kids on the segments teach them which categories on the United States Department of Agriculture’s Food Pyramid are included in the recipe. He explains how vegetable burritos, for example, include foods that have protein, fiber and dairy, and that the burritos are low in fat.

 

Good cooking habits

 

Spatulatta provides 350 step-by-step videos that teach kids good cooking habits, and offers advice for moms, dads and kids on numerous issues related to cooking with kids. It emphasizes topics like teaching kids to wash their hands properly before handling food.  (Set up link at underlining to http://www.spatulatta.com)

 

When it comes to working in the kitchen, you know your children. You know what abilities they have and how fine their motor skills are. Some children are ready to handle a certain kitchen utensil or work at the stove earlier than others. It’s up to you to make that determination.

 

You set the rules in your kitchen, such as you will always light the burners and oven for your children.

 

Go over the workings of every electrical appliance with your child. Explain that the beaters, for example, should be inserted into a hand mixer before the mixer is plugged in.

 

Safety and courtesy are behaviors that need to be re-enforced and modeled.

 

Once you've explained how to handle an item safely, try asking your child to tell you how to do it the next time the task is required when making a recipe. We all learn best when we try to teach.

 

 

CREDIT:

Christina DiMartino has been a freelance and assignment writer since 1985. She is a researcher, interviewer, writer, editor, and manuscript collaborator with a repertoire of clients from around the world.

 

 

PHOTO / ILLUSTRATION RECOMMENDATIONS:

Go to http://www.cookingwithkids.org

 

 

TEASER: 

Cooking with your kids does much more than produce tasty treats! It teaches teamwork, safety, courtesy, math, science, and more, and encourages creativity and imagination. And there are some terrific online videos that will help you get started.