Help! My 12 yr. old daughter feels she is too old but I don't want her to be bored all summer. Any suggestions?
Well. technically she's old enough to babysit, anyone in your neighborhood needing someone to watch their kids a few hours a day? Mow their lawns? There are tons of things someone her age can do to keep busy. Dog walking, watering vacationers plants and flowers, washing cars, if you guys just sit down with a pen and paper I am sure you can come up with a lot of things she can do so she won't be bored.
I have a 12 year old and here is the list of things she will be doing this summer:
Volleyball Camp at the High School (2 hrs/day for 2 weeks)
Tennis Camp at the HIgh School (2 hrs/day for 2 weeks)
Volunteer at the Library for their summer reading program (2 hrs/week)
Leader-in-Training camp for a park district camp for 4-5 year olds (3 hrs/day for 2 weeks)
Overnight camp (one week)
It sounds like my daughter will be busy, but these activities are all for only a couple of hours each morning. She will still have time to hang out with her friends and go to the pool. I agree with you, you need to have some things scheduled- you don't want to hear how bored she is! Have her ask her friends what they are doing. She might be surprised that everyone else is signed up for stuff! And you need to know now so you can sign her up too!
Make sure you check out your local park district and high school for anything that is of interest. Good luck!
Well. This is not your answer to your question BUT I have to mention it. My younger sister went away to camp when she was somewhere between 10-13 yrs old. It was a camp for creative kids. They had music,art and a stage. It sounded really cool.Anyhow a couple of years ago (we are both adults now) she told our parents and me that the junior counselors were drinking getting drunk, doing other stuff, falling around and actually having sex with some of the kids. My sister was ok but she was exposed to this.
How about signing her up for a helper at a day camp in your area. She will like the fact she could make some of her own money. Here are some ideas for a fun summer. 1. host manhunt in your yard. Manhunt is hide-n-seek in the dark. We started hosting it for the neighood last summer. This was a big hit with my kids and the friends and neighood kids.2. sit down with her with a calendar and both of your decide some fun ideas.3. hiking4. picnic on the front lawn..we never get tired of picnics 5. get her an ice cream maker. 6. have a lemonade stand 7. host a neighborhood water fight we LOVE doing this 8. read together on the front porch even for 10 min its a calm way to start the day 9. put on some classical music and paint 10. have a pj day with your daughter
Because she would be an older camper, you can check into Counselors-In-Training and you usually pay less and they help the Counselors with the younger kids. Most YMCAs have a Counselor-in-Training program.
Have a great summer!
S.
There are a lot of summer day camps she can go to, maybe a theater, craft, music, sports, computer tech, arts, hip-hop, jr. medical, nature, bible... what are her interests... ? Does she have a summer reading list she can get started on? A lot of local colleges usually have day camps as well, look around to see what is being offered.
There are camps geared towards specific interests. Is there something she really likes that there might be a camp or "class" on. She could also if old enough to help at the camps she used to go to.
You don't say if you are looking for day camps or sleepover camps. If you are looking for daycamps, try something adventurous like a tae kwon do/karate day camp
