Seeking Advice for Fun Inexpensive Activities for Boys

Hi M., I recently stumbled across a website, I believe it's called gocitykids.com. I found a lot of neat things to do and not all of them cost money. I don't know where you live, but we live between D.C. and Baltimore and each city has lots of activities, and many different places in between.

Hi!!!

All the other Moms had great ideas! Just to add to them, if you have a Lowe's and Home depot close to you, they have projects for kids on Saturdays. Home depot has it the first Saturday of the month and Lowe's has it the second and fourth Saturdays. They make really nice things too. The best part is that both of these are free!!! Also, if your son likes crafts the store Michaels has a craft for kids every Saturday. There is a minimal $2 charge for this, but it is usually nice projects.

L.

You've got lots of ideas here, M.! But what about Boy Scouts or a similar club? They do all sorts of cool things and he'd get lots of interaction with boys and men.

You don't mention whether or not he has good male role models in his life. If not, maybe you could check out Big Brothers for him. Even if he does have strong role models, you might check it out anyway because he'll have someone else presenting activity ideas to him AND give you an hour or so for yourself.

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D.

You might think about something like laser tag. If he likes video games, it's kind of like being in the video game. I know there's Shadowland out in Gaithersburg--not sure where you are. I think they charge around $20 for 3 games. Obviously rec activities are probably a lot more like real exercise, but maybe this is a way to exercise, burn off some energy, and if you're in school, you can always bring your books and study while he and a friend are in laser tag. I haven't tried it myself--my oldest is only 3, but a lot of the parents at the school where I work love it for a way to burn off excess energy and keep the kids occupied.

In the summer time, there are several water parks around Montgomery County...again not sure where you are. There's a splash park in Gaithersburg that has a splash pool and waterslides...even if you don't live in Gaithersburg, you can still go in, it just costs a few more dollars, but I think it's still under $10 for the day. There's also mini-golf there and a big park. There are a few others like that around Montgomery County but I can't think of where they are off the top of my head.

You can contact your local parks and recreation program for fun activities. Those are usually pretty inexpensive. You could take martial arts together, but that is expensive. It's so worth it though. I do it with my boys. You could get him in boy scouts or a local rec sports team. I pay $30. for my son to play soccer for a season. You could go out and play ball with him when the weather is nice. Maybe check into what's going on at the local YMCA.

I would highly recommend tae kwon do. He competes against himself (unless he wants to go to competitions), it's two or three times a week, you could actually do it with him or he could do it with other kids in the kids' class, and he can measure his progress and increase his skill level.

In our dojang there are many mothers whose children started doing tae kwon do and then started themselves.

If you do sign him up, a good school will let him do a trial membership. Also, they won't take the fee up front -- they'll let you pay monthly. And they shouldn't guarantee your son a black belt. You don't want what is known as a Belt Factory, where your child progresses whether he's attained the skills or not.

Would your son be interested in doing arts and crafts? You can look up activities for kids on the internet, just do a search, or go to a book store to look up a book with ideas of what to do. Maybe having him do these activities w/ a friend while u just teach it to them or watch would be good too.

My son was very much the same way, TV, video games, etc. We tried baseball, and other team style sports, but he just isn't the athletic type. We then took him to a martial arts school, just to watch, and that was the ticket. We signed him up and he is now 2 tests away from his junior black belt. Even though my son is VERY indersized for his age, it has given him self esteem, and he is getting exercise to boot. His school charges about 70 dollars a month for 3-4 classes a week, but you could start with just a few DVD's to see if he is interested, and then call your local township or boys club because many offer classes like that at a reduced price. It also helped with his grades, his Master rewards good report cards with certificates and star badges to sew on their uniforms. Another plus is he will meet other kids, and the kids in his classes are much better influences than a lot of the kids at his school. Also, try the Y like Jennifer said. There are lots of great activities there. Good Luck.

www.familyfun.com is a great website that should lead you in the right direction. I know its not always feasible to take them somewhere and a lot of these things you can do at home. I see that you live in Baltimore. Check out the libraries both city and county. They have everything from karate demonstrations to music classes. The city site is www.epfl.net and the county is www.bcpl.info. Someone else mentioned Bohrer Park in Gaithersburg. That place is great! And inexpensive! Just take a picnic lunch and you are good. Here is the site for them: http://www.gaithersburgmd.gov/poi/default.asp?POI_ID=6&am...;

We have three boys 12, 11, 8 and live in the city. We have enjoyed just about every neighborhood park there is and our favorites are Mary Munford and Lombardy Park where there is also a wonderful KubaKuba restaurant that serves limeade or hot chocolate and lattes if its cold. We love the tennis courts at Byrd Park, walking the lake or riding the peddal boats when they come out in the spring. We LOVE Bell Island and the hike across the expansion bridge is scooter friendly as well. The Science Museum is not too expensive to join and it includes free IMAX tickets so a grandparent who is looking for a good gift might consider that one. Enjoy!