Finding Things to Do With Older Teen Boys...When They Don't Have Time for You Anymore

I am a 38 year old wife and the mother of two wonderful teenage boys that don’t have much time for me anymore. It’s either their girlfriends or having to work. When I do get a chance to spend time with them, I make the best of it. There are a lot of fun things to do with teens. Just because you’re a parent, does not mean that you can’t let go and just have fun. There is always time to be silly.

I try to keep myself up to date on what my boys are interested in and then we take it from there. They spend a lot of time online or just playing games. I notice that they make a lot videos and place them on YouTube. I decided to join in on the fun. It don’t take much to do this.

All you need is a video camera, props and unique characters. Then you brainstorm. So far, we have made commercials, short movies and anything tasteful that would make someone laugh.

I have also learned how to play video games. It just takes a little time to learn how to maneuver the game controls. There are a lot of ways to find cheat codes online for certain games. If you learn some of the cheat codes, they can take you to special levels that are hidden in the game. You will have them confused and surprised at the same time.

I love to go to a place that have go-carts, laser tag and paintball. When we play laser tag and paintball, we are always on the same team and a force to be reckoned with . It’s fun and it is a good workout. I absolutely love the go-carts. I am so competitive in nature, I try to out race them every time.

We also like to go to amusement parks. I am a thrill seeker so I get on every ride. The roller coasters are my favorite. I also like to jump off and out of things. When they have things of that nature to offer, I jump at the opportunity. It's unfortunate that I have passed this on to my boys. However, the adrenaline rush is fun!

I forgot to mention about going to a rock climbing gym. It's a very good workout. Parents don't worry they have beginner walls for you to climb or you can just put on the gear, stand there and look cool.

I am lucky that I still have a lot of energy and that I was a tomboy growing up. I play baseball and flag football with my boys and their friends. It feels good that my boys want me on their team. Their friends tell them that they wish their mother would come out and play with them. Doing things like this keeps me young.

I know it’s hard to get your teens away from all of the technology. If you are successful, it’s fun to go old school and play a board game. We play games like Scattegories, Apples to Apples, Monopoly and Scrabble.

I am aware that my boys love to put things together. I caught their interest when I bought a model car for us to put together. I was so proud and amazed on how they worked together to make sure that everything was perfect.

Art is another good thing to do. It does not have to be something hard. I buy the paper for scrap booking. I make different shapes and designs with the paper and we glue them to a poster board. You will be surprised with some of the things that you can create.

My boys love to eat pizza so we try to make a pizza one night out of the week. It is a great family activity. The clean up is not fun but it’s all about the time spent with each other.

I know that many of us are busy trying to take care of our families and have no time to breathe. If you have just one moment or maybe just an hour in a day, please try to take some time to spend with your teens. Try to learn to do something that they like to do. I know it’s not easy with my teens but I still try.