Looking for advice from older parents with teens

[Anonymous]

Sounds very normal to me. Even my child who has lots of friends and is very social spends a lot of time in his room and on his computer (often, talking to his friends).

I do agree with the PP's who recommended doing something as a family when you can. Time passes quickly...take advantage of family time while the kids are still at home!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Thanks everyone. I feel better. We do have weekly dinners out for sushi which we enjoy as a family and he does do intramurals at school as part of a club. Sometimes I wish we could all enjoy a tv show or a movie as a family like I did I growing up. Personal screens and Netflix etc have isolated all of us.

I have kids 5 years apart as well and it's been hard to find shows that we can all watch together. When my kids were 10ish and 15ish, we watched The Wonder Years. Both of them really liked it. They also liked Family Ties.

But you may have more luck watching shows just with DS. My DS1 (now 19 and off at college) and I watched many TV shows together, just the two of us. Among our favorites:

Friday Night Lights
The West Wing
The Office
Felicity
Lost
Modern Family

I highly, highly recommend setting aside a few hours every week to watch something with him. It gives you something to talk about, to look forward to, and best of all, some time together. Honestly, I would insist on it.