Reply to 13 year old DS. Too old for camp; too young for a job. How do I keep him busy?

Forum Index » Tweens and Teens

Reply to "13 year old DS. Too old for camp; too young for a job. How do I keep him busy?"

Subject:

Emoticons





More smilies

Text Color: Font: Close Marks

[quote=Anonymous]Think outside the box of traditional "camp."

Call it camp or call it classes or workshops but there are tons of things out there for kids his age. If he likes computer games, there are computer programming "camps" for kids his age and he can probably end up creating his own game. There are half-day writing camps (one to two weeks), drama camps and classes, sports camps and lessons (if he isn't into team sports, he could try something totally new--fencing, archery, golf, tennis, whatever). Lego robotics and other engineering-type fun "building" camps are out there too.

Let him get on the local parks and recreation department summer programs web site with you and let him find something he wants to do, whether it's a class that meets eight times over the summer or a one-week, all-day "camp" or any other format. Private companies as well as county and city recreation departments offer all these kinds of things. Teens can actually find a lot to do if they think outside the "camp" box and you're able to get him to wherever he needs to be. It's getting late to register for some things and some will be full already, but they also get kids who drop out so you will find something!

Volunteering is terrific but be aware: Some organizations do not accept volunteers under about 14. A few do, though. Here is an excellent resource if you are in Northern Va.:
www.volunteerfairfax.org
www.fairfaxcounty.gov/volunteering/
www.fairfaxcounty.gov/parks/volunteer
If you are not in Fairfax County, whatever county you are in likely also has a big volunteering section on its county government web site. Fairfax has a document that lists a ton of volunteer opportunites and many are not just county government organizations. Also check with the Red Cross, Salvation Army and other major charitable organizations--they have age restrictions but that might depend on the volunteer job being done.[/quote]

Options

	Disable HTML in this message
	Disable BB Code in this message
	Disable smilies in this message

Review message

Search Recent Topics Hottest Topics