It is so easy to plan activities for children to enjoy for the summer months, as young children are relatively easily pleased by picnics and nature trails. When you have teenagers at home, it’s hard to drag them out of their bedroom, away from their tablets and into the great outdoors! Most teenagers love the idea of the long summer break, but most also get bored by the second week. With empty days stretching ahead of them, packing them with activities gets more and more difficult.

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A holiday like this one is always the best way to fill the time for the summer break, but when the budget doesn’t stretch that far they’ll need some help from you to fill the time in the most fun way possible. Take a look at these suggestions for a fun summer break:

• Family challenge: If you haven’t got much of a budget for the summer, try out the family challenge game. It’s easy as pie! As a family, you come up with a weekly activity and create a leader board at home. Who can build the biggest card tower? Who can make the best evening meal? It’s a great way to compete and bond together.
• Play time: It’s not just kids that like to play games. Teenagers love super soakers and water balloons so don’t be a spectator; get involved and have fun with them. Show them you can get just as competitive and show them that they’re not the only water fight connoisseur!
• A trip: Just because you can’t manage a family holiday due to work commitments or budget, that doesn’t mean you can’t give your teenager some freedom. There are some excellent summer mission trips for high school students you can invest in to get your teenager out of their comfort zone and thinking of someone else. They’ll be interested and keep busy during the summer and hopefully mature a little while they’re away.
• Learning: Teenagers thrive on a challenge, so getting them to start a garden of their own to grow vegetables and nurture outside can be a great time. Teach them to cook, to bake and to take responsibility for their own laundry. They have to learn sometime and if they plan to go to college one day they’ll need to learn to fend for themselves!
• Join a class: Encourage your teenager to take up a new activity or sport. Challenge them to join a martial arts class and challenge your teen to cycle a certain number of miles a week. Not only can they keep fit and keep away from the screens at home, but they can enjoy some time in the great outdoors without younger siblings trailing behind them!

Your teenager doesn’t have to spend their summer bored out of their minds. If you can put your heads together to come up with a plan so that the weeks are stuffed to the brim with things they can enjoy, learn and feel good about, it’s a winning summer.