From the article: Keep Your Teen from Getting Bored this Summer by Organizing Their Time
What family routines, rules and responsibilities change in your home over the long summer break for you and your teen? Does your teen have a later curfew? Do you leave them a list of chores to be done while you are at work during the day? Are they allow to have friends over? Does your teen work, go to camp or stay online all day? Please share your experiences, rules and advice. Share Your Advice
Our Pool
- We have a house with a in-ground pool that is pretty hard to take care of day in and day out when you work full time. As of last year, we gave the responsibility of keeping it clean and running to our teen son, since he wanted it opened. He did a good job, not slacking too much, and delegating a few of the simpler chores to his younger siblings. Helped us and he got what he wanted plus he got to learn a new responsibility!!
- —Guest mamajo
Will Work for Experience
- My teen won't turn 16 until the end of July so paid summer employment is not really an option. However, I have required that our teen volunteer at our church summer camp to earn her allowance and extra money for the summer. This way she learns work ethic, responsibility and money management and also earns her required community service hours for high school. It makes good sense because she will be in my pocket all summer anyhow, but this way she is being productive rather than sleeping until noon and the church/community is benefiting as well.
- —Guest Volunteer time in exchange for allowance
Later curfew and wake-up time
- I allow my teen to stay up later and have a later 'lights out' at night along with allowing them to sleep in. But they help out more around the house and they are expected to have a job when they are 16yos. We are so very busy in the summer that it seems to go by so fast without too much of a hiccup in our family routines.
- —Libby
