Thursday, September 16, 2010

Planning Events for Teenagers (Not as Easy as it Might Seem)


I had an epiphany yesterday.

No matter what activity my daughter attends these days, her main goal in life is having hang-out time with friends. If they’re not hanging and giggling and joking (and poking), they’re not happy.

It doesn’t matter what the activity is.

Well, it does a little bit. (It’s a change of scenery for them, I guess.) But the end goal is still the same. Friend time.

Now, that’s not a bad thing, considering how unsocialized homeschoolers are.

(Joking.)

But really, my daughter wants friend time. Day in, day out, 24 hours a day.

OK, maybe not really. My kid does enjoy family time. (I know, right? Unusual for a teenager…)

But really, this makes it hard for planning. Like I said before, her enthusiasm for field trips has waned over the past year. I ask, “Do you want to go to XXXXX?” Her answer? “Meh.” (Literally. She says meh.)

So when I DO plan (our own event, or sign up for someone else’s), I have to make sure the hang-out time is built in. Or that it’s purely social time.

Now you may be inclined to say, “Hmf. MY teen won’t get away with that. I’ll MAKE them do educational stuff.” Yeah. Good luck.

OK, so it’s not really all that bad. My kid does love spending time with me. And she does enjoy time with people OTHER than teens. And she still likes the educational stuff.

But I am happy to realize that her social life is healthy. Very healthy. And I have to say, she’s got some pretty amazing friends.

But for those of you who haven’t reached this stage yet…watch out. It’ll sneak up on you before you know it. (Don’t think for a moment that it won’t.) Then…good luck!

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