The first thing the article says is teens should read for pleasure. Anyone who knows my children knows that this is never an issue. Ever. The author states that reading for pleasure is beneficial in supporting students’ academic growth. To this I say, “Duh!”. I may have a background in education, but I’m fairly certain one just needs common sense to make this connection. The more you read, the more you know. The more you know, the better you are at understanding the world around you. The more you understand the world around you, the better you are at decision making. Seriously, common sense, people. I know that some people have a hard time getting their kids to read. That’s where the “pleasure” part comes into play. A lot of parents think that kids need to be reading highly intellectual novels. This isn’t the case. Now, this is where my education background comes into play. When I taught, my goal was to just get my students reading. I didn’t care if it was comic books, graphic novels (I do actually hate these, but they are great for reluctant readers), magazines, heck, even baseball cards or things of that sort. Reading is reading. My kids knock out the summer reading challenges at the library within the first two weeks of summer vacation every year. At this exact moment, we have 39 books checked out of the library. We have 9 more waiting to be picked up along with 66 others on hold. This might get us through June.
Some people will say that their kids just don’t have time to read. Here’s where #10 on the list can come into play, “form new screen time habits”. Studies show that avoiding screen time for one hour before going to bed promotes better quality of sleep (sleep happens to be on the list, too, and we’ll get to that). Summer rules are different from school year rules for screen time at our house. This year was different still with kids being online part of the time for school. While kids were online for school, screen time was drastically limited. Too much screen time can lead to eye strain and back and neck issues, as well as a slew of other things. Yet, we live in Ohio. Screen time in the winter can not be avoided here. That is part of why, during the summer, we limit the kids’ screen time drastically. There is so much more they can be doing during the summer instead of sitting on their electronics. The connection, though, for us, with limiting screen time and reading is that the last hour to 30 minutes before they go to bed is designated reading time. This is their down time. Time to unwind. My kids read all throughout the day, but this time right before bed is their set aside reading time. Not only is it setting screen time limits, but it’s also setting reading guidelines. We do not force them to read. Sometimes, Sunshine draws, sometimes the kids play games together, sometimes, they listen to music. Usually though, they choose to read. Phones are not allowed in their rooms after a certain time. Period. The excuse that your kid needs their phone for their alarm is moot because alarm clocks are still sold and my kids have them in their rooms. Teens’ brains are not fully developed yet, so allowing their phones to stay in their rooms while limiting screen time is just wishful thinking. You may be able to control the time they spend on apps, but texting their friends at midnight is still screen time. All electronics get plugged in downstairs until after eating breakfast each morning. In the fast paced world we live in, it’s good to force your kids, and yourself, to slow down and not have to constantly have sensory input. It will make for more well rounded teens as well as promoting healthier sleep.
With that, sleep is #8 on the list. It literally says what I said in the above paragraphs. We have no real set bedtime in the summer. We also sleep in later, but my kids do not get to sleep until whenever they would like. Days we have little to do, 10am is the latest they are allowed to sleep in. What this means is that they are in control of how rested they are. I let the kids know each night what we have going on the next day and what time they need to get up. They plan when they go to sleep accordingly. Maybe for some teens, this wouldn’t work as well, but we’ve been doing this for a while. Believe me, they get the hang of it. If they have to get up by 7, the kids have lights off by 10. We have taught guidelines for this over the years, which is why they are so good at it now. Of course there are nights they stay up way too late and are tired when they have to get up the next morning, but, more often than not, they make responsible sleep choices.
Making time to play is number two on the list. I find that this and number #6, hangout with friends, and # 7, exercise and get outside, go hand in hand. Play time is not sitting on your phone and watching TikTok videos. Hanging out with friends is not sitting in the same room while looking at your individual phones. My daughter is so fortunate that she has friends that like to do things. When the weather is nice, she and her friends ride bikes, swim, go to the park, play soccer and softball, meet up for a game of tennis, go hiking, dance (yes, they make videos, but they are making up the dances and spend more time being silly than actually taping anything). She is so fortunate to have friends who want to get out and do things rather than just sit around all day. Monster and his friends are a little more low key, but they manage to do things that don’t require them to be staring at a screen the entire time they are hanging out. My kids are also lucky because they have each other. They spend time together playing games like Uno, chess, Apples to Apples, etc. We also make it a point to spend time playing games and doing activities as a family. We take walks or go for hikes almost daily. We play baseball, spikeball, soccer, and basketball. We play card games and boardgames. Sure, we play video games, too, but more often, we are doing something more active than that. We only have so many months of the year in Ohio where the weather is nice enough to enjoy being outside, so we take full advantage of it.
Number 3 on the list is to serve your community. This one is a little tougher because, when you have kids who can’t drive, it requires parent involvement of some sort. There are so many ways you can do service. This is the first year that both of my kids are old enough to be camp counselors at Camp Invention. It is a volunteer program that not only are my kids involved in, but I am involved in as well. Aside from structured programs like that, kids can give back in so many ways. Monster helps out mowing lawns for the neighbors at times. Sunshine helps however she can with anything needed. I feel as though most of the time, people look at community service and think of big things, when, really, little things are just as important.
Going to camp also made the list of things to do. My kids have gone to various camps from the time they were old enough. From Vacation Bible school, to soccer camps, to Camp Invention, and a variety in between. I remember the first time I left Monster at soccer camp. I cried. He had a great time. Going to camp doesn’t have to mean sleep-away camp. There are so many camps that you and your kids can choose what you’re most comfortable with. This summer, both of my kids are camp counselors. One is going to tennis camp and the other, hopefully, is going to sailing camp (we’re waitlisted). It gets them out and active as well as giving them some independence.
An interesting item on the list is doing chores. My kids always have chores, but during the school year, we don’t enforce them as often as we should. School work comes first. Then sports. Chores fall to third on that list. Summer, we have more time. Since the kids were little, every morning, they have gotten a list of chores and school work to complete before they could do “fun” things. I’ve taken away the school work and the lists aren’t daily. They have chores that they need to complete before the weekend. They need to manage their own time to figure out how to accomplish them. They lose time for the things they want to do when chores aren’t completed. At 15 and 12, they should be able to manage their time efficiently.
Getting a job or starting a project is the last thing for teens to do on the summer list. When I read it, I thought how silly this one was. After all, my 15 year old has a job and my 12 year old has project after project. However, I guess there are really kids out there with little ambition to do these things. Back when they were little, we counted chores as their “job”. Starting a project though, well, it’s hard to imagine kids who don’t have a million projects going. Each of my kids always had projects to do. Whether it be an art project, science experiment, or even building things. Our house has always been filled with activities and hands-on learning.
As parents, there are so many times we feel as though we are failing our children. Every so often, like now, we realize we’ve been doing a lot of the right things. Hopefully by giving our kids these experiences and guidelines, they will be a little more well rounded. Hopefully, they will be a little more responsible. Hopefully, they will care a little more for the world and people around them. Hopefully, they will learn important life lessons. And, most importantly, hopefully, they have fun along the way.