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Activities for Summer Vacation
How to Get Your Teenager Away from the Couch By Gwen Morrison
"Turn off that TV!"
Sound familiar? What can parents do when their teenager sleeps until noon and then rises only to turn on the tube and lie around on the couch all day? Research indicates that activity levels decline at a steady rate as children move into their adolescent years. According to the Surgeon General's report on physical education and fitness, nearly half of American youths aged 12 to 21 are not vigorously active on a regular basis, and 14 percent report no recent physical activity at all.
"I like to go camping, let them garden," says Elizabeth Ferree of Yuma, Ariz. Or as an alternative, "Tell them you'll assign chores," she says."This will normally have them out the door and running."
Many parents agree that as their children get older, they seem to spend less time doing physical activities. Margaret Helmstetter, a mom from Sierra Vista, Ariz., has allowed her two children only limited time in front of the television. Her son is now 16, and her daughter is grown. "TV in our house is a once-a-week thing," she says. "Once a week is family movie night."
- Plan a baseball game at a local park. Invite his friends.
- Join an exercise class together.
- Plan a nightly jog through the neighborhood.
- Invite friends over for a weekly car wash. Bribe them with food!
- Go golfing or play a game of one-on-one basketball.
- Clean out the garage and have a sale.
- On a rainy day, play a board game.
- Learn a new language together.
- Take an art class.
- Join a book club.
