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Organizing Your Teen's Summer

By Teri Brown

Do you remember the lazy, hazy summer days of youth? Lying out by the lake, sleeping in, hanging out with friends? Well, those days are no more. Today's teens are faced with a dizzying array of summer choices, and many of those choices are geared toward preparing for their future. With so many options, it's often difficult to choose, and the logistics of who needs to be where at what time can be a nightmare.

Holly Beckman, mother of three from Tigard, Ore., has been juggling crammed summers ever since her first child became a teen, and now that her youngest is almost 16, the stress of juggling the calendar can be overwhelming.

"We have to start planning early," she says. "We get the calendar out sometime in January and have a family meeting. Everyone has a chance to talk about what's really important to them, and then we prioritize."

Sports take a top spot on the list as their son is a competitive football player with an eye toward scoring a scholarship. Family vacations also take priority. "We have a standing family reunion campout every year, but had to miss it last year because we decided as a family to take a longer more elaborate vacation and couldn't do both," Beckman says. "Usually, we pencil in the set items and then negotiate for the rest. This year both our remaining children will have to get jobs as well, so that complicates things further."

As her children get older, Ann Friedrick, of Scholls, Ore., and her family are planning more family activities. "Though we carefully take into consideration what the children would like to do, we're also trying to plan more getaways as a family," she says. "We're finding that our time together is short, so these trips hold more significance now."

Laura Hammond, editor-in-chief of Next Step Magazine, a monthly career and life-planning publication for high school students, says that teens who can get a job should. "Money of their own gives them a sense of ownership over their purchases and helps develop their maturity," she says. "Be sure your teen is clear with her employer about any vacations or other time off required. Other things for teens to consider doing over the summer include summer programs at local colleges, study-abroad programs through community colleges, campus tours the summer before junior year and also spending time with family before heading off to college."

According to Hammond, giving your teen the responsibility of having a job during the summer, going on campus tours and enrolling in summer programs will all help a teen practice crucial time-management skills. They need to learn how to handle responsibilities as well as making time for friends. "This doesn't mean they should necessarily be working 40-hour weeks in the summertime," she says. "But colleges respect teens who can handle a lot on their plates, including part-time work, and it is always better to brag about a job or internship to an admissions rep than to brag about how late you slept in each day."

Want to see more?

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