There’s a certain air of anticipation in our household right now. Tomorrow we shall be entering new and uncharted territory; my teenaged nephew will be flying in from the USA to stay with us for a few days.
This is a whole new world to us. We’re used to entertaining young children. We inhabit a world of paddling pools, petting farms, visits to the park and, on an adventurous day, a visit to the Natural History or Science Museums in London.
What, though, does one do with a teenager? Something tells me the usual activities won’t quite cut it for this kid and why should they?
When I was his age, I would have wanted to drink booze and meet girls. I also excelled at doing a terrible job of both.
Of course I am not his age. I am his uncle and in a position of responsibility.
I have, naturally, attempted to scare his mother by cracking jokes about taking him whisky tasting and to Larry Flint’s Hustler Bar. Needless to say ‘though, I will do no such thing (for the record, I have never been to a strip club and have no desire to).
I guess we may go to the cinema. We may even go to the theatre one evening. There’s always the Tower of London, but I’m not sure a teenager is particularly interested in Beefeaters, ravens or the controversy surrounding the Koh-I-Noor diamond.
One kind individual offered to take us paintballing. Great idea, but I have to think of Toddler Adams who will be a constant companion over the next few days. I’m really not sure paintballing is her type of thing.
I’m kinda hoping he arrives with a copy of Lonely Planet with all the places he wants to visit marked off in highlighter pen. That’d make life much easier.
This also makes me wonder how families with large age gaps between the children keep them entertained? In fact it reminds me of my own childhood. I’m older than my brothers by about 10 years. Being a teenager was quite dull because anything we did had to be youngster friendly.
Enough about my past ‘though. Wish us luck, it’s going to be an interesting and educational experience.
Pic credit; Blackhart. Sourced from Pixabay.com and reproduced under Creative Commons agreement.
18 thoughts on “Entertaining a teenager. How does one do it?”
Teenagers eat an awful lot, not necessarily in one go but often during the day so any trip you plan will need to probably revolve round that…..lol oh and don’t forget most teens don’t start their day till midday ish.
And he’ll be jetlagged. Do I plan the day from 5pm I wonder?
Eek! Good luck! Teenagers get up late and spend a lot of time on their phones and devices. They do thrive on individual attention though, if that’s possible. He will probably want to hang around some shops and would probably be interested in some of London’s main tourist attractions.
When it comes to spending time on phones and devices, I may outdo him. Let’s not forget I’m a blogger! Will also stock up on food.
Definitely take him to the pub.
And the strip club.
I remember being heavily into computer games and music as a teenager. I also liked basketball and rollerblading. I have no real suggestions of use, other than investing in a PS4 and a pair of Roces.
Yeh, definitely take him to the pub.
As it happens I’m quite into rollerblading. To coin an old fashioned phrase, this is a “wizard” idea. We can rollerblad to the pub and back. Hurrah!
How can I put that, an than adding to those two first comments!! No, teen agers do not sleep late.depending how they are raised and what type of children they are, they wake up at a normal time, and want to enjoy the day!!!Than he will also like spending time with his nieces 🙂 And with his uncle and aunt.. And yes if you feel like it , you can take him to drink a beer, he still is a european Kid, so it is fine with a beer once in a while.Than teen age kids do like to do sight seeing, and why not the tower of London ?
Yes he eats like a whale, but not trough the entire day, at meal times. All in the education. And the most important thing is, don`t forget, your nephew is the one who asked to come and spend time with you. Which means he just wants to be around his family and spend quality time :):):) I am sure you are going to be a great Uncle, I have no worries what so ever :):)
I get the impression I am in trouble with my sister.
I love that! I think we box teenagers in when in fact they do quite enjoy spending time with family and seeing the sights. My kids don’t eat loads either….although more than a toddler!
By the way, post a picture of your nephew, because with that picture, I don`t get the idea.. LOL 🙂
Tell you what, I’ll return him to you looking like the kid in the picture.
Instead of paint balling try laser tag as it’s more younger child friendly, also depending what he’s in to musically are there any music festivals you can partake in? My boys even though they are are in to EDM music they love to go to the local Jazz festival. There is also a football game as that’s an experience on it’s own I am sure. How about the London eye or street markets?
Gosh, what do you do with a teenager?! I have no idea but the idea of Toddler Adams getting kitted out for a spot of paintballing did make me giggle!
Anything London-centric, I would say, that involves technology & music, although that could expose your Dad-dancing-tendancies, although I don’t know your taste in music so I could’ve just insulted you there. Sorry, John!
What I remember as a teenager was that no one listened to what I wanted to do, so maybe just ask him the question…and wait for the silence!
Best of luck, I look forward to the updates!
I fear we did London and it went horribly wrong. Although we intended to do the tourist stuff, the poor kid got dragged around almost every book shop in the capital while looking for an EM Forster title he needed for the course he is studying at Cambridge. Can you believe we went to six, yes SIX, stores to find The Longest Journey. We’re not talking small stores either, think of the biggest book stores in the capital. It was embarassed to be British.
+1 for laser tag! And its not only tun for teenager…
Laser tag, I should have thought of that!
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Actually, I think he might quite enjoy the Tower of London or perhaps a boat on the Thames to see the sights? How old is he? Best of British anyway!