By bike to the Maas, then the ferry and back. To the playground nearby. Feeding kids. Have a picnic on the Maas and watch boats. All activities I used to do with my children. Gave them sand and water and they had fun all afternoon. They were quick and satisfied with little. But unfortunately also all activities that they have outgrown. It is also more difficult to be satisfied, adolescents quickly find it boring. In other words; saaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa. What activities can you still do with an adolescent?
Yes, nowadays everything is usually boring and stupid what we want to do. They prefer to sit in front of their computer, skype, chat and play games with friends. We have sometimes urged them, for example, to go for a walk. It became a drama. They were constantly arguing along the way, they were complaining like real teenagers that walking was incredibly boring and they sighed. Not cozy. In the end everyone was grumpy, so I gave up on that. I might as well give them household chores, the result is the same.
On holiday we met a family during a tour of the Spanish island of Ibiza. The two daughters, aged twenty plus, started talking to our children. They asked how they liked the holiday. “Boring,” was the reply. I had a lot of trouble with that. I thought they sounded like two very spoiled brats at the time. After all, there are plenty of children who cannot go on a family vacation.
The daughters of the family saw my facial expression, and hooked on it. One of them said:“When you are a little older you will realize and appreciate what your parents have done for you. That's not yet, but it will come, that's how it went with us too." I thought the lady's words were very wise. She might be right about that. At least I sincerely hope so. Again, I find this adolescent behavior very difficult.
Last weekend was the fair in the village. There was a band playing on Saturday night. My husband and I attended with our group of friends (obviously). Our oldest and youngest teenager were also there with their group of friends, so not boring 😉 . The weather was nice, everyone was outside. Regularly one of our sons came to us for a long time to say "hi". And get coins. (Now I don't know, or really, which was more important, the hello or the coins, but that aside.)
At one point the youngest came to join us and we were all dancing. Awesome. The eldest is not much of a dancer, but it was just great fun to have fun together at the fair. Apparently teenagers don't find everything boring after all. It is different from watching boats on the Maas or cycling to the playground, but very valuable.
Both our boys play football. My husband and I love nothing more than to watch, sympathize and encourage those matches. Afterwards it is always nice to chat (If the profit has been won, it is of course more fun than with a loss). “Did you see that action, and, that was really not offside, and, that was a really nice goal, huh?!”
Once we were all sitting around the table chatting about this, I realized that I shouldn't worry so much about what activities I should do with my teenagers. I don't think it's that bad this way. Maybe it's best that we just enjoy whatever we get from them. And yes, the competition with a screen is high. But I thoroughly enjoy all the moments together. It is in a different way than before, but something different suits every age. I'm curious how this goes in other families?
