A few weeks ago, after I shared my article about what working moms of school-aged kids do in the summer, a woman sent me this message about summer activities for tween and teens:
“Would love more crowdsourced ideas for parents of tweens/teens who are aging out of day camps but still too young to get a job or fly solo.”
So, I did on Instagram, and here are the results using the quotes from the generous women who shared:
Parent Work/Vacation Strategy
Before I dig into the summer activities people recommended for teens/tweens, here are some interesting work and vacation structuring ideas that might help, regardless of what you have the kids do each week:
- Early work hours: “I start my work day early during summer 5am and work through to 1pm. The kids sleep in and have a chill morning then I am on board for the afternoon.”
- Creative Vacation Timing: “I have an 11yo so right in the thick of this. One thing we do is shift our vacation week to a Thursday through Wednesday. So it spans two weeks that would be camp and is easier to deal with parent time off or cobbling together care on either end.”
- Lighter work months: “Two working parents here- but, we are both hybrid. Kids are 12 and 10. 10 yo hates day camps. We learned through the younger ages that summer time is one of those times when we can’t commit to as much at work – so just embrace that. We do our best to get sport or dance camps – and try to space them out. One week on, one week off. On the off weeks, we coordinate days we can WFH. We schedule play dates and alternate with friends. An dget the chore charts ready! They have to do chores before screens. We also try to schedule all the regular doc appts, dentist appts, etc during this time – better than taking them out of learning time at school during this age. We always plan our vacations during this time as well. Realize not everyone can have this flexibility and luxury, but summers are special and we just try to embrace it as a different season, not only for our kids, but for the whole family.“
Check out universities and vocational-tech schools for middle school and high school kid programs
- “Universities will also sometimes run middle school and high school programs…
- “Usually anything at local colleges or universities have some summer programs”
- “Our local vo-tech [vocational-technical school] runs summer sessions for ages 11-15. My kids have learned how to create French patisserie, joined the police academy, and learned how to be surgical technicians!”
Employment & Strategic Volunteering for Later Employment (including Counselor-in-Training Roles)
- “Mother’s Helpers” (in need of a new name! ◡̈ )
- “Mother’s helpers! Daughter made a killing last summer at 13 in between camps.”
- “also speaking as a mom with way too many kids at home, mothers helpers (sorry putdated term I know) are a great role too! Babysitting without total responsibility with a huge help to parents who really just need someone to keep kids from burning the house down while they work! One of my close friends did this for a family for a long time and eventually she was just babysitting for them all summer but at first the mom was around working at the nearby restaurant and the kids played at the house next-door while my friend watched them. *outdated PSA: Don’t nurse a baby and type 😅“
- Babysitting:
- “My oldest babysits during the summer. She started at 14 by helping a neighbor and it dominoed into other families.”
- Day camp volunteering or counselor-in-training program:
- “My 15 year old has volunteered at our school’s summer day camp… It’s unpaid, but free child care for me and keeps her in a routine rather than couch rotting.”
- “I will say that in my experience a lot of day camps actually have role specifically for these kids! I went to Y camps my whole life, and there are counselor in training program programs exactly for kids who are too young for jobs but too old to really be a camper! something worth looking into if you have a kid who loves camp, but is worried that there won’t be kids there his age anymore.“
- “It is VERY difficult to find paid jobs for teens. But if they are willing to volunteer the first summer that can help lead to a paid job the next summer when/if they prove their worth.”
- “My daughter volunteered at summer camp. When she turned 16 she was hired on immediately and earned $17/hour all summer. And she likely won’t have kids 🤣🤣🤣”
Volunteering
- “[T]he library and hospitals have volunteer opportunities for that age group as well.”
- “and also worth checking into local nonprofits/community organizations/ arts programs… For example, our town has an art center that uses kids who are probably too young for a traditional jobs but can help out with kids doing art projects for their morning camp sessions, again same flavor as the counselor in training program stuff
- “I’m mapping out his summer 2027 volunteer options. It’s great experience for 13 year olds to learn how to apply for jobs, interview, etc”
- University Research Labs:
- “Honestly I’m a college prof who also directs my own research lab, a high schooler who wants to work with us is always welcome… Helps figure out what they don’t or do want to do, too”
Outdoorsy & Independent Skill-Building
- “it’s not too late to join scouting! sea scouts, venturing, girl scouts and boy scouts offer day camps where they can learn specific skills and earn merit badges”
- “Six-week backpacking programs. I did them when I was 14 and 15 throughout the Pacific Northwest and then Alaska/Yukon. Not cheap but built tons of independence and skills.”
Overnight Camps
- “Overnight camp! Not for the whole summer (for us), but lets tweens and teens be kids and also the independence of being away from home.”
Sports
- “My 13 year old plays travel softball so she’s busy with sports in the summer”
Hope that helps!
I’m sure it’s a lot, but hope this helps those with kids in these ages – and helps those of us with younger kids know what’s coming!
And no matter what your kids’ ages, this article about thinking about summer months likely is pretty useful, too!
