Every Day is an Adventure
I know this can be lost on teenagers, but it’s the truth. And honestly, as parents we need to impress this idea on them that every day is an adventure. Kids are learning to be entertained from a young age, no matter where they go. In my opinion, it’s vital to model that every day can be an adventure if we choose it. That doesn’t mean we always have an amazing thing to look forward to. It’s more of a mindset. We love our life in our community and we’re dedicated to the life we have in between the big adventures. In fact, we appreciate our adventures even more! The time in between, though, doesn’t have to be boring or mundane.
Pursuit of Passions leads to Adventures
In the every day moments we encourage each other to pursue passions and interests. Sometimes those interests are short lived and sometimes they turn into full-blown passions. Either way, we celebrate and incorporate them into life. We have even been known to plan an entire vacation around a pursuit-call us crazy! Here’s the thing. When you incorporate pursuits into your daily life those daily tasks become filled with purpose. Point your teens to books and top podcasts for teens that will weave their way into their big dreams. Encourage the learning, which will often grow into a pursuit. Working hard means you get to play hard and we get to do it together!
Go on an adventure through the books, podcasts and even movies. We don’t do screen time during the week, but we are making a list of top 10 adventure movies to spur on our stoke in the everyday.
Adventure At Home
Life between the adventures doesn’t have be drudgery. Academics and activities take up a lot of time for teens and parents work hard during the week. The down time should be done in a place that is comfortable and welcoming. We are outside people so you’ll find us on our front porch eating, playing, napping or reading just about every day. As kids reach teen years it gets harder and harder to keep them at home, but continue to work on it. Although teens start to spread their wings, they still want to have a safe place to land. Invest in activities that keep teens happy like age appropriate board games, lawn games, good food, more food, and a place for them to hang out with their friends.
Family Adventure Ideas
Doing adventures together as a family brings a bonding that cannot be replaced. Small day adventures and long weekend adventures can do wonders for teens to break up the monotony of regular life. It’s so good for their mental health to have a break from school and sports activities. Doing it with family keep those conversations going during the sometimes difficult teen years.
- Take a day trip to a state park for a hike or other outdoor activity
- Do a thematic dinner night like sushi or Mexican-go ALL out
- Do a family photo shoot
- Plan the next big adventure together
- Come up with a fun family challenge around your teens interests (running, eating, trivia night at a local pizza place, etc.)
- Try something new as a family like paddle boarding or fly fishing
- Do something for another family in need
- Invite another family on a picnic
- Start a family investment account where everyone gets input and a vote
- Go on a family bike ride
Adventures with Friends
Just as important as creating a strong family environment is allowing for strong social ties to friends. Encourage crazy adventure ideas that are age appropriate, fun, and agreed upon with your teenagers. As we’ve said before, teens want to push boundaries. If you give them a healthy and safe way to do that, they will make better decisions and you will worry a lot less.
Here is a short list of adventurous things to do with friends
- Go on a hike
- Go overnight camping
- Do an escape room as a group
- Do an Instagram photo shoot
- Invite your friends to an ice cream sundae bar with unusual toppings
- Start a book club with books that inspire wanderlust
- Create a podcast around a passion subject with friends
- Learn a new skill with your friends (archery, costume make up, thrifting)
- Find a local spot to rock climb, whitewater raft, repel, etc.
- Do a coffee cafe crawl
Summer Adventures for Teens
Summer break can either be really great for teens or a total disaster. Finding a balance can be tough. You don’t want to over plan, but idleness can breed trouble. The natural tendency for teenagers in summer is to slug through with lots of video games, all day snacking and no brain effort. We personally encourage summer jobs for responsibility, but something flexible that allows for them to go on an adventure or two.
If you live near water consider encouraging your teens to get a boaters license and get lifeguard trained. Not only will they use these skills forever, you’ll feel more at ease as they spend time on or in the water with their friends.
Day trips to the beach, the lake, shopping, whitewater rafting, fishing, and even overnight camping make a lot more sense during the summer months when teenagers don’t have so many things pulling at them. There is no right way as to how to have an adventure. The important thing is that teenagers are given the opportunity to spread their wings and fly a bit while still exercising respect to their parents.
Keep the Wanderlust Alive
Everyday life can feel boring, but we strongly encourage our kids to dream big. We also show them ways to translate those dreams into goals. It is so rewarding to dream alongside them and watch them realize those dreams through achieving their goals. Now is the perfect time to work on goal setting. There are so many adventurous things to do for teens. Sometimes you just need to get them thinking in the right direction. First get input from your teenagers, then do the research, make a plan, and then go on an adventure!
