5 SCREEN FREE Ideas for TWEEN/TEENAGE BOYS | Things to Do - Tweens/Teens

5 Screen Free Things to Do | Activities for Tween/Teenage Boys (Screen-free activities for teens) Ideas from a mum of five boys!

Teenagers love responsibility and they love an element of danger! Teens want to test their boundaries and know that they have it in them to be brave and to succeed. They also want connection but don’t always know that they want it.

With five boys in the house, we have given in to screen time way more than we’d planned to, but when we have screen-free days or “bored” teens/kids it’s SO useful to have some engaging ideas up your sleeve!

Here are my 5 Top Tips for engaging teenage boys without using screens.

Cook or Bake Something for the Family!

Boys want to have practical skills for when they move out of home, and they are also hungry! I don’t think that they have ever said ‘no’ when I’ve suggested they bake something! Have a few cake or biscuit recipes printed out so they can access them and leave them to it!

It’s also a great responsibility to cook dinner for the family. Last week, my teen helped me to cook nachos (from scratch) and this week I gave him the recipe and left him to it. Dinner was delicious and he took pride in feeding the family and being left in charge!

Our boys have watched or helped us cook right from toddlerhood, so they are capable using the oven etc. Supervise as necessary!

Take a camera for a walk!

Boys are so creative and if given the opportunity they will express themselves so beautifully. Creativity isn’t just about painting and abstract expression; it can be choosing how you see the world and documenting your own world view.

I have an old DSLR camera because I’m a photographer, but we also have little digital cameras from the early 2000’s and my teen and tweens love to have free range with them! Why not go to a skate park and let them capture action shots, or go on a walk and see what takes their eye? An animal park, beach, city architecture… I love seeing what my boys decide to capture.

Light a fire!

Obviously, this one comes with your discretion of fire safety and please adhere to your local fire restrictions!

Boys love an element of real-life danger! If you have a suitable area or are camping or have access to a beach at the right time of year, let them light a fire! They can collect the kindling, chop the wood, light the fire, stoke it and be left alone or with siblings/friends. Fires have a special power about them and create an atmosphere of gathering and community. They open opportunities for conversations and also for cooking! Have marshmallows handy, bread for toasting on the open flames, apples to cook in foil and a Billy Can for tea or mulled apple juice. So much potential!

Go somewhere with big rocks!

Another one on the element of danger! Rock hopping, rock climbing, rock pools, anything with rocks! Rocks offer another way to test their boundaries and an opportunity to move the body. Stretching, jumping, climbing, connecting with nature. Take the camera and get some action shots!

Play A Card Game!

This one is all about connection. It can be UNO, or it can be a complicated game, but if you are playing it together it means that you are connecting. You are having an experience together where you rely on each other and are communicating and hopefully laughing! I get really competitive, and the boys know I’m out to win, so when they beat me, they have a definite sense of success! Even if it’s for five minutes, they will know that you have chosen to spend time with them over anything else and that they are important to you. I wish I did this more often instead of scrolling on my phone. Writing this blog is a good wake up call for me!

Thank you for reading! Please share and pin and let me know your thoughts!

Jessi x

(I'm a mother of five boys so I speak from my lived experience of raising boys! I'm in no way intending to exclude girls, please take my offering and use it with your family, however this looks for you)