Hello, this is only vaguely related to fitness, but I need advice. What kinds of structure are you asking for your teens during quarantine? My kids (ages 16, 13, 11, and 4) are not the type to get off the couch. I’ve tried for a few days during our 2 weeks of quarantine to let them self-regulate. The 16 year old did ok, and did a few things like take the dog to the dog park. The 13 and 11 year old watched tv each day from 9 to 6pm, stopping only when I made them. Then after dinner they just asked to watch movies. I tried a few structures and here’s what we’re doing:
Wake up 9:30 (they agreed on the time)
Do each of these things for 30 mins:
Chores
Literacy
STEM or college/career (they have computer programs for this)
Socialize
Exercise or outdoors time
Babysit the 4 year old
Do something creative
Free choice
Once they complete each thing for 30 mins, they get screen time until dinner.
After dinner, they chose a family activity.
Each day has a theme (which they come up with.) just something fun, like “living room camping” (we do camp stuff in the living room). The theme days are optional of the older kids because they tend to be juvenile.
I made coupons with little privileges (like more screen time) to make games more fun, but the games are always optional.
The 16 year old is mostly participating, but I told her I won’t enforce much as long as I see she’s making good choices with her time. So sometimes she chooses not to do her checklist and I don’t say anything.
The 4 and 11 year old are having a great time. They’re staying busy and having a ball.
The 13 year old is SO angry with me. I told her she could try her own structure/routine if she wants, but she needs to make healthy choices everyday. So day 1 of her monitoring herself, she indeed watched TV for about 9 hours straight. She is SO angry about the requirement to exercise or go outside.
So I just wanted feedback. What kind of structure/routine do you expect from your teens during this time?
Quarantine for teens advice
Hello, this is only vaguely related to fitness, but I need advice. What kinds of structure are you asking for your teens during quarantine? My kids (ages 16, 13, 11, and 4) are not the type to get off the couch. I’ve tried for a few days during our 2 weeks of quarantine to let them self-regulate. The 16 year old did ok, and did a few things like take the dog to the dog park. The 13 and 11 year old watched tv each day from 9 to 6pm, stopping only when I made them. Then after dinner they just asked to watch movies. I tried a few structures and here’s what we’re doing:
Wake up 9:30 (they agreed on the time)
Do each of these things for 30 mins:
Chores
Literacy
STEM or college/career (they have computer programs for this)
Socialize
Exercise or outdoors time
Babysit the 4 year old
Do something creative
Free choice
Once they complete each thing for 30 mins, they get screen time until dinner.
After dinner, they chose a family activity.
Each day has a theme (which they come up with.) just something fun, like “living room camping” (we do camp stuff in the living room). The theme days are optional of the older kids because they tend to be juvenile.
I made coupons with little privileges (like more screen time) to make games more fun, but the games are always optional.
The 16 year old is mostly participating, but I told her I won’t enforce much as long as I see she’s making good choices with her time. So sometimes she chooses not to do her checklist and I don’t say anything.
The 4 and 11 year old are having a great time. They’re staying busy and having a ball.
The 13 year old is SO angry with me. I told her she could try her own structure/routine if she wants, but she needs to make healthy choices everyday. So day 1 of her monitoring herself, she indeed watched TV for about 9 hours straight. She is SO angry about the requirement to exercise or go outside.
So I just wanted feedback. What kind of structure/routine do you expect from your teens during this time?