Time For Go-Go Juice! - Teen Boredom

Hey – Lookey here! It’s FRIDAY!!! Everyone enjoys the last day of the week…it means we get to catch up on other work over the weekend that we didn’t do during the week. (Washing the car, doing the laundry, feeding the empty fridge, cleaning house, going through mail…) Isn’t that the story of our lives? Work, work, work. Good morning – or shall I say, good afternoon! My Go-Go Juice has been brewing all morning – two children overslept this morning – my sophomore (girl) raced up, got ready and was out the door in 15 minutes flat! My son dragged feet causing me to race him off to school personally. Wonder how he feels beaten by a girl! I returned to whisk my other two teens off to their dentist appointments whereas the girls are now experiencing half their faces falling to their chests in swollen prodded pain wishing they would have gone to dreaded school instead. However, while they take the remaining day off to heal – they remain in blissful thought of the Spring Break that lies ahead – all next week. No School! Even I relish in the idea of having improved productivity by not having the added school schedule. And, today also marks the end of another school quarter – one more quarter to go! This brings me to the topic of the day…money. If you’re a parent, you might be able to relate…kids are a drain on our pocket book. Most kids and their families save vacation time for summer, so what’s a kid to do during Spring Break? Typically, go to the movies (almost every day), go to the mall to eat courtyard food and hang with friends, go to the roller rink, rent movies, buy new X-Box games, buy clothes or makeup, or shop for music to add to their IPOD. At almost every opportunity, a typical teenager has their hand out for a few dollars to go “do something”. A few dollars is usually $10 or more in cold hard cash and in multiple requests. Some teens, if old enough, might have a job to pay for their own entertainment, but what if they’re not? Money is not so easy to come by these days – so what’s a parent to do? Just say no and deal with an unhappy drama queen or testosterone king while you have better things to focus on? Not so easy. I know as a mom with 5 kids, I’m always budgeting and having to be frugal. Here are some ideas to help parents with cost saving ideas for the upcoming Spring Break boredoms: For your queen, offer sleep over’s for her friends where the girls can watch movies, do makeovers and do some baking. Maybe not in all one night – break the ideas up. Give your gal some organizing projects like straightening out the closets (not her room – that’s a chore. Mom and Dad’s closet is an offer of help), or going through cupboards and picking out items of non-perishable food to donate and put can goods in an order of her liking. Let her go through your drawers to fold and fix putting her organizing ideas to good use. As a teenage girl, I always thought my mom “fixed” our house up wrong and thought that if I was in charge, I would change things around. Take your daughter on a picnic for quality time and prepare to talk about “her world” – friends, school, teachers, homework and yes, boys. For your king…remember, if he’s over the age of 13, he too probably has ideas that he feels he can contribute to the home. You know how your son is usually willing to “fix” things around the house. He’s not interested in organizing. He wants to pound, make holes, attach, glue – that sort of stuff. But, as mom or dad, the ideas of tools and projects scare you and good heavens what he would do to hurt himself, so you’ve avoided it. This time, let loose. Give your restless boy a low risk job of changing blinds, re-nailing door molds, tightening cabinets, or even fixing the garage door that constantly sticks. Let him organize your tools – that’s cooler than doing clothes. Let him have a guy’s night and set him up for rockin’ to the tunes that you would normally tell him “turn down”. Already have Guitar Hero? Get his friends over and have a jam session. Let him go to the mall on his own (age appropriate of course) and hang with his friends for longer time than normal. They’re not there to spend money – they’re there to check out the chicks. Just lay the rules down for updated phone calls to ensure he’s OK and not into too much mischief. Take the kids to the beach, park, barbecuing or fishing – the weather is great (in most areas now) and Mother Nature has a lot to offer. Trust me folks, there’s nothing worse than trying to work and maintain life while struggling with the demands of entertaining bored teens at the same time on low funds. If you fall into this category, I feel for you. If you don’t, I have some kids for rent – real cheap! With that, I bid you adieu. Happy Friday and enjoy your weekend! Join me tomorrow for another cup of Go-Go Juice. You can’t go through life without it!