13 Tips for a Productive (and Virtually Free!) Summer for Teens

Ahh, summertime…

Hopefully you have amazing memories of summers from your childhood. Memories filled with camps, trips, playing, barbeques, and lots of family time.

Now, cue the old man, “back in my day” energy…

A lot of the memories adults hold are likely because we had to do something every day, and we didn’t have a gaming device or phone that we could lose ourselves in for hours on end, perfectly content to game and scroll.

Creating summer memories is still very possible and probably more important than ever; it just takes a bit of planning and some vigilance to make sure that those plans are followed through on. Let’s look at 13 tips for making sure that your teens have a summer that checks all the boxes this year.

• Balance: We need to start here. Summer definitely should be a time for kids to relax, do what they love, and just be kids. When creating all the plans and scheduling all the activities, it’s important to keep sight of allowing for unscheduled time and slack days.

• Involve Them in the Planning: At the beginning of the summer, and each week during the break, the kids should be involved in scheduling out how their days will look. It’s a lot easier to hold them accountable to a schedule they co-create. There are lots of templates online, but we like this one from the Printables Fairy.

• In Charge of Dinner: Participants in our Parents at a Crossroads Facebook group were in agreement that kids really needed to know how to do basic budgeting and simple cooking before going out on their own. One way to do that is to put them in charge of planning a dinner, or two, each week. Involving them in what’s for dinner, and then leading them through all the steps that it takes to get dinner on the table can be an eye-opener, and it sets them up to be more successful when they’re on their own.

• Get Involved Politically: Since 2024 is an election year, it can be a great opportunity to get your kids involved in politics. Though this might seem a bit toxic on the surface, the real opportunity is to get them involved in local elections. You can have them research local elections HERE and have them choose a candidate, or cause, that they want to get behind.

• Free Online Classes: With more and more colleges requiring online credits to graduate, making sure that your kids are adept at online learning is vital. There are tons of free online classes for kids out there, and having them complete one can help prevent Summer Slide and can reinforce that lifelong learning is fun!

• No Devices Time: This might be a little controversial, but if you know how to change the password on your wi-fi, you can create some device free time whenever you choose. Hopefully, device free time can be done voluntarily and with cooperation, but if you need some assurance it is possible to manually change the password or to employ more automated ways to control device time.

• Get Outside: Getting some fresh air and sunshine is probably a big part of the memories you hold about summer, and getting outside still holds tons of benefits. One of the benefits is that being outside can look lots of different ways depending on what your kids like to do. Maybe they want to set a goal of walking two miles a day the whole summer, or riding their bike everyday. They could also like learning a new skill, like camping or fishing. This is another great way to involve them in the planning.

• Volunteer: Chances are your kids are really passionate about something that is looking for help from volunteers. Stray animals? The environment? Elder care? The need for volunteers is virtually endless, and even a day or two of volunteering can have many positive effects, including increases in empathy and feelings of self-advocacy. Volunteer Match is a reliable source to start your journey, no matter where you live.

• Read, Write, or Art: Let’s get a little old school. Making a trip to the local library once a week can help you accomplish this goal, and setting aside the time for them to do it will be another thing that really helps prevent any summer slide. 

• Plan a Family Field Trip: Put them in charge of planning a trip for the whole family to go on together. They have to pick a place, work to find a time, stay within the budget, and make sure that everyone has fun. Giving them this level of ownership is super empowering, and knowing that their siblings have the same opportunity builds in some natural accountability for all.

• Job Shadow: One day out of the summer can be spent shadowing a job that they are interested in pursuing. A lot of careers sound really cool, until you see them done all day, and getting a chance to see things up close can be invaluable. This will take some work from the parents, but using your family, personal, and professional connections is likely to turn up someone that would be happy to help.

• Add a Choice Element: Ask your kiddo what is missing from this list. Give them the opportunity to chime in on things they would like to prioritize this summer to, again, increase investment and to get a little more insight into what makes them tick. If your kid is a video game addict, then you can take that off the table, but having the element of choice is key to a comprehensive plan that they will buy into.

• Balance Check: Schedule it now. About halfway through the summer you should plan some time to sit and reflect on how the summer is going. Are you still making schedules and holding to them? Are you seeing the balance you hoped for? What’s working, and what’s not? Checking in to make sure that you’re on track will hold you accountable for making sure that good memories are being created.

Lists like this one are plentiful across the internet, and hopefully this one has been helpful. But at the end of the day, you know your kiddos the best and you know what will fly and what won’t. Picking and choosing what elements your kids include in their plans is a key part of this process, but it underscores the importance of having a plan. Going into the summer can lead to a deference to the path of least resistance, and that is not likely to be rewarding for anyone. With six weeks to get your planning done, there is plenty of time to make this the best summer break yet. Good luck!