DU'ers with teens..

[HipChick]

I think I've been suckered into having my teen niece over for the summer... She's a 'Naive' nerd type teen, so is pretty much glued to the laptop,cellphone and Kindle to her hip. I guess Disney is out..what other activities do teens normally like? I'm planning a trip to NYC, DC and she loves museums, pet stores (she wants to be a Vet)
She's been through a lot in the last few years, her mother (my SIL) passes away from Liver cancer a few years ago, and I always told her when she felt like flying by herself on a plane, she could come on her summer vacation, this weekend, she decided to make me make good on my offer..My brother has to work, so its just going to be a girls thing

[cyberswede]

1. That sounds like fun!

Is she a young teen (13) or an older teen? I have nieces who are 13 and 17.5, and their interests are definitely different.

[HipChick]

6. She's a young teen

14, but kinda at that awkward phase...

[elleng]

2. Sounds like it could be fun,

especially as she asked you.
Where are you?

[Scuba]

3. Turn her on to DU, she'll be busy all summer.

[HipChick]

9. lol!..she'd make a great mod

[OneGrassRoot]

20. LOL! Great idea! :) n/t

[Duer 157099]

4. Oooooo you are so lucky!

I can tell you for sure: teens LOVE doing dishes! And laundry! Oh, a yard work, do you have a garden?



But seriously, it does sound like fun, for both of you. Without knowing more about her, it's hard to advise. Well, beyond the chores.

[Art_from_Ark]

5. Take her to the Smithsonian in DC

Even an entire summer wouldn't be enough to enjoy all of its exhibits

[rug]

7. See if she can volunteer a few hours a week at the animal shelter.

Then take her here when you go to NYC.



http://cafewha.com/

[olddots]

8. Museums and more museums

She'll let you know if she's bored .

[seabeyond]

10. ah hipchick. that is wonderful. it is never big things. just an hour of day and go get a diary

queen blizzard. focus on her. talk and laugh. or put a dinner together. or sit outside and watch the sunset. a game of horse with basket ball. all it is about is a moment of connection in light, love and laughter. the biggest for my kids are the drives to stores or schools or home. i will even take the long way so they talk, connected and are heard.

have a blast.

[Kali]

25. TOTALLY agree

it is the bonding, not the entertainment

(although the cool museums are nice) My sister brings a niece out most summers - she works so the kid has some responsibilities she is expected to achieve during the day and she gets a little spending money for doing them, but it is her pace and schedule. Plus she has some alone time. A lot of kids seem to be hovered over and don't know what to do with themselves unless they are constantly being entertained.

Then she has other chores that they do together - getting dinner, cleaning up, laundry etc. The kid gets to feel trusted, sister gets a few chores done by somebody else and it works so much better than home because it isn't so much of the parent child dynamic - more like quality roomates. or duh, the adult relative and young persion on more equal but still age-appropriate footing.

[woodsprite]

11. Actually Disney wouldn't be bad.

How old of a teen? We have a 19yo daughter and a 12yo son. After 16yo, they qualify for lots of the 'behind the scenes' tours there. Several of them teach you to use a Segway, then you take the tour on the Segway. Some of the tours have to do with the animals in Animal Kingdom or Epcot's The Living Seas exhibit.

For a younger teen, there are some tours plus there are the two science buildings in Epcot (called Innoventions I and II) with lots of hands on stuff. There is also DisneyQuest - separate from the parks - it's a 5+ level arcade. The admission price covers most of the games in there (some of the animation hands-on demos cost extra). And the water parks are always fun. At Blizzard Beach, you can actually swim with the sharks and they have surfing and boogie board lessons.

Hollywood Studios has a lot of shows.

Is there some kind of animal rescue around you that you might be able to volunteer at for a few days? A turtle or horseshoe crab count? Our high schools require volunteer hours of all students. If hers has the same, maybe you could volunteer a few hours and get an official letter so she could put it toward her school requirements.

Just some ideas! Hope you have a great time during her visit. Some of my favorite outings growing up were spent with my Aunt. We also did a lot of genealogy together.

[HipChick]

12. Thanks...I know she will enjoy the Animal Kingdom, and the Hollywood Studio shows

so have to investigate that option some more

[cyberswede]

13. I second what seabeyond posted above...

Do some stuff with her at home - just regular stuff, but do it together. Bake cookies, prepare meals, do some crafty stuff, plant some flowers, play cards. The bonding will be most memorable for her, I bet.

And if she's with you for a long visit (the whole summer?), you might consider having her help around the house a bit - fold laundry together, or do dishes together...stuff you can do and talk about stuff - whatever she wants to talk about.

Oh - and if your area has some funky local shops - places she doesn't have at home - those would be fun to visit. And outdoor arts festivals & flea markets can be fun, too.

Have a great time!

[orleans]

14. what about a class you could take together?

maybe four weeks or six weeks (once a week) for art lessons or a dance class or exercise class?

park districts have tons of classes to pick from
dance studios might have some type of dance class you could both do

sometimes stores offer weird little classes
a trinket/bead store might have a class on types of bracelets or necklaces to make

sometimes the libraries have special event things going on

i think someone upthread mentioned an art show (those are always fun, walking around the streets of town looking at artwork)

get some books out of the library and lay around and read books

bicycle

window shop

volunteer work (already mentioned?)
fly a kite
get a portrait taken

stay up late, eat popcorn & watch movies
sing

show her pictures of her dad (your brother) when he was a goofy kid & teenager! tell her some funny dad stories.

get a pool pass for the summer--eat pool nachos together

[LWolf]

15. Let's see...

I didn't raise girls, but I was one, and I teach teenage girls, so...

All the teen girls I know are obsessively attached to their friends, and wouldn't think of spending a summer away from them. Check into the friend situation, and see if there are some things to do where you are that would involve other people her age.

Outside of that, what does she want to spend her time doing? Anything physical? Swimming, biking, hiking, rollerskating, iceskating, etc.? Museums are great. Any local opportunities to volunteer for an animal rescue, vet, etc.? Music, theater, art classes?

[oregonjen]

16. If she is a nerd type, she might be interested in the

BBC Series Sherlock, Merlin and Dr. Who and of course Harry Potter. Find out who her actor crushes are and get into her world to engage conversation.

[HipChick]

27. She lives in the UK..

I know she won't want to see anything British while she's here..lol!

[IdaBriggs]

17. If she is a "nerd" type, take her to a science fiction / fantasy convention.

WARNING: Completely addicting!!!

Science Fiction -
"World Con 2013" (which moves in and out of the United States) will be in the foreign land of Texas Thursday 29 August 2013 - Monday 2 September 2013, 71st World Science Fiction Convention, San Antonio, Texas, USA : http://worldcon.org/

Fantasy - DRAGON*CON in Atlanta, GA Aug 30–Sept 2, 2013 : http://www.dragoncon.org/

Gaming - ORIGINS 2013 in Columbus, Ohio, June 12-16, 2013 at the Greater Columbus Convention Center in Columbus, Ohio, 43215, USA : http://www.originsgamefair.com/

Convention Listing: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_science_fiction_conventions (with links to anime conventions, comic book conventions, furry conventions, gaming conventions, horror conventions, and multigenre conventions).

[union_maid]

18. When you're in NYC

See if you can get to the Bronx Zoo. There's an express bus from Manhattan. The Central Park Zoo has even come a long way, but the Bronx one is really worth the trip. Of course the museums will take up lots of time. Most of all, though, it sounds like quality time with a caring female family member is what she's needing and it's great that you're going to be able to provide that.

[riderinthestorm]

19. Go clothes shopping, get a makeover, lay out in the sun @ the local pool

Manicures, pedicures, going to the movies, or seeing a theater show, mini golf or bowling - you know the usual girl/teen stuff.

You could totally rock her world if you can get concert tickets and take her to her first music concert (be prepared - her choice of artist probably won't be anything like what you would choose but you'd definitely be the "cool" aunt if you took her to see someone she loves).

On top of that is having a routine of cooking together, going to the library weekly, or gardening or other daily chore/ routine items that allows you both to spend time together.

I wouldn't rule out Disney. They have excellent older teen programs - some would definitely be geared towards her interest in animals and will allow her to go "behind the scenes". She can swim with sharks and dolphins there and/or see how they work with the animals in the Animal Kingdom etc.

My teenage daughter LOVES NYC and DC and any museum we can get to.

Keep in mind that most teens sleep in. Its a pretty rare teenager whose up before 10 (or 11, 12, and yes even sometimes into the early afternoon). They have a tendency to turn into vampires during the summer (sleep all day, stay up all night!).

[patricia92243]

21. Ask her. n/t

[Phentex]

22. Make funnel cakes...

I have teen boys and they love this. But they are kinda foodie kids.

[grantcart]

23. When she arrives give her a diary to record all the great things you decided to do.

[talkingmime]

24. Okay, I'll try. Gardening, baking, woodworking, strategy games, adventure movies,...

sitting outside yelling "STAY OFF MY LAWN", no wait, that's my gig. Okay, shopping at a second-hand store, mowing the lawn, ice cream with fruit on top at 3 in the morning, building and lighting a fire, throwing a ball for the dogs, over-filled bubble baths with rubber duckies (my wife loves that), going to an arcade, water balloon fights, POPCORN!, darts, pool, air hockey, ping pong, probably too young for bong hits, dancing to loud classic rock, cleaning all of the windows in the house (not fun, but it takes time), painting the deck, get some polymer clay and make beads, silly sand, Boggle, canoe trips, sitting on a hill somewhere and sketching whatever is out there, crashing out on the grass and pointing out shapes in the clouds, dancing almost naked in the rain during a thunderstorm (she's probably too young for full naked), going to an actual MOVIE THEATER!, and of course, the mentos in the bottle of soda volcano.

[marzipanni]

26. I have to say, after reading this thread,

I wish I could be the niece of an aunt who asked for, and got, all these great suggestions!

Since your niece likes animals perhaps you two could walk dogs at a local shelter.
I've seen young teens sitting with adoptable SPCA rescued dogs at Petco on Saturday mornings, answering questions about them.
As woodsprite said, high school kids put volunteer work on their college applications.


http://voices.yahoo.com/kids-pets-ways-teens-volunteer-help-animals-8732881.html?cat=25

[AnneD]

28. I had my young adopted teen niece over 2 summers ago....

our best time....A road trip. A big ass road trip. The goal was to surprise grandfather that had survived a serious car crash and was in rehab. She had never been off the farm in North Texas. The destination was Arizona via the White Sands Monument, Grand Canyon, Petrified Forest, and Crater Park, etc. I had a copy of the Stern's road food and we hit every point of of interest:historical or hysterical. My Dodge Caravan was dubbed the Princess Pumpkin Coach and carried music, movies and snacks. We had a blast and you couldn't buy those memories. She still talks about it and years from now when I am dead and in my grave, I know she will remember me with great fondness. We spilled drinks in the van, jumped on the hotel beds, had pillow fights, had belching and farting contests and brought tears to Grandpa's eyes when we surprised him.

[HipChick]

32. oh my...actually I was thinking of doing some rail trips...

I know she loves trains...I wish the US train system had wider coverage,but I think we can make do..

[AnneD]

34. Check out their rail passes....

I will be visiting my daughter who is now in Canada. I am looking into buying a 30 day -18 segment trip. I will be leaving Texas and visiting Az, and going up the CA coast to Vancouver BC.

I traveled by train in Europe and India. My fav trip was the overnight from Munich to Paris. I am an early riser and I was able to see a beautiful French country side sunrise and enjoy breakfast in Paris before taking my daughter on a sight seeing jaunt. The most memorable-going from Hyderabad to Madras (Chennai). Before we went though a jungle area, a bunch of soldiers got on board with these big ass-ed machine guns. I thought a VIP was on board. Seems that there were bandits in the area and they were there to discourage theft. I didn't sleep well, but with all the thefts on board and us sticking out like a sore thumb, it was just as well.

[alphafemale]

29. If you are in FL she might be interested in seeing Manatees

Or other wildlife in refuges.

If she's from the UK many of the animals are going to seem exotic that you now think common.

Zoos have the same animals pretty much everywhere.

If you are going to DC/NYC and she likes museums and she is great on the Internet she can probably research let you know the places she'd like to see. Or better yet do the research together.

[MineralMan]

30. 14 year old nerdish girl person...

Should be a blast. Do everything! Let her take the lead sometimes. I am envious.

[HipChick]

31. Needless to say she takes after her aunt..

she's natural curious too...

[MineralMan]

33. But of course.

Seriously, though, let her research things she would like to do. She will probably surprise you. My wife and I had a niece about the same age stay with us for a week. One day, she wanted to go to some tide pools she found on the web. My specialty. We spent an entire day standing in waist ddep water, finding sea creatures. Then, we fished and beachcombed and gathered food for dinner and cooked it together.

What a hoot!