As a parent of a fast-growing 14 year old boy, I am seeking new things to do with him. Please leave a comment with your own suggestion(s).
1. Go to the library to borrow a movie, a music CD, and /or a video game that you can both enjoy together this week.
2. Make a decadent dessert – Rice Krispy treats, cookies, brownies, cakes, pudding, sundaes, milkshakes, s’mores.
3. Read the same book series – Percy Jackson and the Olympians, The Hunger Games, Agatha Christie mysteries…
4. Make a picture collage of family photos and magazine clippings. There are some excellent digital apps for that too.
5. Go shopping together.
7. Host a sleepover with their favorite friend(s) and make their favorite foods.
8. Go sledding with several family members and neighbors.
9. Frisbee. Frisbee golf. Ultimate Frisbee.
10. Email each other funny videos and great music clips.
11. Visit an exotic car dealership or auto museum.
12. Play a card or board game that is geared more for adults: Monopoly, Scrabble, Gin Rummy,
13. Play Spoons http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spoons
14. Take a class together at a local art center, fitness center, YMCA, church, or community college
15. Tell your child what makes them special (to you and others)
16. Teach/tell your child about your job – take them to work for a day if you can
17. Go to a movie together – smuggle in some truly awesome candy treats
18. Dig out your old high school yearbook and share about your experiences
19. Give them a budget of money to redecorate their room and help them make the money go far
20. Plan a vacation together – then GO!
21. Enter in a fun run or other competition with them. Or arrange for a friend to do it with them
22. Fishing.
23. Go hunting with a friend, or try a target shooting sport (riflery, skeet, trap, archery…)
24. Camping.
25. Hiking. Take a digital camera to take all sorts of photographs (close-ups of plants,
26. Make homemade pizzas with special toppings
27. Experiment with a deep fryer – cheese, ravioli, shrimp, French fries, Twinkies….
28. Plant a tree in honor of someone or a special event (birthday, anniversary…)
29. Go to the state fair, county fair, or any carnival with some relatives, neighbors, or friends.
30. Plan a neighborhood block party
31. Tell stories about your childhood
32. Attend an athletic event
33. Attend a real concert
34. Make homemade ice cream
35. Visit a different ethnic restaurant each weekend and order something unusual each time
36. Complete a household DIY project together
37. Thrift store shopping
38. Mountain biking (rent if needed)
39. Make a collage out of photos and/or clippings of their favorite things. Frame it.
40. Go to a demolition derby, horse race, air show, or anything out of the ordinary.
41. Make a list of things you want to do together in the future!
This list is an adaptation of a larger list from Heidi, a guest blogger on Inspired to Action. The original list is geared for very young children. It’s a great list, but I have adapted it for the parents of older kids (10-15). I have a 14 year old boy, and our activities have changed a great deal in the last five years.
Growing Up Well 
-Build card houses with decks of cards and then knock them down.
– Burn stuff with a magnifying glass using just the hot sun.
– Wash the car and let them do the windows and hubcaps using Windex, then head to a gas station and use the powerful vacuum. And while you’re there, teach them how to pump gas.
Drive to a small town local cafe for breakfast.