Join ENJOY

Tips for Having Fun With Your Teen

podcast Apr 18, 2023

This is Going to Be FUN: the Podcast

Episode 43: Tips for Having Fun with Your Teen

 

 

Episode Summary:

Tips for Having Fun with Your Teen

Having fun with your teen is a great way to connect with them and build a stronger relationship. But teenagers usually aren't super excited about hanging out with their family.

If your teen has ever given you some push back about family time, you need these tips from Certified Fun Mom and family fun expert, Amy Kroff.

But even if your teen likes hanging out at home, these tips will help you make the most of the time you have with them so you can create more connection and fun. 

 

 

Certified Fun Mom and family fun expert, Amy Kroff, shares her top 10 tips for having fun with your teen. Amy has 7 kids (4 biological and 3 adopted) ranging in age from adult kids all the way down to pre-teens. She shares simple ways to have fun with your family every single week as a Fun Mom Monday challenge on Instagram.

 

10 Tips for Having Fun with Your Teen

1. Establish a culture of fun

It starts with creating an atmosphere in your home where your kids know you are going to talk and laugh and have fun together. If that isn’t the atmosphere in your home right now, be patient and be consistent in creating that atmosphere.

Amy says, “If this is really what you want with your teenager, you have to define that this is who we are moving forward.”

2. Be willing to laugh at yourself

You will make mistakes and look dumb as you are trying to have fun with your teenager. Teens can be a hard crowd and sometimes they will roll their eyes and you will look like a fool. That is totally cool – you’ve just got to own it.

The sooner you can  let go and be willing to laugh at yourself when you look dumb, the more fun you're going to have with your teenagers. 

3. Let them know what to expect

Don’t spring stuff on your teen last minute. Let them know in advance that you are planning to do an activity as a family and you want them to be there.

They are in the stage of life where life revolves around hanging out with their friends, so if they know what is happening in advance they can plan their other stuff around it. When it doesn’t seem to conflict with the stuff they want to do, you will get a lot less resistance.

4. Respect their time

Give your teen a timeframe and remember that less is more. Your teen may give you pushback about an hour, but they will be much more open to 10 or 15 minutes.

And whatever timeframe you give them, make sure you honor it. If you say 15 minutes, give them permission to leave after 15 minutes. If everyone else is having fun and the activity is still going, they may decide to stick around, but they know that they can trust you to respect their time.

5. Get Buy-in from them

You've got to get some buy-in from your teen. Ask them in advance if they are up for it and if they will be supportive. If the teenager has buy-in, everyone else will be more willing to do it too.

It is amazing the effect that they have on the rest of the family and their attitudes. If you let them know what to expect and they know you will respect their time and keep it short, they are much more likely to buy-in.

6. Let your teenager lead out

You put so much work into planning fun stuff to do with your family that it is easy to want to stick to your plan. But if you let your teenager make the activity their own, you will be amazed at how much more fun it can be.

Teens are creative and have a lot of great ideas. Even if it doesn’t turn out the way you envisioned, it might be even better than anything you could have imagined.

7. Plan on resistance

Your teenager won’t always be excited about spending time with the fam and that is okay. They are busy and have a lot of stuff they want to do and spending time with you isn’t always on the list.

Don’t be offended if they push back. It is totally normal. Just keep trying to do the small stuff instead of making it a big deal and eventually they will come around and be more open to it.

8. Focus on quality not quantity

You don’t need a long time to have fun with your teen. Remember less is more. 10-15 Minutes of high-quality fun is better than a whole night where there is a little bit of fun mixed in with a lot of down time. Amy says, “Those few minutes mean a lot.”

Those 10-15 minute bursts of family fun are really memorable and will help you feel more connected as a family.

When you focus on quality time, your kids don’t have to choose between hanging out with friends and hanging out with the family. They can have both. And that is great for you because you know they would have chosen friends every time.

9. Keep it simple so you can be consistent.

Don’t make it all or nothing. Consistency is key, so keep things simple and easy. Not only will you get less resistance from your teen, but you will be much more likely to make the fun happen. If you are always trying to make family fun a big event, it won’t happen. You don’t need the whole night, you just need a few minutes

10. Use Candy or Cash

No matter what you are doing, adding candy or cash to the mix will make it much more appealing to your teen. Have a cash prize. Use candy as part of the activity. Find a way to incorporate cash or candy to whatever activity you are doing. Your teen will love it.

Having fun with your teen is a great way to improve your family culture and build a closer relationship with your teen. If you want ideas for fun stuff you can do with your family, make sure you follow Amy over @gobefun_co.

 

Mentioned on the Show: