What does your tween do for fun at home?

[elbert]

DD (10) has plenty of activities that keep her busy and out of the house quite a bit, but I'm starting to notice that her downtime activities have become very limited - she basically only reads (the same books over and over!) and writes stories. It seems like everything else (Legos, dolls, etc.) has gone by the by. Is this normal?!? What types of activities do your tween/preteen daughters do when they're at home?

[georgiegirl]

Reads if alone, but mostly wants to play with friends. Will engage in pretend/creative play with others (friends siblings) and do crafts with others.
Sometimes alone she will write stories

[petesgirl]

DD (10) has plenty of activities that keep her busy and out of the house quite a bit, but I'm starting to notice that her downtime activities have become very limited - she basically only reads (the same books over and over!) and writes stories. It seems like everything else (Legos, dolls, etc.) has gone by the by. Is this normal?!? What types of activities do your tween/preteen daughters do when they're at home?

This sounds exactly like my 12-yr old niece :)

[KrisM]

My 10 year old DD is currently reading :).

She does a lot of crafts. Not kits, but ideas she finds and reproduces. Her current thing is making Harry Potter wands from paper, hot glue, and paint. She takes orders from kids at school and brings them in every few days.

[schrocat]

Plays on the computer. Programs on the computer. Plays with his DS.

[ang79]

My 10 yr. old usually plays with her 8 yr. old sister, on most days they are best buddies. They play AG dolls, Lottie or other small dolls, Legos, crafts, games. If she has friends over they usually just hang out and talk, sometimes they will do dolls, crafts, or games. They do a lot of acting out elaborate stories and scenes with their dolls or small figurines. She also loves to read (has instituted a daily reading time for herself and is upset if we have a busy day and she doesn't get to do that).

[baymom]

My 10 year old just reads and reads and reads. She occasionally re-reads old favorites, but mostly has new books she wants to read. I joke that my library card gets more action than any other card in my wallet. She used to love making sewing or beading projects or friendship bracelets. She stopped playing with her AG in about 3rd grade. She will still play with her stuffed animals. And, she loves having friends over. As much as I'm glad that she's a reader, I worry about her eyes and wish she would branch out a bit. I can say I'm glad she's not into screen time really at all.

[citymama]

Reads and writes sounds pretty great! My DD reads a ton or spends way too much time on Scratch, the MIT coding site. The computer time drives me nuts because it becomes this daily battle. She's limited to 20 mins a day or school days and has found circuitous ways to get around this.

I'd love to hear what other tweens are doing indoors after homework is done or on weekends!

[bisous]

Well, mine are 13 and 9. I think that counts for that range, right? If my kids are permitted, they do like to use tech, but I'm a mean mom and they aren't. DS1 is pretty good at regulating himself on technology so I let him use it once the other kids are asleep. But I've experimented with daily amounts and DS2 will push the limits but even worse he just becomes obsessed with Minecraft. It becomes his every waking thought. He's down to just 30 minutes PER WEEK of being allowed any time gaming. I'm not really proud of that. I feel like a weird, strict mom that I hope he doesn't end up hating. It is just that he loses whole parts of himself and does none of the imaginative things that I'm listing below if technology is an option.

So, tech aside... My kids are immature. They still like toys and playing. They have all kinds of games where they use their lego minifigs or hotwheels cars or even stuffed animals in these big imaginary games. They like making stuff out of boxes or even using paper and cardboard with hotwheels cars and minifigs, lol. Yes, they do lots of reading and writing but I love it when they do that. DS2 (9.5 years old) wants to set up a "club" of his buddies where they play minecraft. They aren't actually on a computer but they act out being creepers, villagers, Alex, etc. I think I'm going to let him set it up. Apparently that's what they play at recess but they never have enough time. DS2 also likes to help me with stuff. Everything from cooking to washing windows and vacuuming out the car. I've taught him how to do so much stuff around the house. I don't think he really likes doing it as chores so much as learning new skills so if I ask him to do those things, he balks. DS1 loves to play with my parents dog and spends hours each week taking him to the park and getting him good and tired.

During soccer and lego season (Fall for both) DS2 is REALLY busy. Surprisingly, he likes being busy. I lament his lack of free time but he doesn't seem to need it as much as his older brother does. DS1 needs tons of down time. When he is really stressed, he needs to go in his room and unwind by lining up all his minifigures and plastic animals. He's 13!! Kids are all so different!

[gatorsmom]

I have a few tweens right now. :) . My 11yo ds2 is building a suit of armor out of cardboard and duct tape. He's putting a ton of effort into it (right down to what looks like a robotic arm and fingers and a very detailed chest plate). He and the twins (age 9) are building an arsenal of exploding throwing stars (thank you to the BBBer who suggested the popsicle stick activity for science projects for 5th graders!). They are all planning a war in my basement.

When she isn't busy building throwing-star bomb with her brothers, DD (9yo) is devouring my old Nancy Drew books. She has been finishing reading one every couple of days. And she comes home excited everyday about the progress she and her friends are making on their snowfort at school. She is also really into her Our Generation dolls right now.

Ds3 (9yo) has been building throwing star bombs, and is addicted to Terreria and McGyver episodes. All 3 of my tweens begged me to buy the Lemony Snicket books after watching the first season a few weeks ago on Netflix and DS3 has been asking me privately to let him know first when the books arrive so he can sneak and read them first.

My 13yo (not quite a tween anymore) is plotting how he can be elected president of his class. He is busy creating a platform, practicing speeches and printing off "I like Mike" stickers. He's determined to win.

eta- the weekends are about working on the car they and Dh are building in the garage, downhill skiing, finishing up homework, going to mass and helping me with chores. My housekeeper was deployed to Iraq in November and since then the kids and Dh have been helping me clean the house. They are really helping! They do about 40% of the cleaning I'd say and 50% of the laundry. I think it's good for them.

[almostmom]

My 11-year old is currently really into making slime. She has all the ingredients and is spending a lot of time making different combinations. Otherwise, read, gymnastics, roll around with her brother in the basement, go outside and pogostick, go for a walk, a bike ride (not now though).

[JustMe]

This is a big issue for my soon to be 11 year old ds. Thankfully he does read a lot, which is great. However, when he has done all the reading he can and his limited screen time is up, he really doesn't know what to do with himself...even with a friend over. He had a friend over and, after playing a while, got the friend to help him finish something he was working on for school! His friend is a really nice kid and would never say no, but when the friend left and I asked ds how he would feel if a friend asked him to do that during a playdate, his response wasn't that he has nothing else to do here. We tried making a list of other things to do recently, but that only helps a little. I think I need to go over the list with him and add/change it. It was helpful when we made it and to really put it back on him to identify what he can do.

My 13 year old dd does better. She listens to music a lot, reads but only able to do that for short periods of time, and just loves to put make-up on as a fun activity..she can spend hours on that.

[cilantromapuche]

My 11-year old is currently really into making slime. She has all the ingredients and is spending a lot of time making different combinations. Otherwise, read, gymnastics, roll around with her brother in the basement, go outside and pogostick, go for a walk, a bike ride (not now though).

My DD is huge into making slime, slime with glitter, slime with paint. She likes crafts, reading and playing with her hamster. She likes to make time lapse pictures on my phone. In the last three days she has read: Seventh Wish by Kate Messner, Bounce and Swap (two great books) by Megan Shull, and the Threads trilogy by Sophia Bennett.

[mom2khj]

11yo is not nearly the reader my 14yo is. She'll read, but only occasionally. Mostly she either is playing outside with neighbors (they play sports, school, make videos, etc) or she's inside doing crafts.

She will sometimes play board games with DS, but there is a lot of arguing when that happens.

[KpbS]

READ (all the time), listen to music, shoot baskets, play Legos, play cards/chess. We limit electronics to the weekends during the school year and then limit it to about 30 min per day. I'd rather my kids do just about anything before electronics.

[JustMe]

Can someone post a good recipe for slime?

[lalasmama]

My DD is turning 13 this month. She tends to trend a bit immature. She's definitely reading a lot. She gets 30 minutes on her Kindle each day. She still has her Barbies in her room, but they aren't played with as much. She still has her Squinkies, and plays with those sometimes. Her AG doll still gets some play too--mainly new hairstyles, but occasionally there's dance competitions or other things. When her friends are here, they often play with the AG dolls. She's also into crafts, but these have been put on hold if there's any mess involved. She's just not attentive to things, so the last craft project (stepping stones) covered our dining room in cement dust, and DH and I had to clean it up. It took hours. But she's just not attentive enough to do messy things on her own.

[smilequeen]

My 12 year old boy

-read
-play games (xbox, computer, ipad)
-practices sports...shoots hockey pucks, basketball, uses his scooter, rollerblades, etc.

[KpbS]

DN is almost 14 and she likes to play games on her ipad, any board games/card games, etc. but she really loves to cook and bake. She also enjoys watching cooking shows and organizing projects. Loves to make videos/silly movies too. I throw out there as DS isn't quite ready to be cooking on his own independently, but he's not too far off and that is a great thing when they can help make dinner or a dessert for a function. :)

[kijip]

Reads, draws, writes (besides school writing he writes a lot of comics and short stories), putters around with computer coding and robotics, goes outside, plays with his cousins and little brother, has friends over for movies and/or games.

He's 13 and not 10-12 but he's a young 13.

[khalloc]

Mine would watch Netflix 24/7 if I let her. I've been trying to get her to do some reading at night lately. It only works if I let her read to me.

She's in basketball right now but that is only 1 hour/week for practice and another hour on Saturdays for games. She's been having friend issues and never wants to have friends over (mostly because her BFF is being a brat to her). She'll start softball in April sometime and then that will take up 3 nights a week after school which will be nice.

She also plays with her younger brother.