Free time and the teen/tween

Just thinking aloud here. When my kids were really little (some still are but I have a 12yo), I made sure to prioritize lots of down time. Not only did my kids need it emotionally but also because PLAY is so incredibly important for developing brains for kids. When does this stop being so beneficial? Or does it? I suppose this is a spin off of the gaming thread. My DS does have much less free time than his younger siblings (especially the 2 and 4yo) but he still has a good deal of free time, in part because he doesn't do so very well with a really full activity schedule. I'm curious about what is ideal for teens/tweens. I do think my DS would want to play on media for much of the day but I'm still pretty strict about it and I don't yet feel like that's a bad thing. For DS1, if he's allowed he'll read all day, write and create games and he is never bored. I'm just always trying to make sure that I'm evolving with my oldest and still doing what is best for him developmentally!

I'd love to hear what you guys think!

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Originally Posted by bisous

For DS1, if he's allowed he'll read all day, write and create games and he is never bored.

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I think you hit the nail on the head right there. Your DS is self-regulating activities he enjoys. Nothing wrong with that! I think if he has figured out what makes him happy at age 12 you are setting him up for success.

Both of my kids are really good at finding things to do. They come up with a lot of creative ideas, build things, read, create. However, that is very rare, IME. Most of my friends complain that their kids would just watch TV and play video games all day if they didn't have structured activities. It's not that my never do mindless activities LOL but a lot less than others. I still think downtime is important.