I need some ideas for boys

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snadig
Posts: 170
Joined: Mon Feb 20, 2012 7:05 pm

I need some ideas for boys

Post by snadig » Mon Jan 01, 2018 2:53 pm

Hello Ladies. Happy New Year!

I am in need of some ideas/encouragement. I have a almost 13 year old boy who would love to sit and play video games all day everyday. Here is a bit of back ground. We try to limit screen time for our kids until a certain age, which he isn't there yet, then we start to allow them to make more of those choices as they get older, with of course some over site to keep them safe. We started a bit late in this "managing your own time thing" with our oldest, so are trying to teach them responsible habits earlier. We just recently got a movie provider and have enjoyed to A LOT of fun holiday movies but need to pull back on this. We didn't watch much tv before and can see how easily it can take over. We just need to balance it better..........as we enjoy watching some clean shows, movies sometime.

So with all that being said I have a boy who gets bored. His sisters are pretty busy but try to do stuff with him and we don't have very many kids in our neighborhood who he hangs out with so I am trying to think of some ways to keep him engaged with out being the "tour director" but being open to playing a game or something.

We will try to head back to school tomorrow but will see as we have had a number of us sick the last week and are still getting better. I think routine helps everyone feel better. Oh and probably less sugar....ha ha.

Would love some ideas. Have a great day!
Stacey in Co

Married 21years to my best friend
my wonderful kids:
19-dd-College student Aug 18
17-dd-US 1 Histroy -Aug 18
13-ds-MTMM - Aug 18
Finished:Beyond,Bigger,Preparing,RtoR,RevtoRev,CtC,MtMM,WH,AH1,AH2

Nealewill
Posts: 1611
Joined: Sat Sep 14, 2013 5:08 pm
Location: Cincinnati, OH

Re: I need some ideas for boys

Post by Nealewill » Wed Jan 03, 2018 8:13 am

My son is very similar. His sisters will play with him some but a lot of time they like to work on crafts and stuff and he doesn't. He is usually left to himself and on his own. I do play with him some but not that much. One thing I would encourage you to do is let him be bored sometimes. It is fine, really. My son will sometimes just lay on the couch doing nothing. He actually seems to do this everyday for a while at times (like an hour :shock: ) He will follow the cats around and pet them or try and play with them. He recently got some new Beyblades that fly apart when they hit each other and he likes those a lot. He used to like legos but don't care too much for those now. He will work on puzzles if I work on those with him. He likes to play puzzle games. We have chess solitaire, laser maze, code master, and a few other individual games from thinkfun. But he comes up with his own things to do on his own now. I think letting him have that down time where he did nothing was really good for him. He doesn't seem to mind it in the least now at all. And if he is really bored, he helps me around the house now. A lot of times if he helps me I will agree to do something with him though. But we also limit TV time and there aren't many boys nearby for him to play with.
Daneale

DD 13 WG
DS 12 R2R
DD 10 R2R

Enjoyed DITHOR, Little Hearts, Beyond, Bigger, Preparing, CTC, R2R, RevtoRev, MtMM

snadig
Posts: 170
Joined: Mon Feb 20, 2012 7:05 pm

Re: I need some ideas for boys

Post by snadig » Thu Jan 04, 2018 12:11 pm

Thanks for the reply. I agree about just letting them figure it out. I do have some of the thinkfun games. Good ideas. I just get caught up in they need to be busy and going.......but that isn't for everyone. Getting back to a routine will help also......just trying to get to feeling better. Didn't get much school done but I guess that is how it goes when the teacher gets sick. Well he did typing and math that is something!

Have a great day!
Stacey in Co

Married 21years to my best friend
my wonderful kids:
19-dd-College student Aug 18
17-dd-US 1 Histroy -Aug 18
13-ds-MTMM - Aug 18
Finished:Beyond,Bigger,Preparing,RtoR,RevtoRev,CtC,MtMM,WH,AH1,AH2

my3sons
Posts: 10698
Joined: Sun Aug 26, 2007 7:08 pm
Location: South Dakota

Re: I need some ideas for boys

Post by my3sons » Thu Jan 04, 2018 5:29 pm

Hi Stacy! There are some good thoughts and ideas in this thread...
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=5207

In Christ,
Julie
Enjoyed LHTH to USII
Currently using USI
Wife to Rich for 28 years
Mother to 3 sons, ages 23, 20, and 16
Sister to Carrie

my3sons
Posts: 10698
Joined: Sun Aug 26, 2007 7:08 pm
Location: South Dakota

Re: I need some ideas for boys

Post by my3sons » Thu Jan 04, 2018 5:36 pm

Here is another good thread...
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=4400

We also joined a fitness center as a family this year, and the boys play pick-up basketball games, swim, play ping pong, etc. That has been great for all of us! HTH!

In Christ,
Julie
Enjoyed LHTH to USII
Currently using USI
Wife to Rich for 28 years
Mother to 3 sons, ages 23, 20, and 16
Sister to Carrie

farmfamily
Posts: 237
Joined: Thu Apr 28, 2011 4:20 pm

Re: I need some ideas for boys

Post by farmfamily » Fri Jan 05, 2018 12:46 am

Does your husband enjoy board games? My husband and son play board games almost every day before dinner. They have had so many favorites - Sequence, Backgammon, No Stress Chess, Catan, and their current favorite, Jaipur. They play by the hour on the weekend! Also, my son took a woodworking class last fall, which he really enjoyed. Another thing he did was make a model of Leonardo da Vinci's catapult from a kit someone got him for his birthday. Once it was built he enjoyed target practice with it. It might be a little young for your son (my son is only 9), but perhaps your son could get interested in building models of some kind? My uncle is a member of a model train club and has built an awesome model train set-up in his house. I always thought it was a really cool hobby - but I guess it is pretty expensive. My own kids play legos literally by the hour. We turned our guest bedroom into a dedicated lego room 99% of the time, and they spend tons of time in there. But that may also be too young for your son (though my oldest still loves legos at 13 - we have a huge collection now with lots of hand-me-downs from older cousins plus they always get lego for birthdays & Christmas)
blessed to be married 17 yrs to my hardworking farmer dh, mom to:
daughter 13 MTMM
daughter 11 Rev to Rev
son 10 CTC

Enjoyed Little Hands, LHFHG, Beyond, Bigger, Preparing, CTC, Res to Ref, and Rev to Rev!!

snadig
Posts: 170
Joined: Mon Feb 20, 2012 7:05 pm

Re: I need some ideas for boys

Post by snadig » Sun Jan 07, 2018 7:33 pm

Thanks for the replies! It helps to here from others out there.

Stacey
Stacey in Co

Married 21years to my best friend
my wonderful kids:
19-dd-College student Aug 18
17-dd-US 1 Histroy -Aug 18
13-ds-MTMM - Aug 18
Finished:Beyond,Bigger,Preparing,RtoR,RevtoRev,CtC,MtMM,WH,AH1,AH2

jellybeanmum
Posts: 43
Joined: Thu Mar 16, 2017 12:39 am

Re: I need some ideas for boys

Post by jellybeanmum » Tue Jan 09, 2018 9:31 pm

Sometimes boredom is the best medicine. Once, a year or so ago we made a long list on the family white board of things our "sit & play video game" child likes to do that do NOT require electronics. It was a great visual for all of us, because while some it was "solo" stuff some of it required others. :)

Board games are a BIG deal to him, but they often require a second person.
Riding a bike {we don't have sidewalks on our block, but he's old enough to ride in the road if he watches for traffic or to go to the football field behind us & use the parking lot}
Swing {yep, my teen still likes to use a swing.. a LOT}
Trampoline {all though we have to take it down in the winter because the wind here is crazy enough to blow it over the fence into Mrs Fred's yard & well..}
Create his own board games {this is a fun process & we often only see the results as he locks himself away in his room at his desk..}
Play with pets {he has birds, we have a family dog}
Cook {I try to provide books he can use on his own to be honest..}
Electronic Kit {doesn't that sound funny? I am referring to one where you build circuits, create radios, door alarms, etc}

He struggles the absolute most when his older brother is doing something Artsy or musical because these aren't areas he's interested in. All though if brother doesn't mind he will hang out & chat, because that kid can chat like nobody's business when he's on fire about something. ;)

snadig
Posts: 170
Joined: Mon Feb 20, 2012 7:05 pm

Re: I need some ideas for boys

Post by snadig » Wed Jan 10, 2018 12:42 pm

Thanks! He likes people and especially other guys to hang out with. I just need to give him different opportunities but also realize being bored isn't a bad thing sometime.
Stacey in Co

Married 21years to my best friend
my wonderful kids:
19-dd-College student Aug 18
17-dd-US 1 Histroy -Aug 18
13-ds-MTMM - Aug 18
Finished:Beyond,Bigger,Preparing,RtoR,RevtoRev,CtC,MtMM,WH,AH1,AH2

farmfamily
Posts: 237
Joined: Thu Apr 28, 2011 4:20 pm

Re: I need some ideas for boys

Post by farmfamily » Sat Jan 13, 2018 11:31 pm

jellybeanmum - I just had to laugh about your trampoline blowing away into your neighbor's yard! We had something similar happen to ours. We have this huge trampoline and one day my kids went outside and said it was gone. I couldn't believe it until I went out there to see for myself. It took us a long time before we found it halfway across our neighbor's cow pasture! It had somehow blown over the fence without damaging the fence! The trampoline was in a bad way, though, but my husband took it apart and used his welding torch to reassemble it.

Anyway, that was off topic - but I will say that our trampoline provides endless fun for our kids too. They play on it almost every day. We have now tied ours securely to some beams that support the balcony of our house so it won't go anywhere on windy days!
blessed to be married 17 yrs to my hardworking farmer dh, mom to:
daughter 13 MTMM
daughter 11 Rev to Rev
son 10 CTC

Enjoyed Little Hands, LHFHG, Beyond, Bigger, Preparing, CTC, Res to Ref, and Rev to Rev!!

snadig
Posts: 170
Joined: Mon Feb 20, 2012 7:05 pm

Re: I need some ideas for boys

Post by snadig » Mon Jan 15, 2018 12:42 pm

I have thought many times about getting a trampoline but we never have. I worry about injuries :roll: . I hurt my back on a trampoline when I was younger.

It is crazy to think of them blowing away. Glad you you all enjoy them.

Have a great day!
Stacey in Co

Married 21years to my best friend
my wonderful kids:
19-dd-College student Aug 18
17-dd-US 1 Histroy -Aug 18
13-ds-MTMM - Aug 18
Finished:Beyond,Bigger,Preparing,RtoR,RevtoRev,CtC,MtMM,WH,AH1,AH2

Carrie
Site Admin
Posts: 8125
Joined: Wed Aug 15, 2007 8:39 pm

Re: I need some ideas for boys

Post by Carrie » Tue Jan 16, 2018 1:19 pm

Stacey,

I have one simple idea that we have implemented at our house. I shared it in another thread, but thought it might be of use to you too!

We have added a scheduled half-hour reading time for our family at night after supper clean-up where the family gathers together to read silently for 30 minutes in our living room. Each family member reads a book of his/her choice. We actually set a timer, and it is completely silent (as we finally have kiddos old enough for it to be quiet). :D It has really encouraged a love of reading in our house! Our older kiddos sometimes read their "Living Library" books or their "Literature" books for school during this time. :D Sometimes our boys read their Bibles or devotional books during this time too. Anyway, just a thought. At the end of the reading time, we do a quick share of a quote or brief several sentence summary about what we've read.

I must admit that even I am enjoying this silent reading time!! Plus, it is something we all do together from the oldest to the youngest! We did it originally to instill a love for reading in our youngest son (which it did!!), and to remind our older boys of their previous love for reading (which it did!!), but it has infused all of us with a passion for reading once again! We did this scheduled reading time during the summer most nights and continued on into the school year! I am not always able to join in, nor is my husband, but we try. :D My boys do it regularly... sometimes with one parent, sometimes with both parents, and sometimes without parents! My boys range in age from 22 to 11, so it is a great together moment!

Blessings,
Carrie

snadig
Posts: 170
Joined: Mon Feb 20, 2012 7:05 pm

Re: I need some ideas for boys

Post by snadig » Tue Jan 16, 2018 6:38 pm

Thanks Carrie.

I love your idea! I think since we have been using HOD for school they just love reading. I sometimes have to encourage them to stay active. :lol: They would read more than go outside. If my son can't play video games ( which isn't much 1 1/2 a week) he will read or listen to Adventures in Odyssey. He goes through phases where he is just bored. I think it is an age thing (He is almost 13). I have gotten great ideas from everyone on this thread and I am pondering how to encourage him to find things to do.

On another note I hope you have found this school year to be a bit more relaxed pace, without having the writing deadlines of previous years. I am sure you are still very busy! We have been blessed by your work!!

Stacey
Stacey in Co

Married 21years to my best friend
my wonderful kids:
19-dd-College student Aug 18
17-dd-US 1 Histroy -Aug 18
13-ds-MTMM - Aug 18
Finished:Beyond,Bigger,Preparing,RtoR,RevtoRev,CtC,MtMM,WH,AH1,AH2

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