Does it seem like your daughter is rarely at home with you and your family? Would she rather be out with her friends? Of course, because it’s more fun! But if home life were fun too, maybe she’d hang around a little more?
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What makes you want to do something? Ah, duh, you enjoy it. You feel good doing it. It makes you laugh. It tastes delicious. You’re interested by it. But if you get criticized or someone adds a bunch of rules to the mix, then all the fun is squeezed out. Keep that in mind when you’re trying to create an enjoyable time at home for your daughter!
You just need to up the fun quotient at your house so that you stand a chance against the tough competition of the outside world!
Here are some ideas and inspiration to (re) connect your teen girl to the home.
- Create a home version of Chopped, the popular Food Network TV Show, and get competitive in the kitchen. Grab a basket of random ingredients and see who can make the best dish.
- Host monthly movie nights. Pick and theme like “underwater,” choose a movie that fits, and decorate accordingly. Your clothing and the snacks should match too!
- Start an on-going tournament of Ping Pong or Backgammon. Keep a tally. Play a few games every night or so. The loser will keep coming back for more!
- Skip the carwash and do it as a family. If it’s a super nice day, wear your bathing suits!
- Plan a themed outdoor (or indoor) picnic like “Springtime in Paris.” Eat all the appropriate snacks.
- When the Kids’ Choice Awards is on, make “slime” and watch it together.
- Meet up with another family whose kids are of similar ages to yours and play “celebrity,” capture the flag, or dodge ball.
- Get super dressed up for the Academy Awards or other awards show. Drink sparkling apple cider or grape juice out of champagne flutes and try to guess the winners.
- Have a dance party in your jammies. We’re never too old for this! Take turns on who gets to pick the tunes. Let your daughter hear some of your old favorites! (Warning: She will make fun of you.)
- Dress in red and have a Valentine’s Day meal with hearts and red food galore!
- Host a talent show. (Parents included!)
- Make s’mores. Over a real fire, in the microwave, doesn’t matter! They’re delicious!
- Introduce them to some games from your youth: Stratego, Rubik’s Cube, Parcheesi, Risk, 1000+ piece puzzles, etc…
- Browse recipes on Pinterest with each other to find a new dish that looks amazing and then cook it together.
- Buy a cheap badminton set for the yard and see how long you can keep a rally going. This can get really competitive!
- Start a regular board game night. Monopoly, Scrabble, and Settlers of Catan tend to inspire the most emotion. Mousetrap is just fun to put together!
- Teach your kids classic card games like Rummy, Hearts, or Spades. These will come in handy for years to come.
- Choose a show on Netlfix and binge watch it together. Make a pact to not watch it without one another.
- Make cheese or butter from scratch! It’s surprisingly easy to do at home.
- Find some trails in your area and go for a walk through the woods. Or if you’re in a city, explore a new place around your town.
- Start crafting! Buy a bunch of beads in bulk and make jewelry together. It can be as simple or as fancy as you want.
- Pick a region of the world and cook a themed dinner! Apps and desserts included! Bonus points if you go to a specialty market together to shop for ingredients!
But really, just ask your daughter what she’d like to do at home and brainstorm together! Make time for little fun activities on the weeknights instead of just waiting for the weekends. And if all else fails, invite those friends of hers over to the house. Best of both worlds!
