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Home › Articles › Recreation/Entertainment › Family Fun

Family Fun

Activities Your Preteen Will Love!

By Teri Brown

Pages:  1  2  3  

Preteens are a delightful mixture of adulthood and childhood. At times, they cling to family. At other times, they are fiercely independent. Remember when they were small? They were up for any kind of family activity just because everyone was together. Things change! Now their agreeability often depends on the activity.

The Reasons
Eileen Kennedy-Moore, clinical psychologist and author of What About Me? Twelve Ways to Get Your Parents' Attention Without Hitting Your Sister (Parenting Press, 2005), says this is very typical for preteens. "Preteens are often excruciatingly self-conscious, and this can extend to self-consciousness about their families," she says. "Their growing sense of self is fragile, so a pimple, a bad haircut, a poor grade, a mother who wears the wrong kind of jeans or a father who snorts when he laughs can feel unbearable."

No wonder family activities are a mixed bag for them! But on the plus side, Kennedy-Moore says that preteens still need their parents, and family activities can be a wonderful time for bonding. "At the same time they seem to be pulling away from their families, preteens also desperately need the support and security of their families, who love them no matter what," she says. "Family activities can be a wonderful way of reinforcing a sense of acceptance and belonging for preteens."

Plan the Perfect Activity
Finding family activities that your preteen will enjoy may take a little planning. Kennedy-Moore gives the following tips for planning activities that won't make preteens roll their eyes: