Cool stuff to do for teenagers

By the time your child has reached his mid-teens, you are looking at a target of a minimum of three 20-minute sessions of exercise a week. Ideally, they should be getting closer to the adult target of 30 minutes physical activity each day but, realistically, teenagers have so many commitments on their time – from study to extra-curricular commitments and even part-time jobs – that it’s small wonder they only want to text their friends and watch TV in their down time. Many previously active kids have also dropped out of team sports (again, often because of time pressures), so activities to pique their curiosity and to get a wired teen on the move have to be exciting and unusual. As they would say in text-speak: So ParNts, herez some awsum ideas, init: - Water sports such as windsurfing, canoeing, kayaking, rafting, sailing, bodyboarding, surfing, doughnuting and kneeboarding (where you get towed behind a powerboat, crossing the wake and carving around corners).

- Paintballing.

- Laser Tag (high-tech tag where you get to shoot your opponents with ‘laser’ guns).

- Tenpin bowling.

- Dance (salsa, hip-hop, flamenco plus more traditional – tap, jazz, line or ballroom).

- Snowboarding and skiing.

- Skateboarding and in-line skating.

- Archery.

- Fencing.

- Fitness classes such as kick-boxing, Pilates, yoga, Pace, aerobics.

- Gym classes such as circuit training, weight training etc. - Rock climbing (indoor and outdoor).

- Outdoor sports such as mountain biking, hiking, orienteering and geocaching

- Beach games such as volleyball, hacky sacking and frisbee.