How do teenagers spend their free time?

Many teens enjoy spending their free time doing things like shopping, going to parties, hanging out with friends, messaging friends, gaming and watching online videos, watching movies, reading and going to the beach or park.

Teens might also spend free time doing structured extracurricular activities like arts and sports, community activities or volunteering, or casual work.

What to do with teenagers: tips for parents

Spending free time together is a great way to stay connected with your child, especially if it’s one-on-one time. This is also good for your child’s wellbeing.

How to encourage your child to spend time with you

• Discuss ideas with your child and plan how you’ll spend time together.
• Plan short activities you know your child is likely to enjoy.
• Ask your child whether they’d like to invite a friend along.
• Try a range of activities. It might take you a while before you find one you both like.
• Keep trying. If you spend time together often enough, your child will probably start to feel enthusiastic about it.

Ideas to try

• Organise to go to a movie or concert.
• Cook a meal together.
• Go for a walk.
• Look through family photos.
• Work together on a project like redecorating your child’s room.

Shopping! My daughter and I just love shopping. Then we stop for a coffee or juice and just talk. It can feel so strange doing that with my daughter, but I love it.
– Sarah, mother of 16-year-old daughter

Free time ideas for the whole family

If you’ve got teenagers and younger children, you could have a family meeting to brainstorm activities to enjoy as a family. You could make a couple of lists – activities to do together, and activities that only some of you will do.

Activities for your whole family

• Watch a family-friendly movie. Check out our movie reviews for ideas.
• Have a picnic.
• Play a favourite game or activity at a local park, like soccer or frisbee.
• Plan a special meal with everyone suggesting a dish.
• Plan a holiday.
• Go for a bushwalk or a bike ride.

We go down to the park on a Saturday afternoon just to kick a ball around. I’d actually forgotten how much fun running around a park can be!
– Richard, father of 14-year-old son

Free time with friends: things to think about

Your child will also want to do things with their friends. Here are things to think about.

Your child’s friends

It’s a good idea to get to know your child’s friends. This shows your child that you understand the importance of their friendships. It also means you know who your child is spending time with.

You can do this by encouraging your child to have friends over and giving them a space in your home. If you do this, you could think about house rules like expected behaviour, when and for how long friends can visit, food and responsibility for tidying up.

Money

Your child might find that some activities they want to do with friends cost money. You might talk with your child about what activities you’re willing to pay for, how often and how much. You could also talk to your child about pocket money. Can your child do extra household chores to earn extra money? Or are they interested in casual or part-time work?

Going out with friends

If your child wants to go out with friends, you can help your child prepare for going out independently. This might involve negotiating rules for going out and talking together about how to stay safe. You can also help your child put together a plan for emergencies.

It’s also OK to think about how much you need to know about where your child is going and who with. You might ask your child to keep their phone on while they’re out and let you know if their plans change.

Transport

You could think about how available you’ll be for providing transport. Can you drive your child to things if you have enough notice? Or do you expect your child to use public transport in most situations? Will you offer transport to your child’s friends? Does your child know who to contact in an emergency?

Sometimes you might think you’re showing interest in your child’s activities, but your child thinks you’re getting too involved. It’s a tricky balance. Building trust can help. Mutual trust means you can reduce your supervision and involvement in your child’s free time. This will help your child to develop responsibility, confidence and independence.

What teenagers can do when they’re bored

It’s OK for your child to feel bored sometimes! Being bored can motivate your child to find something creative or new to fill their time.

Boredom busters for your teen

• Do jigsaws or other puzzles.
• Garden, bake or cook.
• Read.
• Draw or colour in.
• Play with a pet.
• Look through photo albums.
• Start a journal.
• Listen to music or a podcast.

Your child might spend some of their free time watching TV, using a computer or tablet, playing video games, and using their phone. This is fine as long as it’s balanced with things like socialising, exercise and other healthy and positive activities.

Sometimes your child will just want to spend time by themselves, not doing very much. You might notice this as your child begins to do more homework and studying – it’s partly about recharging mentally. Solo free time is OK, if it’s not all the time and your child also spends time with friends and family.