What do 11 yr olds do for fun?

Jodie - posted 3 days ago

get him a girlfriend !!!

Jemma - posted on 12/26/2012

Text , play video games .

That's it you cant change him.
Thesides if someone prefers indoors and they go outside for long periods of time they are more prone to illnesses and things.

Ramona - posted on 07/03/2010

Pool, parks, day camps, etc....

Tina - posted on 07/03/2010

fishing, camping, skateboarding, riding bikes, basketball, parks, play baseball in the back yard with him, encourage him to make friends his own age, you just have to think of things a boy likes to do get him involved with something, YMCA, boy scouts, find what he enjoys and start from there, best of luck.

Heather - posted on 07/03/2010

Are there any older boys nearby he can "hang out" with? 13 or 14? With the right "mature" older friend to hang out with, he could learn some better behaviors. Of course this'll only work if the older teen is a good role model. I'm struggling with keeping my boys (10 and 14) awawy from the video games too! They're banned from 10 a.m. until 8 p.m. (unless it's a rainy day) But until we talked with the neighbors mom, the boys were going to their house mid-day to play video games at their house! Sneaks! So what do they do all day? They take walks around the neighborhood (see if they can find anyone else to hang with) they toss a frisbeen back and north, or a football sometimes. They play tag with the younger kids (all ages), sometimes they skateboard or ride bikes, but not too often, they play card games, marbles, make youtube videos (these are always fun and creative), they try to find various jobs they can do to earn money: yard work or housework for other neighbors, I paid them all to clean all my kids' rooms once! LOL! If they're forced to get away from the video games, they learn creativity.... and if they're slow at learning it.. you can throw some suggestions their way! Good Luck! Have a fun summer!

Donna - posted on 07/03/2010

My son is eleven.He loves video games and the tv,I try and encourage to get involve in doing other things.He will ride his bike or go hang out with friends sometimes.At this age,they can be very shy at times and even trouble some some at times.Try to understand them at this time.Their bodies are going through changes they don't understand.Please be supported as much as possible.Let them know how much you love them and try to show interest in what they do..The teenage years are coming so try to be a mom and a friend before its too late..

Jill - posted on 06/30/2010

I love all the answers, they've been helpful to me as well! We also limit the time the boys are allowed to play on the xbox (I have 2, ages 11 & 8). they each get only 1 hour in the morning and 1 hour in the afternoon before 5pm. That prevents them from being overstimulated prior to bedtime and forces them to think outside the xbox...(0; and keep themselves busy. Daily chores are a must during summertime as well. Nothing major, just stuff like keeping their rooms picked up and dishes, stuff like that that has to happen every day.

Tyrin - posted on 06/30/2010

I have an 11 yr old and he really enjoys camp. There may be inexpensive camps in ur area that will expose him to different activities. I found a camp that is a performing arts camp and found out that my son loves to act who knew? They also swim, fish, skate and he will def make friends there. They invole all the kids and at the end of the summer they put on a big production. Believe me it opens many doors for discussion and better quality time for u to spend together

Heather - posted on 06/30/2010

Angie's reply was excellent! I will add a couple thoughts to the mix. My eleven year old son is very much an "indoor" child. And like Angie said, he is more into "arts" (plays piano) than sports. It took some time to hit on the outoor activities he would enjoy. He LOVES to swim. We have a neighborhood pool and make frequent trips there. If you don't have access to a pool in your yard or neighborhood, you can try a local YMCA or even one of those larger inflatable pools from Toys R Us. Sometimes we also set up a sprinkler or slip n' slide in the yard, and he loves that. We'll do waterballoons and make a target for him to throw them out. Beyond water activities, we also found that while he didn't really enjoy skateboarding or bike riding, he loves riding a scooter! That was another good way to get him out and moving. The best thing you can do to counteract the "pouty child" routine is ignore it and stay consistent. To start with, you may want to structure an "oudoor time" where as long as weather allows, he is outside for a specific amount of time...no video games, no tv. If all he wants to do is sit outside and pout for that time, let him! But make things for him to do available. He'll putter around kicking rocks for a while, but eventually he'll pick up something if he realizes you're serious that he has to be outside for a specific timeframe.

Patricia - posted on 06/26/2010

this was a wonderful answer,as I am going thru this with my own son. Single mom and sometimes its hard to get him away from the TV or the games and I love to do outdoor stuff.

thanks !

Alissa - posted on 06/23/2010

Thank you it does help, and to know that some kids are still that way at that age. A lot of the kids around that age that we know seem more mature, independent and into sports.

Angie - posted on 06/22/2010

That is pretty typical of that age. You need to figure out what his 'likes' are. Does he like to skateboard? Basketball? Ride a bike? The best investment I think we have ever made was a basketball hoop for the front yard. We got each boy a ball and if they were bored we told them to go out and shoot some hoops... Now you can't get them away from the thing, four years later! My oldest is pretty shy and we just moved, so we let him play his video games since he can play with his old friends... once school starts I will be more apt to send him outdoors since he will have more opportunity to make friends. But for now, he likes to shoot hoops and ride his bike. My second son would love it if we just glued his feet to his skateboard. You can buy little ramps and rails for them to use too that are light and you just pick them up and put them away at night.
Point is that you need to find what works for him. Some kids are serious introverts and you will only cause them to withdraw more by forcing them to do things that are out of their comfort zone. So just find what makes him tick... indoor kids usually are artsy... does he like to draw? read? build? My oldest son still love to construct things.. he will save his money and buy those bionicles and build them and then give them to his brother, lol. Does he like to collect sports cards... my indoor son will sort those things for hours. Don't worry about leaving him outside.. he is 11. He will be fine. Give him some time to find kids his own age. And if he is being bossy... the other kids will tell him to stop and that will always work better than anything you could say to try to get him to stop. I hope this helped some!! :)