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View Full Version : How do you get a teenager to get outside in the sunshine.



mccaugm
23-Jul-08, 11:47
My eldest (almost 18) has welded his bottom to the computer chair in his room. Would like him to go outside of his volition. Any suggestions?

grandma
23-Jul-08, 11:50
Accidental power cut - turn it off at the mains. Failing that, set light to the chair!!

armanisgirl
23-Jul-08, 11:51
Remove all computer plugs, fuses, TV control batteries, etc etc. With nothing to do due to lack of power to appliances, teenager will go out (probably to a friends so s/he can go on their computers etc instead!!).

Not a lot else you can do really, bribery won't work, begging and pleading don't work. No point grounding the teenager as this plays right into their hands - they want grounded so they can spend more time playing computer!

Good luck though, and if you find something that works - share the secret! Lol

rfr10
23-Jul-08, 11:52
My eldest (almost 18) has welded his bottom to the computer chair in his room. Would like him to go outside of his volition. Any suggestions?

You'd have to get some people the same age as him to encourage him to go out. It's unlikely he'll want to "go out in the lovely sunshine for an ice cream" with his parents. There's also nothing worse than a parent nagging- "go on and get out side. It's sunny and will do you good" I'm afraid parents have very little influence to what their sons/ daughters do once they are teenagers. The only people they will listen to is their friends who are the same age as them.

The last resort would be to drag him outside.

Metalattakk
23-Jul-08, 12:36
My eldest (almost 18) has welded his bottom to the computer chair in his room. Would like him to go outside of his volition. Any suggestions?

My suggestion? Leave him be. He's an adult now, let him decide when to go outside and when to veg in front of his PC.

justine
23-Jul-08, 14:16
you could always try moving his pc and consoles outside in the sun, run an extension cable for power, should not take you long to get him out, just remember the sun factor cream..then board up his room door and put up a sign for unexploded bomb.:lol:[lol]

mccaugm
23-Jul-08, 14:32
Success, nagged him so much he scraped the moss of the wall at the side of the house and went skateboarding for a couple of hours. Most fresh air he has had in ages. Hes back in now but think I can live with that for a short while, hes doing the alternative teenage thing..."Eating copious amounts of food". ;)

Thanks for the suggestions though. Have tried the unplugging things, including at the mains. Drove him nuts.... ;)

cd1977
23-Jul-08, 15:22
I take it your own computer is in the garden, then?

Or do I detect a hint of "do as I say, not as I do"? ;)

rob1
23-Jul-08, 15:31
As with most teenages they will do the opposite to what you tell them to do, so tell him to sit and play his games. Why not watch, maybe ask for a go, ask lots of questions, and keep pointing out where the baddies are even if you can't see any. Eventually he'll leave, mostly out of frustration, this is when you sit down and play all the time. This will of course lead on to "my parents think it's cool so it isn't cool anymore" syndrome, and they find something better to do for the rest of the summer. This is what my mother did and it worked (still does!)

George Brims
23-Jul-08, 19:58
Buy him fishing equipment.

mccaugm
23-Jul-08, 20:43
Buy him fishing equipment.

Got some languishing in the shed....his younger brother likes fishing but eldest would not be seen dead near a river unless he was jumping in.
Thanks for the suggestion though. Got him skateboarding so at least he left the house for a while.

Sun Circle
23-Jul-08, 20:55
Glad to hear that he saw some sunshine today, it would be a shame to miss it!

When you win the lottery, you should buy him a fantastically comfortable garden bench (one of those swing ones would be ideal), a super-speedy laptop and wireless internet connection... the garden is the only civilized place to surf the net on a day like today and gaming is more fun in the sun.

Good luck!

Sun Circle

sweetpea
23-Jul-08, 23:21
Push them out the door and lock it!

The Angel Of Death
23-Jul-08, 23:35
You could always try creating a trail of smarties / mars bars out the door

Failing that the good old stick with a nail should do the job

sweetpea
23-Jul-08, 23:45
[quote=The Angel Of Death;410617]You could always try creating a trail of smarties / mars bars out the door

Failing that the good old stick with a nail should do the job[/qu

You have a stick for every occassion?:roll:

changilass
24-Jul-08, 00:15
Doesn't everyone???

Green_not_greed
24-Jul-08, 09:55
Remove the modem. Probably best in the morning as if like our teens they will be fast asleep until lunch. Tell them the modem has a problem and that you've sent it off for repair. To China.....

Ricco
24-Jul-08, 14:49
Hey, look on the bright side.... at least he won't get skin cancer. ;)

Fesman
24-Jul-08, 15:14
I wish I had a dollar for every time I've heard this complaint.

I also wish I had 10 cents for every "solution" I've seen

There is no problem.

Your son is merely being an 18 year old.

You haven't given us any detail at all.

Does your boy still attend school? Is he a working lad? Does he attend University? Is he working on a website design? Is there any sun to see in Caithness?

There are a thousand possible reasons why he doesn't want to go outside and you have offered us none of those possibilities.

How may anyone offer a suitable solution to your problem, except by guesswork?

I may proffer a suggestion that you point him to this page, to show him your concerns, but that's about as much as any unqualified reader may do, in this case.

the_count
24-Jul-08, 16:34
hmmm trying to remember what i was doing at 18 ..... oh yeah chasing girls lol. either that or swimming so i was never in lol my guess is he is trying the old i'm chatting to my friends ploy to stay on the computer ... and if he's chatting he's bound to be looking at webcam pictures .... need i say more :lol:

Oddquine
25-Jul-08, 03:14
My no 1 grandson, who is 18 is going to have to prise himself off the computer chair come Monday...he is starting his first job....................but he has been ensconced in front of his computer since the day he finished his exams. And he sits there and whines that he is bored(on his Bebo).........but does nowt about it.

Just shows how things have changed........I'd have removed computer (OK.....commodore64) and given him gardening to do as I did his uncle and mother!

Dadie
25-Jul-08, 14:41
Threaten them with housework!
switch off the computer and present the mop, dusters, hoover, and a bucket
tidying and cleaning .... mundane jobs to do ...if they dont disappear outside fast enough at least you will have the housework done (badly and under protest but done)

honey
25-Jul-08, 15:33
My eldest (almost 18) has welded his bottom to the computer chair in his room. Would like him to go outside of his volition. Any suggestions?

tell them, under NO circumstances, are they permitted to go outside in the sunshine or there will be dire consequences... they wont be able to help themselves be curious enough to look and see why!! :lol:

mccaugm
25-Jul-08, 17:40
I love reverse pyschology...LOL!! I managed to get him to do some housework, under protest of course. He is now of to work for the evening so cannot argue with that. Younger teenager is heading home from Grannies and by all accounts has been out all day, every day since he left. Thank goodness for that.

Jalna
25-Jul-08, 23:25
If he plays an online game tell him his fleet has been crashed and the IRC and msn have blocked his accounts. Skype is starting to charge for his calls.

:lol: He will run screaming from the house or lock himself away in deep depression........ A wonderful thing then happens he discovers that there is a life outside and hey the sun is shining.

But...... he finds out that his fleet wasn't crashed and his accounts aren't blocked and it was an joke about Skype. But you will see a happy lad doing his own thing..

He should grow out of it. We all want our kids to get out in the fresh air but if you keep pushing sometimes they will decide to be stubborn and not go out because you want them to.

Just give him his space and he will be fine. I have 2 great sons and they were and are both computer geeks, *Umm don't tell them I said that* :Razz, and still get out and about.

cmack
26-Jul-08, 00:26
I wish I had a dollar for every time I've heard this complaint.

I also wish I had 10 cents for every "solution" I've seen

There is no problem.

Your son is merely being an 18 year old.

You haven't given us any detail at all.

Does your boy still attend school? Is he a working lad? Does he attend University? Is he working on a website design? Is there any sun to see in Caithness?

There are a thousand possible reasons why he doesn't want to go outside and you have offered us none of those possibilities.

How may anyone offer a suitable solution to your problem, except by guesswork?

I may proffer a suggestion that you point him to this page, to show him your concerns, but that's about as much as any unqualified reader may do, in this case.

shut your dish.

highlandlassie
26-Jul-08, 15:42
My son was starting to be a worry on the x-box 360, spending most of the day every day on it. At 15 we thought it was not acceptable and encouraged him to go out with his pals, now he is never in which is a bigger worry. At least we knew where he was.