If your life is anything like mine, summer is a time when you get to ease up from driving people around, attending sports, music and drama performances, and fretting over what time of night the teenagers are going to walk in the door. Unlike when they were small, teens really don't need to be entertained every day, lots of them are working, mine have piles of summer homework to do, and truth be told, they don't want to spend a ton of time with you. 

So here are a few ideas about how to re-connect with your teens this summer.

Hit a swimming hole. There are a lot of beautiful beaches in RI, of course, but there's something really gentle and old-fashioned about seeking out some of the pretty isolated, quiet places for a dip that dot the state. A late afternoon swim is a wonderful opportunity to shut off phones and experience the ease of relaxing in a beautiful place together.

I'd recommend Bowdish Reservoir at the George Washington State Park off Route 44 in Chepachet. There are good facilities here as well as places to camp and hike. In Southern RI, find one of the many wonderful swimming spots along the Wood River which runs about 25 miles from Sterling, CT, back into RI and out again at Stonington. There are maybe a dozen different small beaches along this river, and a canoe is a wonnderful way to find yours.

Get them cooking! Most teens love to eat, who doesn't, really? But producing three meals a day can be a huge job for mom, especially if you are working. Take a look at some of the semi-prepared meal services out there and get your teens working on supper. Most of these services offer some kind of introductory discount which makes it easy to see if they will work for your family and they have a variety of meal types to suit different dietary needs. I've found the meals, portions and directions from Home Chef to be pretty teen-friendly. Pouring yourself a glass of wine and sitting down with a good book at 5:30 in the afternoon is a luxury not to be missed.

Take them on a date. Maybe they roll their eyes when you are in charge of the radio but seeing some of your favorites from the 80's is likely to be a whole different experience for your teen. Squeeze is playing at Tanglewood August 29th or you might check out Lenny Kravitz at Foxwoods on the 25th. Lenny Kravitz gives an undeniably terrific live show, whether you are familiar with his music or not.  

Parenting teens isn't the easiest thing you will ever do, for sure. Share your favorite ways to reconnect with your teens in the comments.

About The Author

Silvia is a native Rhode-Islander who after living abroad for 10 years, currently resides across the border in Putnam, CT. She writes on various topics from arts and culture to parenting and is working on a book of short stories about her former home in the United Arab Emirates.