Due to the rapidly spreading COVID-19, many families are facing the unimaginable … being stuck together inside for weeks in quarantine. With no outings or visits from friends allowed, this can be a daunting prospect and a recipe for boredom. So here is a checklist of possible activities to undertake with your teens:

• Make music (singing / dancing / lip syncing) videos.
• Bake and decorate cookies, pies, or other treats.
• Make homemade cards to send to troops overseas or to patients in local hospitals.
• Teach your teen some life skills, such as cooking a favorite dinner, doing laundry, budgeting and money management, or how to write a resume and interview for a job.
• Take neighborhood walks (just give waves from afar to the neighbors).
• Play board games. Turn it into a family tournament!
• Tell each family member to invent a magic trick, or find one online, and then put on your own family magic show.
• Learn a new card game to play together, such as bridge or spades.
• Reorganize their room.
• Have a movie marathon with a theme.
• Tie dye some old shirts.
• Learn sign language.
• Plant a spring garden.
• Make a photo collage or photo scrapbook.
• Learn a new skill to try at home, like origami, knitting, juggling, or yoga.
• Leave a jigsaw puzzle out on a table to work on whenever the mood strikes.
• Make tie blankets (you can get the materials on Amazon) to donate to a homeless shelter.
• Write a play and act it out.
• Read the same book and discuss it as a family.
• Research your family tree / ancestry.
• Make a stop motion video.

Dealing with Teen Anxiety

Everyone will deal with the pandemic in different ways and that is ok. Some youth will still feel invincible, as adolescents tend to do, and think everyone is overreacting. In this case, your battle will be convincing them to continue the practice of social distancing. But other teens will feel frightened about all of the changes and the unknown future they are facing. If your teen is feeling afraid or is battling anxiety, please refer to the CDC for ideas for seek out a mental health professional.