21 Fun Activities Parents Can Do With Their Teenage Girl
Parents sometimes have a hard time figuring out what they can do with their teenage children, especially their teenage daughters. Luckily, there are many things that you can do with your female teenager. Some of the things you can do with them are listed below for your convenience.
1. Go Shopping
Teenage girls love shopping, and you can easily go shopping with them (as long as you bring your wallet). Take them to the mall and browse their favorite stores with them. Help them find new clothing, accessories, or help them find new items for their room. If one of their friends’ birthdays is coming up, help them find a gift for their friend.
While you are shopping, you will find out more about their sense of style and preferences. They will likely ask your opinion on the clothing they choose, especially because you are likely paying for it.
Be patient while they shop and avoid being on your phone. They are still figuring out their sense of style, and it is always changing. If you are on your phone for the entire shopping trip, they will think you don’t want to be there and spend time with them.
2. Get Mani Pedis
Teenage girls love getting pampered, and a mani-pedi is a perfect activity to do with your daughter. You both can rest, relax, and chat away about important or trivial things. It is extremely easy to find a nail salon that will do your nails well. If you have a limited amount of time or budget, you can choose to only do a manicure or pedicure.
Let them pick out the color of nail polish and whether or not nail art is added. Depending on your budget and free time, you can choose to let them get fake nails, as most teenage girls love getting fake nails. You can make getting a mani-pedi a regular activity, only go every once in a while, or for special occasions depending on your preferences, budget, free time, and the nail salon’s availability.
Most nail salons charge between $20-$50 per person, depending on the services and the time it takes to complete.
3. Go to a Concert or Music Festival
If you know what your teenage daughter’s favorite band or singer is and you see an advertisement for a concert featuring them that will be held in your area, purchase a few tickets. You can get one for you, your daughter, and 1 to 2 of their friends depending on your budget and the ticket availability. Leave it up to your daughter to pick the friends she wants to bring.
If no concerts are being held in your area but there are music festivals and you want to do something music-related with your daughter, attend a music festival with her.
4. Go to the Theater or Ballet
If your daughter enjoys ballet or theater, take them to a ballet performance, play, or musical. High schools often show various theater productions. If you want to watch professional actors during a play, go to an actual theater. You may have to travel, but that will allow you to spend more time with your daughter.
5. Go Out to Eat
Everyone, especially teenage girls, loves eating, and going out to eat will feel like a special treat. You can take them out for fast food or a sit-down dinner depending on our schedule and budget. While you are eating, you can discuss various things or talk to them about what is happening in their life.
6. Watch TV
My sisters love watching their favorite TV shows with our Mom. They get to spend time with her, watch TV, and enjoy the characters and the plot of the episode or movie. They also have something to talk about when they aren’t watching the show.
If you want to spend more time with your daughter, watch TV or a movie with her. Find something to watch that you both enjoy and have an interest in. Many people of all ages enjoy watching Grey’s Anatomy, which is what my family watches together in their free time.
7. Plan a Trip
Teenage girls love taking trips, especially if it gets them out of school. Plan a weekend trip to a location of their choice and determine a weekend or dates when you will make the trip. Give them multiple options that are within your budget and are relatively nearby so you don’t spend the entire trip traveling. Plan the trip relatively far in advance so they don’t make any plans with friends and so you can request time off of work if necessary.
8. Talk About Their Day
Although teenage girls are sometimes distant, once you get them talking about their day they tell you almost everything that is going on in their lives. When they get home from school or a few hours afterward, talk to them about their day and what is going on in their life. Maybe bring them a drink or food, or talk to them at dinnertime.
9. Go Out for Ice Cream
Teenage girls love ice cream, even if they say they need to avoid it because of a diet they are on. If your teenage daughter is lactose intolerant, maybe purchase dairy-free ice cream instead or go to an ice cream shop that has multiple dairy-free options available for her to enjoy.
To spend more time with your daughter, take her out for ice cream and let her get whatever she wants. Eat your ice cream at the shop so you both can spend some time together outside of our home.
10. Go Hiking
If your teenage daughter enjoys hiking and being physically active, take her on a hike. It can be a hike that you both are familiar with or a new one that is new to one or both of you. Where you go hiking is up to you, but it is a great way to spend time with your daughter while being physically active.
Make sure the hike suits both of your intensity preferences and won’t last more than a few hours unless you plan on going camping after your hike.
11. Redesign their Room
The design preferences of a teenager change with the trends and times. If you haven’t redesigned your daughter’s room in the last year, offer to help her redesign it. Go to Target, TJ Maxx, Ross, and other stores that will have what she needs to redesign her room.
You don’t have to break the budget, but redesigning her room with you will give you a look at her sense of style and how she is changing over time.
Let her know what the budget is beforehand so she knows exactly how much she can spend on her room redesign.
12. Go Swimming
Many teenage girls enjoy swimming, especially during the summer when the weather is warm. Swimming is a great activity for parents and teenage girls to do together, even if none of you are actively swimming. Your daughter may want to work on her tan more than she wants to swim, and that is something fun you can do together.
Go to your local pool with your daughter on a warm day. It can be an outdoor or indoor pool, just make sure it isn’t too crowded so both of you can go swimming comfortably, and make sure your daughter has a swimsuit that fits her properly.
13. Go to the Beach
The beach is a hotspot for teenage girls, especially in the summer when many boys are also on the beach. Take your daughter to the beach on a day that is warm enough that she can swim and overall enjoy herself. However, keep in mind that on days like that, the beach will be extremely crowded, especially if the beach is typically cold.
If she wants to bring friends with her on this beach trip and you can bring them, bring 2-3 of her friends with you to the beach. Make sure it is okay with their parents before bringing them.
14. Play Sports Together
If you and your teenage daughter are both athletically inclined, find a sport that you both enjoy doing in your free time and do it together. Dedicate weekends or after-school hours to the sport. Although the time will be somewhat limited if she chooses to play the sport for school, she will still likely want to practice with you on the weekends, when she doesn’t have practice. If she loses interest in the sport, choose another one to do together.
15. Bake or Cook
If your teenage daughter enjoys cooking or baking, or if she just wants to learn more about it or needs to learn how to avoid burning water, cook or bake with her. She can likely complete most tasks, but she may need a little help with the more complicated instructions.
This is a great way to spend time with your daughter while making something delicious. Enjoy eating the cookie dough or leftover brownie batter while your dessert cooks.
16. Go to the Library
If your teenage daughter enjoys reading, go to the library with her. That way, she can pick up books to her heart’s content and you don’t have to spend any money. If a book interests both of you, discuss the book as both of you are reading it. Most libraries have multiple copies of one book.
If you don’t read the same book, ask her about the book while she reads it. This will show her that you are interested in what she is doing and reading, which will make her feel cared about and loved.
17. Talk about Common Interests
When spending time with your daughter while you are doing these various activities, talk about your common interests. You may be surprised at how many interests you have in common, and that can give you ideas for things that you can do in the future. You can talk about these common interests while watching a movie or TV, going out to eat, or hanging out at the beach or pool.
18. Play a Game
Play a game with your teenage daughter. The game can be of any type, including video games, puzzles, or multi-player games. It is up to what games you have and your preferences to decide what game you two play.
However, if you are both competitive, make sure it doesn’t get heated and arguments are kept to a minimum. Ask her what her favorite games are and ask if she wants to play. If you don’t know how to play the game, ask her to teach you.
19. Volunteer
If you both enjoy doing volunteer work, volunteer in your local community together. You can either do tasks together or just attend the same volunteering event. Where and what volunteer work you do is up to you and what volunteer opportunities are available in your community. You can also typically choose how long you do volunteer work. Make the day special, and maybe go out to eat after you finish volunteering.
20. Garden Together
Some teenage girls enjoy gardening, but only if they don’t have to spend hours pulling out weeds. When the weather starts to get warmer and the ground is no longer frozen, depending on your area’s climate, take a few hours to remove the weeds in your garden or flower beds. Then, bring her with you while you choose flowers to plant in your garden (seeds or already-grown flowers). Take her opinion into account when buying the flowers. Then, take a few hours and plant the flowers in your garden with her.
21. Listen to Music Together
If both you and your teenage daughter enjoy listening to music, listen to your favorite music together. If you both enjoy musicals, discuss the plot and music. This will help you find out what they appreciate in music so you can keep an eye out for more music that they will enjoy.
My younger sisters often talk to my dad about music, and they enjoy having debates about songs that they both enjoy listening to. Everyone enjoys music, even teenage girls. However, keep in mind that music changes, and you may not like the music they are currently listening to.