How to Make Your Home a Teenage Hangout

When the pandemic happened, my husband and I were starting to think about upgrades To a bigger house.I wanted to make it bigger A backyard with an entertaining deck, and The completed basement could be equipped with a comfortable sofa, TV, and perhaps a ping-pong table. My vision was to have a home where we could gather an extended family for a special occasion, and a place where our only child could enclose all our friends. I wanted our home to be a hangout for tweens and (eventually) teens.

There is a transition that will happen someday towards the end of elementary school, when Parents stop adjusting “play dates” Children begin planning their own “hangout”.Scheduling a gathering with parents’ children is no longer a problem you Favorite; Now it’s about helping tweens come and go with children who are building stronger bonds. But I know how important their friendship is to them at this age, so Quality friendships can have a positive impact on them until they grow up— I have a vested interest in knowing the children that are most important to my son.

Sadly my Dream teen hangout house was not intended.. You know what this story will be like. Finding a house during a pandemic didn’t seem ideal. After that, demand surged, a bidding war broke out, and full cash offers were thrown in all directions, resulting in a sharp drop in inventories. Currently, interest rates remain the same. But I also found that you don’t need a lot of space or a lot of money to make your home a place to attract your kids and their friends after school or on weekends.

Start by becoming a parent to provide

The first step in making your child’s friends comfortable around you and in your home is to become a parent to serve. We offer car rides to school, suggest picking up couples on the way to the pool, and open the backyard to many newly built junior high school students (then TV and Nintendo Switch). Put outside, serve pizza, hero).

I took my son’s best friend (and my friend’s brother) to school last year, so they were completely vigilant around me. The winding conversations they had, the insults they bumped into each other, the jokes they said “Yo Mama” (and I knew I would laugh), I’m there for all of that did.I had one door too On their walk to school, they knocked when they realized they had a saxophone but no music and needed to ride immediately.

If you are there for them and welcome them when they are young, they will feel comfortable with you and your home as they get older, and You are more likely to come back.

Create a hangout space

A few years ago, before I wanted to move, I was looking for a way to expand the living space I had. And in the process created a specific hangout for his son and his friends... I chose what seemed like an unlikely choice: the unfinished basement of a house around 1925. Turned it into what we called Kid Cave..If I had this space for them, I found it more manageable to take the kids on a regular basis as they had a place to play video games noisy It wasn’t right in the middle of our little living room — and they had more privacy away We..

With a new commitment to the house this summer, we decided to go one step further than the children’s cave and expand the backyard patio.Much of the grass is gone, but there’s a place to imagine junior high school students, and eventually high school students, hanging out and playing around the fire pit. Quoits.. If you don’t have the flexibility to create new space for them, you can add seats to your bedroom so they can get together there. Beanbag chairs and large fluffy pillows provide more ways for everyone to relax without having to stack them on the bed.

No matter what space you focus on, it’s important to provide the right amount of privacy. When I need to do something. If your home has a fun space with table tennis, food balls, air hockey, or an arcade machine, they will naturally pull you in on a boring Sunday afternoon. Keep a stack of board games that kids never grow up, like monopoly, clues, uno, and twisters. Someone will pull it out on a rainy day.

Maintain sufficient inventory

Another key to choosing a hangout is to always have all the supplies you need. That is, snacks and drinks. My son’s friend knows where chips and children’s drinks are hidden and knows that my supply is endless.Make light meals easily accessible So they know they are welcomed by them.. I want you to know that if you get in a hurry after school, you can go eat a snack.

You can also have a simple muffin or cookie mix on hand and put it in the oven when it starts to settle down. You will want to come back just by smelling it. Alternatively, you can take out pizza-making supplies and various toppings and place them in the kitchen to create your own work. You don’t have to work too hard or do your best. Make sure you always have some accessible options.

And keep them out of the way

You want to be welcome, but you don’t want to hover. Providing space, providing entertainment, providing food, and going to do your own thing.