4 Ways to Tempt your Teens Away from Their Smartphones

Are your little darlings semi-permanently glued to their smartphones? Are their nimble thumbs and increasingly square eyes making quality time a little less than enjoyable? Never fear! We’ve put together a few handy ideas to help you persuade your teens to disconnect so you can connect better as a family…

Get messy

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If you can remember your misspent teenage years with any clarity (the Two Little Fleas team certainly can’t! perhaps we’ve spent to much time playing online bingo), you’ll know that there are all sorts of irrational fears floating around a 14 year old’s brain. One very real fear for today’s teens, however, is being out of the social loop for more than an hour. The biggest OMG disaster of all time? A broken smartphone. If you have a techno-centric teen at home, you’ll know that this could well be the end of the WORLD.

So, what’s the best way to persuade your adolescent to put down his or her essential gadgetry? Add a little danger! Your teen is not going to want to risk a telephone covered in treacle or swimming in the sink, so why not mastermind a fun project your teen will enjoy which poses a threat to their tech?

Whether your youngster is into baking a popping candy chocolate cake, hennaing their hair or building bathbombs, there are plenty of messy, kitchen based projects you can get stuck into which simply aren’t smartphone friendly. Perhaps this is one for the ladies, but if you have an aspiring Heston, a BBQ fiend or a keen kitchen scientist on your hands, this could be a winner if you’re hoping to get him away from his mobile for more than 5 minutes.

Get crafty

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If that doesn’t work, it’s time for tactic 2: Operation Busy Fingers. If you can keep your teenagers fingers and thumbs busy for an extended period, they’re not going to be able to text, tweet, what’s app, snapchat or anything in between. Crocheting cute creatures, planting the vegetable crop of their choice, learning about cars (if you have a mechanical clever clogs in your life!), building benches, redecorating their room – there are tonnes of fun projects you can get your teen’s teeth into with a little persuasion – and they can even instagram the finished product once they’re done! It helps to have a bit of know-how with this kind of thing, but you’ll be surprised at how keen teens can be to create something themselves.

Go adventuring

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If you’re an outward bound kind of family, it’s time to head out on an adventure. There are a few options here, from getting your teens out into the wilds where they couldn’t get signal even if they tried (we recommend the Brecon Beacons), to arranging an activity which leaves them hands-free (quad-biking, climbing, cliff diving – you name it) and incorporating their smartphone into your adventure so that they can’t use it for anything else (have you heard of geocaching?) – hitting the Great Outdoors is a great way to get your young ‘un away from Facebook and ready for real family facetime.

Embrace technology

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There’s no two ways about it, most teens love tech. So if you can’t beat ’em, perhaps it’s time to join ’em. Try taking a more active interest in the things your teen likes to do with their phone, like casual gaming. Perhaps they’re hooked on Words with Friends or can’t get enough of Candy Crush? Play with them, set up multiplayer games and get involved.

Alternatively, why not organise a more sociable piece of technology to tempt them into family time? Family video game sessions can be a lot of fun, whether you’re competing over Guitar Hero or Wii Skiing. Go on, give it a go, you might even get hooked yourself.