What can my 12 yr old do

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  • custardy
    custardy Posts: 38,365 Forumite
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    Time_to_Change wrote: »
    I have younger children and there are so many activities and holiday clubs for them but nothing for 12 yr olds.
    My eldest has no confidence and struggles with friends, so he is seeing lots of kids his age going out enjoying themselves just “hanging out” and he is stuck in his room.
    I’ve approach sports places/gyms but they’re all over 16 only.
    He is overweight so any suggestions that would help him lose weight would be great!!
    I’m doing as much as I can with him but with 2 younger ones he doesn’t want to do stuff with them understandably:(

    Local martial arts club would be my suggestion.
  • therivierakid
    therivierakid Posts: 329 Forumite
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    Another vote for parkrun. Also, give junior parkrun a look - it's a 2km run for kids aged 4-14. It might be a bit less daunting than the full 5k to begin with. Kids can run, walk, jog the 2k and it's very welcoming and non-judgemental. He may also like to consider volunteering at parkrun to help build his confidence.
    *removed by forumteam - please do not advertise in signatures*
  • mksysb
    mksysb Posts: 357 Forumite
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    Judo, or any other martial art would be good.
  • onomatopoeia99
    onomatopoeia99 Posts: 6,969 Forumite
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    heartbreak_star wrote: »
    Pokemon Go/Wizards Unite?
    Pokemon Go is what gets me walking! Got to hatch those eggs ...
    Proud member of the wokerati, though I don't eat tofu.Home is where my books are.Solar PV 5.2kWp system, SE facing, >1% shading, installed March 2019.Mortgage free July 2023
  • DCFC79
    DCFC79 Posts: 40,598 Forumite
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    OP hasn't returned so I reckon its safe to assume they wont be back.
  • System
    System Posts: 178,100 Community Admin
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    Golf!! Everyone thinks it is expensive and that golfers are rich and snooty, but that's not the case any more (at least I haven't come many people who fit that stereotype). It can cost quite a lot of money if your son really gets into it but to start with there is plenty of second hand kit around, as that age group grow out of their golf shoes and grow out of their clubs quite regularly. If your son is at all body conscious the golf course is definitely the place to be rather than somewhere like a gym or a swimming pool.

    As a junior golfer, the annual membership fee shouldn't be too expensive (although that does depend on the golf club - most are private but there are some municipal ones around, depending on where you live. Without looking, I think my son's membership is around £80 per year which if you divide it up is comparative with something like regular swimming at the local pool, or judo or similar.

    Most clubs have a junior section (juniors being under 18) with some coaching as they play. If you have a golf club near you have a look around, speak to the golf pro (who'll probably be in the shop) but also ask for the contact details of the Junior Organiser. Neither my husband nor I are remotely interested in golf, but our son took up golf at around 8 years old because his best friend had started playing and it's safe to say now that we can't get him off the golf course. He's out in the garden now practising his chipping because we won't let him go to the golf club (he was there yesterday evening and will be there again tomorrow evening!!!!)

    The downside would be that if your son really took to it he would probably start entering competitions, and and that's when the travelling around starts and it could get a bit expensive and time consuming. Having said that, though, we parents try to organise ourselves to try and share the lifts to away comps.

    We are lucky in that we have a golf course ten minutes walk away so most of the time we don't have to worry where he is or how he is getting there.

    Here's an article from England Golf which might help https://www.englandgolf.org/article/junior-golf/
  • Time_to_Change_2
    Time_to_Change_2 Posts: 14 Forumite
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    Apologies everyone for not responding, a very few difficult months been had but up and back at it again!
    In response to everyones kind suggestions he's tried Scouts but it was too boisterous he used to do karate but he was very downhearted that he wasn't as good as everyone else (tbh he probably didn't try that hard), I got some babysitters and spent odd days just the two of us going out together and with a friend on days out which he seemed to enjoy but he still won't join any clubs! I'll keep plodding on trying new things - I have signed up to park run, thanks for the suggestion and I am hoping he will come with me, id never heard of geocaching either so thank you x
  • shwetaa
    shwetaa Posts: 15 Forumite
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    Hi,

    I would suggest you enroll your kid for a yoga class and with that enroll him for a dance or music class. This will boost his confidence and concentration. You will be able to see a definite results in a month or so.
  • jackomdj
    jackomdj Posts: 3,073 Forumite
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    Does he swim? My eldest does rookie lifeguards which she loves (and can't wait until she does her 'adult' life guarding course at 16.
    Both mine play tennis their group is with similar ability children, neither are great at it but they have fun.
  • D_M_E
    D_M_E Posts: 3,008 Forumite
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    He could try the tough mudder events if he likes getting a bit mucky.
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