What do children really want to do in the long weeks ahead? Read on
| I don’t tell my mum where I’m going unless I need money to go there. |
Duane OGarro, 13, is looking forward to a packed summer schedule. My friend told me about Summer Action which is run by the police at St Andrew's School in Islington (north London), enthuses Duane OGarro, 13, It costs only 2 to sign up and you can do football, basketball, horse-riding and go to Chessington World of Adventure. Theres even a disco at the end of it.
But for others, the next six weeks represent only an unwelcome intermission in the buzz of term time. I look forward to going back to school, explains Katherine Faulkner, 11. "I usually miss my friends so I don't feel an anti-climax at the end of the summer." Jack Stevens, 16, also has his sights fixed on September: I'm really looking forward to starting my A-levels. It will be a relief after GCSEs to do only three subjects and I cant wait to start music and media studies.
According to the University of Newcastles Department of Community Child Health, only 18 per cent of parents allow children to go to the local park or play area alone. Gillian Antwi-Bosiako, 11, therefore finds herself the exception when she says, My mum works from home. If I disturb her she always tells me off, so I keep out of the way. I spend my summer either at my cousin's house or in the park. All my friends go to the park and we play my favourite game which is called taxing. Its when we sit on each other and swing on the ropes from side to side.
Instead, ten-year-old Benjamina Avro-Owiriwas experience is increasingly common. She says of her summer booked with play groups, It's fun because you can look forward to what you're going to do.
But not all kids are as well catered for. Disappointed by the facilities on offer in her neighbourhood, Kierra Box, 12, describes summer breaks as boring because all the available activities are for little kids or teenagers. She says, Im in the middle bracket so I dont have anything organised. Most of the time, I phone a friend in the morning and spend my time listening to music at their houses or going shopping.
Even where activities are laid on, they can fail to appeal to an ever more demanding generation of children. I used to go to half day events making kites or balloon animals at my church. Now its not very cool, confesses Katherine. Duane adds, I go to Anna Scher Childrens Theatre for acting lessons on a Monday evening and she runs a summer school that I could go to. But I cant do just one activity all summer, its too boring.
KATHERINE, who has also previously attended a summer drama school, agreed: It was a drag and it was so expensive. It cost 70 and by the end of the summer it had nearly bankrupted us. Even Benjamina concedes theres a downside to programmes that work well. She warns, there can be too many rules.
Teenagers are often allowed to take their time into their own hands but success appears to depend upon a ready supply of funds or an extended family if it is to pass happily. Jack says, As I get older, entertainment becomes more expensive because Im less likely to stay in.
Lizzie Kenyon, 14, exclaims, If I was stuck in London for six weeks, I dont know what Id do! There are very few affordable activities, especially if there is more than one child in a family. How does she survive? An annual trip to Poole: My grandma or aunt looks after me and my younger sister and my parents come down for long weekends. We go to the beach, have picnics and go out with my cousins. Its really good because its a chance to get away from London and my parents for a bit.
While younger children dont have such a solution to the problem of how to while away the coming weeks safely and profitably, Gillians final admission indicates the importance of trying to get it right. She confesses, I dont tell my mum where Im going unless I need money to go there. If I want to go to the cinema and I have the money, I just tell her Im going to the park.
About the team
This discussion was led by editor Lizzie Kenyon, 14, with editor Jack Stevens, 16, and reporters Duane OGarro, 13, Kierra Box, 12, Gillian Antwi-Bosiako, 11, Katherine Faulkner, 11 and Benjamina Avro-Owiriwa, 10. It was published in The Guardian.
