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I take my 13 year old stepson camping on odd weekends and holidays. He never brings any toys, games or books with him, despite me reminding him. I don't think he has much at home to bring. When he spends weekends with us at home he sits on the computer or plays out with friends. The last trip we went on with a group of friends he was quite upset at not having toys and stuff of his own like all his friends.

 I want to stock up on some rainy day stuff for him to take camping. Nothing electronic. Does anyone have any suggestions of stuff he might enjoy.

You are quite limited if you dont want anything thats electronic for 'rainy day' activities. You could  try the more commercial sites where they have plenty of entertainment going on, or failing that could your stepson take a mate with him??

My son is 13 and to be honest you are limiting yourself by not wanting anything electronic. At that age it`s all gadgets and gizmos. What about a gameboy and a few games? Electronic I know but it keeps my son happy for hours.

We take an outdoor games set as well, have a look in the Argos catalogue on pages 1542 and 1543, we got item 4 and item 16. There was an offer on when we got ours and we got one half price. We find once the kids get them out, other kids usually come over and start playing with them and they all have fun. Not strictly rainy day stuff but handy to have anyway.

We also take a few travel games, Monopoly, Connect Four, Cluedo etc. Woolworths did have a half price sale on them a few weeks ago. My son also likes those puzzle books, Sudoko, Find the word etc.

Hope this helps you a bit.

'Does anyone have any suggestions of stuff he might enjoy'.

how about a 13 year old girlfriend, guarenteed to keep him intersted for hours.

Quote: Originally posted by jonbob71 on 21/6/2006

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'Does anyone have any suggestions of stuff he might enjoy'.

how about a 13 year old girlfriend, guarenteed to keep him intersted for hours.

 

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If he`s getting upset and you suspect he`s not got a lot at home, he`s probably getting embarrassed at not having stuff to share and thinking that his new found camping friends are laughing at him for not having toys. Most kids don`t get to take much with them because of packing space so playing whith one another`s stuff is almost expected.

At the very least buy him a football, Top Trumps in a character he might enjoy, some comic books and magazines. If he has a bike then you really should take that if possible. Pack of cards...my boy is nine going on ten, so he still likes action figures and Lego on campsite. I`ve seen kids with diabolos, badminton kit and juggling balls and hoops on campsite. Frisbees too.

What were the other kids playing with? Dod you notice your lad playing any particular game? You could always mention to him you`re adding some things to play with to the camping kit and ask him to help.

To be honest though, a Gameboy is a No1 top choice on a campsite. if he doesn`t have one at home you can get an inexpensive one on Ebay as long as he doesn`t mind a non-trendy colour. I don`t get it myself but kids do regard a Gameboy as a communal activity...they all sit around and watch one person play and discuss what`s going on. Anyway they don`t seem to play with them during the day on site if there`s better things to do, like getting manky and climbing trees.

My lad is 15 now, and since he was 10 we have always taken a friend along with us for company. We used to play monopoly, connect 4, cards etc with them sometimes, but to be honest they get a lot more fun out of disappearing for hours, come back caked in mud etc excitedly gabbling on about the great stream, woods, rope swing etc etc. So what if they are filthy and wet, nothing a good shower and hot cuppa wont solve They are not young for long I say, let them make the most of it.

Anyway, if taking a friend is not an option, have you thought about those model kits you can buy? cars, planes etc. I know my lad still loves doing them now. Doesn't have to be Airfix, there are cheaper sets out there.

We have a twelve year old son and we don't take any electronic games - they are specifically banned from our camping trips! Instead, he takes a kite, football, scatch, roller blades (skateboard now stays at home, since he ended up with such bruised ankles and legs one holiday that we thought we might be suspected of child-beating!), fishing net (he is hoping we will treat him to a rod, this year) and his bike.

For rainy days, he usually wears his kagoule and does all of the above, regardless! In addition, he has books, paper, pencils pens and crayons, travel-size draughts and Monopoly, Boggle, pack of cards and - US!

And you know what? He never complains about being "bored"!

My 13 year old boy likes to take a friend or two with him sometimes.

I'm afraid even in bad weather they like to sit around or play outside, getting soaking and muddy of course.

On his own it is unfortunately electronic toys - specifically the TV, DVD player and gamecube or Playstation that keeps him occupied. In the caravan of course that isn't such a problem but you can get a portable DVD player with screen that will run from the car's 12 volt or from rechargeable battery.

Our 13yr old lad takes a Gameboy ( 1 set of batteries no more)for use inside tent only early morning or late at night
Football ( lightweight one not a heavy proper one )
Frisbe
Bike
cricketset
a book or 2
top trumps cards
a couple of mini travel games
book of plain paper and pencils