Things for teens in NH... (school, college, camping)

[Cindy, CA]

Hi All,
As you know we are trying to move to NH in the next several years. We have 4 small children(ages 5 to almost 10 months). I was wondering what there is to do in NH to keep the teens busy. My mom keeps telling us to find something west because there isn't anything for the teens to do(my family lives in Maine) and she is afraid they will be more apt to get into drugs/drinking/under aged sex etc. I know these things can happen anywhere and I am trying to make a point to my parents of that. Also we are trying to move for many reasons but a healthier family friendly life which is more "wholesome" for the kids is a major concern for us. In fact it is one of the reasons we are trying to leave our area now which is full of drugs/violence/pollution/ etc.

Can anyone tell me what there is to offer the kids in NH? What types of things do you all do to keep the kids active and involved instead of bored and finding trouble? We plan on lots of family time but as they get older we realize they may not always want to hang out with us.

Thanks!!

[bignhfamily]

I too have 4 kids. They stay super busy. Never a dull moment.

Right now my 2 oldest (9 and 11) are away at 4H camp. The older teen 4H er's are the staff and counselors.
My kids ski in the winter and sled, snowshoe, make snow forts, etc)
Summer we swim, camp, eat smores, hike, go to the beach, watch fire works, pick strawberries, work in the garden, bale hay.
Spring and fall everyone is back in school and all the sports, band, choir, drama club, chess club that goes with it.
We also like to hunt and fish, boil down sap into syrup, pick fiddle head ferns or stack cord wood at certain times of the year.
We are active in our church and Sunday school an well.
Oh and did I mention the animals? Our family raises a flock of sheep and each kid has several of their own that are their responsibilities. Morning and afternoon chores each day every day.
I rarely have to shoo the kids of to bed as they are usually sleeping before their bed time.

I'm exhasted just writing it down
There is something to do for everyone here.
Get the kids involved at an early age at it simply becomes a way of life.

I have a sister living in San Diego. My nephews watch a lot of tv and play a lot of video games.
What do teens do in CA that they can't do here??

[ryanjpimentel]

I think BigNHFamily nailed it. In NH is there's lots of variety because of the dramatically different seasons. I am only 20 years old and find there to be tons to do, if your kids take the initiative that is. I would usually ski/snowboard in the winter and I advise anyone to atleast try it. I love hanging by the beach or lake with friends in the summer, having parties and BBQs. Then fall is dominated by change - going back to school, lots of great local football action, changing leaves, new clubs. In the spring, people are usually so refreshed that the winter is over that they spend all free time outside!

[Yankeehombre]

Fishing, blueberry picking, apple picking Skiing, [water &snow]snowboarding, swimming, snowmobiling, bycycling, hiking, wildlife watching, raising animals, mucking out stalls, camping, canoeing. You really don't need a game boy!

[newhampshiregirl]

I have two teens (well, one's almost out of his teens). Our kids were always very busy - especially with sports - BUT and this is a big BUT, WE as parents were very involved in these activities and events as well. We drove, coached, spectated, planned, etc. If you live in rural New Hampshire you need to plan on being almost as involved as your teens are in whatever it is they do if it's outside the home.

Because we live in a rural environment, we spent LOTS of hours on the road for travel team soccer, field hockey and softball. Don't know how people do it with more than two children

That said, I wouldn't trade those years for anything.

[Cindy, CA]

Thanks!!! Looks like our kids will be so busy they won't have time to even think about getting bored. I now have tons of ammo next time my mom brings up the subject.

I am not one to have my kids watch a lot of tv or sit around with video games so that isn't part of our routine now anyway. We plan on staying very involved with our children so these are all perfect ideas and things that we can all do together.

[Rexicana]

Having grown up in a Boston suburb and recently living in San Jose, what I've seen of teenagers here is the same as those places - a lot are well balanced and involved in lots of positive activities, and others beating their own difficult drums for a while.

What I like about it here, different than CA, is that there are lots of adults who know my kids and interact with them. My son's baseball coach is also his doctor, for example. I find a lot of adults here willing to mentor teens - in art, business, etc.

[fishnfool]

just as much to do here as anywhere. Sports, outdoors, beaches, etc. The stuff I did as a teen had very little to do with with where we lived....basically just drove around, hung out with friends, went to school events, played sports, etc. You can find that anywhere. I would have been way more active had I grown up in NH instead of Ohio. We didn't do anything at all in the winters. Here they can ski, snowboard, hike, etc. Lots of stuff as long as they are not "big city" type kids....and even then as a teen you're too young to go to clubs, bars, etc so what does it matter?

My fiance though grew up in a very small and isolated farm town. Picture a small 2 traffic light island in a sea of corn fields. In a place like that, the kids definitely turn to drugs, drinking, etc. to entertain themselves. There's just so little to do and very little expectations placed on the children to other than work in the 2 factories. Most never even consider going to college so they just don't care. I could see something similar to that occurring in the isolated towns waaaay up north in both maine and NH, but overall I think this would be a great place to grow up with plenty of good activites to keep them entertained.