My high school-age kids and I don’t have a whole lot in common anymore. It is becoming more and more difficult for us to find things we can do together that actually feel fun and easy and don’t take too much cajoling and work. One of the things we can still enjoy together is renting and watching movies. We may not all have the same taste, but chances are, plunking a movie in the DVD player can still cause a bit of a gathering in the living room…
One of the great things about movies and teenagers is that talking is optional. We can sit scattered around the living room and not have to look at each other (or they don’t necessarily have to look at me) and we don’t even have to talk to each other and we can still be together. There’s a good chance that we will eventually start chatting about the movie or some topics or ideas that pop up–but we don’t HAVE to. This can be a key ingredient to an activity with teens who may not be into talking to mom anyway.
I’m enjoying watching my kids’ interests and preferences in movies change. My eldest daughter has developed an appreciation for foreign films and loves deep movies with drama and political messages. She doesn’t even mind the subtitles. On the other hand, she loves the cheesy romantic comedies too. My son is definitely into action movies and scientific thrillers and other sorts of films I find it hard to get my head around. What he and I do have in common is a love for sports movies, however. My middle daughter and I have very similar tastes in films so she is the one who usually accompanies me on trips to the movie theatre.
With quickly-aging teenagers, I find it quite reassuring to know there are still a few things we can cling to where we can actually connect. Thank goodness we still have movies!
See Also: Weekends: Family Time, Relaxation, Work, or Homework and When in Doubt, Bake Cookies