Things to Do with Your Preteen Daughter

Life is hard with a preteen daughter. They aren’t quite little kids any longer and yet they aren’t considered teenagers either. It is a hard time in a young girl’s life. There are so many hormonal and physical changes going on with them that it makes it difficult for parents to understand what exactly a preteen girl needs from them. This is, of course, a very important time in your preteen daughter’s life. They still need us as much as they ever have and yet they are trying to find their own personality and way around the world. It’s a time for parents to stay close but not too close. The best thing to do is to be involved in your preteen daughter’s life. Some parents are at a loss as to how they can stay involved. So here are a few ideas of things to do with your preteen daughter.

The majority of preteen girls absolutely adore a shopping trip. These are also helpful when it comes to staying in touch with your preteen daughter. A shopping trip for something that she enjoys, like books, clothes or jewelry, is an excellent way to spend time with your daughter and to get her to have a conversation with you. It’s nice quality time with her that you might not get with her otherwise. A shopping trip can be a good time to have a talk with her about things like drugs and alcohol or just her daily life, friends and relationships.

Going to a movie theater with your preteen daughter is another idea for spending good quality time with her. Sure, you aren’t going to be having any in depth conversations during a movie but it is a moment that you and she are spending together. It shows her that you think she is special and worth spending time with. If she has siblings, this is also a good way to spend time alone with her instead of her having to share your attention with her brothers and sisters. Afterwards, you and she can discuss the movie. Ask her what her favorite parts were or what she thought the meaning of the movie was. If the movie is about a similar situation going on in your daughter’s own life then the movie discussion could be a great lead into a personal conversation with her.

A lunch date is a great way to make your preteen daughter feel special. Whether you work or stay at home, a lunch date is something that everyone can do every so often. Why not have a lunch date with your preteen daughter? I know around my house dinner time is so rushed with homework assignments, soccer practices and games and just normal daily life that it’s sometimes hard to sit and have a nice talk with my preteen daughter. That’s why a lunch date is so great. Just go pick up your daughter from school for a quick lunch out and then take her back. It’s not like she’ll be missing class if you check her out during her lunch break anyway. A lunch date is a fabulous time for your daughter to tell you how her day is going at school so far, to tell you about any worries she may be dealing with that day or even some little petty arguement between she and her best friend.

If your preteen daughter is as into reading and books as mine is than a visit to your local library is a wonderful idea for things to do with your preteen. Both of my older daughters are avid readers and enjoy the library as much as I do. So when I take them to the library I expect to be there for a while. We pick out books and then the girls will tell me what they think the books will be about. Then we’ll read the first page and see if they think that they will actually like to read that book. It’s just a great thing to do together.

Take a class together. A weekly, or even just monthly, class is a great way to spend time with your preteen daughter and even for the two of you to learn something new together. You could take a cooking class, a pottery class or even an art class. Find something that interests the two of you and just do it. This way the two of you will have scheduled time together. No one can claim they just don’t have time for time together if it’s a class that you are taking and MUST make time for. Taking a class together will also give you two something else to talk about. She may have questions about something you learned in class and you may want to hear her thoughts on the class.

A regular visit to the spa, nail salon or just the hair dresser together is a fun activity to do with your preteen daughter. At this stage in her life she is starting to really care about her appearance. So if you take her to one of these places it shows her that you realize know and understand what she is going through. We all love getting our hair washed, cut and styled at the salon so why not take your daughter along for her own enjoyment? She’ll thank you for it and I’ll bet you have a good time just watching her enjoy herself.

The main thing to remember about preteen girls is that they think that they are older. Sure, we know they are still children but they don’t FEEL like they should be classified as children any longer. So do things that interest HER and that the two of you can do together. This is a time in their lives that they will always remember so make it memorable whenever you can.