Six Cool Activities for Older Kids

Hobbies aren’t just something to do at the weekends. They can also help children to grow and develop. So it’s worth encouraging your kids to find activities they enjoy doing and then supporting them to become more proficient. Aside from being good for their growth it can also give parents some downtime – and who doesn’t need more of that?

When it comes to older children however, you might need to think a little more creatively. An activity that might have been appealing as a seven-year-old probably won’t cut the mustard once they hit double digits. Luckily, there are plenty of activities out there to hold the attention of even the coolest 13-year-old. Tune into their interests and you can help them to find a passion and unique activity that can last a lifetime.

Here’s what you need to know.

What counts as a hobby?

A hobby can be any activity you do in your spare time. They are usually things we do purely for pleasure. For many kids, hobbies involve being active – sports such as football, judo and ballet are time-honoured favourites – but the best hobby for your child depends very much on their personality and interests. Some children are more interested in creative pastimes such as painting, craft or music, or in learning skills from coding to cooking.

The most important thing is that the activity is enjoyable. There’s no point in forcing a child to learn Mandarin, for example, if they don’t look forward to the classes. Ideally a hobby is something to pursue over a long period so it’s essential that it’s a rewarding experience.

Why does my child need a hobby?

Pursuing hobbies can help children (and adults for that matter) in a huge variety of ways. This includes:  building confidence, making friends, improving mental health, developing organisational skills and even making future career choices (eventually). Research shows that spending time on an activity we enjoy can improve mental health and wellbeing. People who have hobbies are less likely to suffer from stress, low mood and depression.

They are a good way of encouraging kids to socialise with other people besides their school friends and can provide opportunities to express creativity, get fitter and develop social skills. Some activities even end up shaping a child’s personality, helping them to become more independent, get better at teamwork or develop a talent for leadership.

Consider some more challenging activities for older kids

It depends on the child. Lots of 10-year-olds enjoy running, cycling, skating, swimming and other sports – basically anything that allows them to burn off some of that excess energy in the company of friends. As children get older they develop greater independence. Their attention span increases as well as their ability to exercise good judgement.  This can open up activities that previously may have seemed too challenging, for example:

1.  Bouldering

Many children enjoy bouldering – or indoor rock-climbing – which gives brains exercise as well as bodies. This low-impact exercise trains almost every major muscle group in the body, making it a brilliant whole-body workout for kids. It also involves problem-solving skills as the climber must work out the best route to take to reach the top of the wall.

As climbers progress they learn to mentally map a route from the ground, to finesse their technique and learn tips from others. This builds working memory, visualisation skills and creative problem-solving ability – skills that are endlessly useful in other areas.

2.  Parkour

Another great creative sport for older kids is parkour or freerunning – a non-competitive physical discipline that involves running, jumping and climbing over any terrain.

Developed in France, parkour has gained a huge following in the UK thanks to the popularity of professionals such as STORROR who started out while they were still at school and now have a global fanbase of more than 7.5m.

Parkour may look alarming to parents due to some of the gravity-defying jumps, but it’s a sport that encourages discipline. Parkour is also a great activity to boost spatial awareness, agility, coordination and creative vision.

3.  Kitesurfing

It may be an extreme sport but that doesn’t mean kitesurfing isn’t suitable for under-16s. It’s just a matter of finding a specialised course aimed at helping kids to have fun while staying safe.

Kitesurfing uses the power of the wind to propel enthusiasts across the water, carving across the waves while also jumping upwards of 34m. It has been one of the fastest-growing sports in the UK over the past five years and has plenty to offer kids.

One of its biggest attractions is that it is one sport that encompasses multiple disciplines from freeriding to racing.

4.  Animation

It’s not only physical activities that can capture the imaginations of pre-teens though. If your child enjoys watching films, making things, or shooting videos they would probably enjoy learning animation.

Picture animation gives kids the chance to be creative in multiple ways, whether it’s using stop-motion animation to create funny stories or using apps to make more complex footage out of photos, audio and video footage.

As well as the excitement of making a movie, animation is great for improving creative thinking, storytelling skills, concentration and teamwork.

5.  Coding

Coding – also known as computer programming – is an increasingly valuable skill. It’s becoming such an important part of modern life that it’s now included in the school curriculum. And it’s not just useful, coding is also a creative artform that is as versatile as painting, drawing or making music.

Learning to code allows people to build whatever they can imagine on a computer, meaning it can be applied to various interests. Kids who enjoy music can learn to create a program that functions as its own instrument. Those who like to play video games can make their own.

It’s an easy hobby to practice at home but it also has a social element in events such as hackathons where coders can get together to make new programs together.

6.  Geocaching

Geocaching is like a digital treasure hunt in which you must hunt down hidden treasures (known as geocaches) using a GPS app on your phone.

Geocaches are usually waterproof containers containing a logbook and sometimes trinkets or tokens for trading. The first one was hidden in May 2000 in Beavercreek, Oregon and there are now an estimated 2.5m caches tucked away in 180 countries. In the UK there are some 70,000.

Participants download coordinates of local geocaches from websites such as geocaching.com and then get out and about looking for them. While many are hidden in the countryside there are plenty of others in city centres and other urban locations. It’s a great way to get your child outdoors at the same time as helping them to develop navigational and problem-solving skills. More importantly, it’s fun.