I'm bored

Hi all,

Our son will be 15 in a couple of weeks. We asked him what he wanted
for a birthday present. After I didn't give him a warm response to his answer of "money", he suggested "something for when I'm bored".
At first I thought he was asking for another video game - it's a
constant bone of contention (more with me than with my wife) the number
of hours a week he is playing one form of video game or another - either that or sitting in front of the TV. His grades in school are
good, so we don't make it *that* much of an issue. Anyway, no, that
wasn't what he meant - in fact, kind of the opposite. When we've
kicked him off the computer, and off of TV, what he is asking for as
a birthday present is something to *do*.

And that, I find, kind of calls my bluff. Or, more to the point,
he's given us a polite challenge: "you keep saying to do less computer, so show me something else".

Trouble is, he doesn't *like* much else. He takes part in Boy Scouts, though he'd like to quit because he dislikes the discomfort of camping. (So do I. Great role model, eh?)

He continues his piano lessons, because he senses that we'd probably
make life more miserable for him if he put his foot down and quit.
Probably that (plus intelligence) explains his good grades too. :)

He kind of liked basketball, until the combination of mediocre talent
and lack of a work ethic earned him a benchwarmer's spot on the 8th
grade team - not like a video game where you push a button and sink
a fifty footer and then strip the opponent of the ball on the way back.

Basically, anything *real*, he finds uninteresting, either to take
up, or to master.

I realize the scenario I have described goes very deep. I'd like to
limit recommendations here to the question at hand: what kinds of birthday presents can you think of, for the boy whose aspirations
need a little jumpstart?

--
John Gregory ashbury at skypoint.com http://www.skypoint.com/ tilde ashbury
Thought for the moment:
Hypocrisy is the homage paid by vice to virtue.
.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: Im bored
    ... of hours a week he is playing one form of video game or another - either ... a birthday present is something to *do*. ... Probably that explains his good grades too. ... John Gregory ashbury at skypoint.com http://www.skypoint.com/ tilde ...
    (misc.kids)
  • Re: Im bored
    ... of hours a week he is playing one form of video game or another - either ... a birthday present is something to *do*. ... Probably that explains his good grades too. ... John Gregory ashbury at skypoint.com http://www.skypoint.com/ tilde ...
    (misc.kids)
  • Re: Im bored
    ... of hours a week he is playing one form of video game or another - either ... a birthday present is something to *do*. ... Probably that explains his good grades too. ... John Gregory ashbury at skypoint.com http://www.skypoint.com/ tilde ...
    (misc.kids)
  • Re: OT: Michael Rogers Obituary
    ... I finished four years but needed a few credits, ... >I knew your dad, and he was way more older than me at the time. ... No grades skipped; the only time-saver I had was that my birthday fell ...
    (sci.lang.japan)
  • Re: BC or PSP?
    ... the only time I get a new video game is on ... my birthday or christmas. ... he doesnt do school. ...
    (rec.sport.unicycling)