Work – but for the one who didn’t already have a part-time job, work was hard to find.
For kids who are going away to semester-schedule colleges where the academic year starts in August, the summer between high school and college is their shortest summer break. And many employers prefer to hire kids who will be attending local colleges and can continue to work – at least on a reduced schedule – in the fall. So don’t be surprised if summer jobs are hard to come by.
@Marian I’m in that process of finding a summer job right now. It is not going well. I never had a real job (besides babysitting and tutoring) so few places are looking for someone just for 2.5 months. I really want to work but all the seasonal jobs (summer camp counselor) fill up really fast and are competitive.
Mine spent as much time as possible doing nothing of importance, other than a part time summer job. She had spent the previous four years of high school busting her chops. She earned some time to relax.
Go do something fun and mindless that you have always wanted to do. Skydiving, or surfing, or whatever tickles your fancy.
Yes…most folks looked for summer jobs during their spring breaks…or before.
Babysitting can net you a good chunk of money. So can pet and housesitting, mowing lawns, etc.
My D is on a plane right now to San Francisco as part of her HS Graduation gift for a girls weekend with her Aunt, my wife and other D. Then it will be work for the summer. She works at a golf course and will be doing her normal duties plus helping with some of the Junior Golfer camps. If not working she will be hanging out with friends. Pretty much the same as she did last summer. Orientation for her is the 12th and 13th but other than that, it will be pretty much work. Since she is wanting to be a teacher, I had her open up a Roth IRA to put her money into because she’ll need the long term investment. I’ll help her with her spending money during school but I wanted to teach her the importance of investing early.
One of mine worked, went to concerts, and also mis-behaved a lot. It was nice to drop her off at college in August. 
Mine will resume him job as a pharmacy tech once his baseball team is done for the year. His girlfriend just landed a nice job today with a medical group and also ref’s soccer. She hasn’t had a job before and was really becoming worried about not being able to work this summer.
What a tremendous opportunity to do some great this summer. I don’t yet have a child in college (my oldest is a rising junior in college). I have offered to pay for 6 weeks in Japan if she can find a friend to go along with her (friend pays own way).
Why Japan? Well it is an ancient civilization with comically low crime rate. I know that she could earn some money for college but we are fortunate enough that we can forgo those earnings.
I say think big and outside the box!
My D17 leaves this weekend for a graduation trip with about 15 of her friends. She will work most of the rest of the summer, but will also go on a beach trip as well as a trip out west to visit some national parks with our family. She will be saving most of her summer earnings for spending money next year. She has been working at the same place since spring of her junior year in h.s.
mine starts sunday working at a sleepaway camp. But if there are no jobs to be had, please volunteer. I know the animal shelters needs volunteers all the time; dog shelters needs walkers, and cat shelters need help as well. You could volunteer for meals on wheels. Here in GA there a camp looking for one week volunteers still (camp for underprivileged kids). taking a cooking class or other enrichment is also not a bad idea. Staying home and watching Netflix is a bad idea.
Take a family vacation - it will become much harder to do when you are in college !
One audited a college class in a field of interest, the other worked camp and trained to be ready for his fall sport. They both had plenty of down time, and enjoyed plenty of “lasts” with friends.
My D and two of her friends took a good chunk of the summer and binge watched Breaking Bad. They did not have time for it while in HS.
Spending several weeks at a university in Europe to study a new language and have fun (fun may be the priority). Should have the independence thing down after this.
Both of mine worked, one as a part time nanny, the other in IT for a public school district. They still had plenty of time to hang out with friends.
After 3 summers of pre-college academic programs, D was glad to stay home and basically work. She had a restaurant job and another job with a candle company. She wanted money to go to school with her.
She did a little doctor shadowing and research - tiny, like maybe a week total.
Go see an eclipse!
Also visiting a friend on the East Coast, research in the physics lab he’s worked in over the past couple years (possibly with a stipend), and at least 3 more placement tests to take at home. Also taking a ceramics class with us just for fun. (The idea of a class that didn’t end up on a transcript anywhere was almost shocking to him.)
She worked at her schools summer camp and just chilled for the summer. The anxiety and anticipation of preparing for freshman year was enough on her plate. Definitely didn’t do anything academic.
My oldest worked. He’d been doing the same computer programming job part time during the school year. He was working long distance uploading code every couple of days so we dragged him to Vermont and he made regular trips to the local cafe with wifi. (He’s not a nature guy.)
Younger son did some work for my architecture firm, but also took an intensive Arabic course to try to get a jump on things since languages are not his thing, but the major he was contemplating required four years or fluency. He enjoyed the first week then got lost completely. A lot of students either had some exposure or knew related languages. He did eventually get good in Arabic, but not until junior year when he had an immersion program in Jordan.
If you can afford it an immersion program before college can be very helpful if you ever want to do research in the language. Otherwise I thinking work is a good plan - it’s a break from studying, but is both good for your resume and your pocketbook.
Kid 1: Worked a crappy job and went on a family vacation. (presently a college graduate, employed and married.)
Kid 2: Worked a crappy job and went on a family vacation. (Starts medical school in August.)
Kid 3: Worked a crappy job and went on a family vacation. (Presently in college. This summer she is working two crappy jobs and will go on a family vacation.)
Do you see a trend here?