Teen Health: Summer Break Wellness Tips

Black teenagers’ views on summer fall into four groups: some attend camps to learn new crafts or sports; others will chase exciting parties; a third group take on summer jobs at pools or restaurants; and some simply relax and do nothing.

Polls have shown that Black parents are always eager to seize summer camp opportunities for their children to keep them excited about learning, help them acquire new skills, or prevent them from losing academic ground.

However, many Black families struggle to achieve this goal due to multifaceted problems, often linked to systemic racism, including limited access to affordable programs, lack of safe neighborhood spaces, transportation barriers, family responsibilities, underfunded schools/community resources.

Structured summer camps/programs are not cheap, and many Black families may lack the funds to keep their teens active during summer breaks compared to their white classmates. These factors increase the vulnerability of Black teenagers to summer risks.

Potential risks summer brings to Black teenagers

The closing of schools for summer break gives Black teenagers more free time—a blessing and a curse. Regardless of how they choose to spend their summer, there seems to be a potential risk waiting for them especially for those who constantly seek fun or those doing nothing at all.

While summer is often synonymous with fun and outdoor activities, it can also bring heightened mental health crises and socioeconomic troubles for teens. For example, the sudden removal of the structured school system can lead to more idle time for energetic Black teens who have no access to summer camps and extracurricular activities.

Motivated by boredom, they may spend that energy in unsafe activities like drinking, unhealthy eating, reckless recreational driving, and so on. Since unstructured time often means unsupervised time, these unsafe activities can stretch for weeks without anyone noticing—and, in some cases, facilitate addictions or the development of unhealthy habits.

Black parents often rely on their children’s academic performance to detect signs of trouble. Therefore, it may be harder for them to spot risky behaviors during summer breaks. Here is a checklist to spot teen risky behaviors.

Ideas for maintaining healthy summer breaks

Keeping teenagers engaged through structured routines is one of the best ways of keeping them healthy during summer breaks. When possible, Black parents should enroll their kids in summer camps. However, due to the peculiar economic constraints that people in our community face, scratching out extra notes may not be possible for many Black parents. In the absence of structured summer camps, here are other alternatives to keep our teenagers engaged.

1. Volunteering/Internship

Dozens of organizations rely on volunteers to keep their operations running and always welcome Black teens. Volunteering also serves as an opportunity for Black teens to give back to their communities, and have a first-hand experience of the results. Examples of organizations accepting volunteers include the American Red Cross, the NAACP, the Black Volunteer Collective, Habitat for Humanity, and others. Always find and connect with a local chapter that is closest to you. Volunteering in a humanitarian activity will not only keep them engaged but also give them a sense of purpose.

2. Fitness

Although studies have shown that aging increases the risk of type-2 diabetes, A 2009 publication found a rising incidence of the disease in Black youths from 10 to 19 years. If your child is showing signs of obesity, the summer break can be the best opportunity to enroll them in fitness centers. We recommend planning yearly physicals for your teenagers, and there is no better time to do that than during summer breaks. Pursuing and keeping fitness goals from a young age will help them avoid more serious diabetes complications as they get older.

3. Life skills

A lot of the activities at home—like cooking—can be considered life skills. In most West African cultures, mothers teach their daughters how to cook from a tender age, mostly after school hours. However, Black families living in advanced economies may not have that luxury since the children may not always be available due to school engagements. Summer breaks can provide an opportunity to teach your children how to prepare traditional meals.

Parents in our community should embrace open communication with their teen to develop and maintain trust and interpersonal communication skills. This will also make it easier for them to spot potential risky behaviors early. Also, there should be goals and expectations for each summer break. Even when these goals are from unstructured activities, they give the teens something to look up to and help them avoid boredom—which is often the foundation of other ill behaviors.

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