Life's "Necessities"

Last night I realized that I have no idea what I need to have on hand for teen/pre-teen boys other than the basics (clothes, bedding, bedroom furniture, food, and a good first aid kit). So I sent out an email asking for advice regarding what other stuff I might need.

From the mom’s in the group, I got a fair amount of advice about shopping, decorating, food, and the like. There were a few notes about sports equipment, art supplies, toys, and music.

From the men (and the women who consulted their husbands), I got a lot of different types of suggestions, some of which are quite funny and most certainly true. Some have occurred to me before and some not so much. Some folks have said that they will get back to me if they think of anything else. I do appreciate that.

As one person said, I “won’t have it all and certainly not all at once”. True. But I always want to know what I am getting into so that I can (over?) think about it.

I thought I would share some highlights of the list (there are more than just what are listed here):

• They will, of course, need school supplies.
• Many young people are practically addicted to music, so they might appreciate a little stereo or something to listen to music in their room.
• computers are meta-toys - they are useful for everything
• some sort of cool gaming system
• do some research on fun and safe places for them to play hookey (laser tag, paint ball, go-carts, etc.)
• ipods and cell phones - be aware of text messaging charges
• library cards, books - appropriate for reading level and taste, rather than age
• Bibles - you probably thought of this already
• alarm clocks (boys will sleep as long and late as they possibly can)
• razors (if they're old enough, electric is safer than blades), include a nose-hair trimmer!
• other hygiene stuff - combs, brushes, hair goo, face cleanser for the acne-prone, sunblock, nail trimmers, toothbrushes, toothpaste, DEODORANT!!!!!
• LAUNDRY HAMPERS! and LOTS of detergent and stain remover!
• wheels (bus passes, bicycles, or skateboards), because feet aren't cool enough
• know where your local skate park/rec center is and who hangs out there
• become a member of The Five Buck Club at www.fivebuckclub.net (current movies for $5! - you can sign the kids up too when you know who they are) - kids like movies and will probably want to see almost every new release
• wallets, sunglasses, watches, and house keys
• you might think of some way the kids can earn money from you and start learning good financial stewardship - have them open savings accounts and give them their money in check form (this can go towards a car in the short term and college in the longer term) [BTW, the county actually asks us to do something similar to this while they are still foster children!]
• pool toys/water guns - if you try to stop them from having guns in the house, they'll invent their own!
• swim trunks, goggles, maybe swimming lessons [I’ve already checked this out at the Y.]
• some boys will want tools for bicycles, skateboards, computers/gadgets, cooking, or houses
• a gratuitous music fund
• some boys would appreciate a gym membership/recreational classes [also already checked out at the Y]
• time with male role models [Thankfully, I have a good community around me who will be assisting with this.]
• some boys might like camping, but they should have sleeping bags regardless
• places to send them to camp during the summer
• plan a trip to a theme park and another trip to a National Park or other natural awe-inspiring place (ocean, Grand Canyon, Yellowstone, etc.)
• multi-vitamins, because boys won't always eat their vegetables and school lunch is disgusting
• Bathroom junk...boys are stinky. Jerry could affirm that.
• Plenty of toilet paper.
• A sofa that doesn't care if feet are put on it.

Jim also had some additional advice:

• Don't assume every girl that they bring home is a girlfriend (she might just be a study buddy or a friend) - they'll quickly learn to avoid future embarrassment by not bringing them home at all!