My son is bored!

Most teens meet their friends through school. My daughter (a GHCDS student) just turned 18 and has a very robust social life. There is never a moment when she is not heading out somewhere to meet friends for a day at the beach, dinner at Dashi or some other restaurant or a gathering at someones house to party. She also has two part time jobs. Mind you, we provide her with a vehicle so she can get around (makes an island parents life sooooo much easier) and we tend to be very permissive with few expectations other than to be a good person and make good choices. She rarely disappoints.

Tell him to get on Facebook or some other social media and find out what folks his age are doing.

If he's finished with high school, maybe he should look into taking a class or two at UVI for the summer. That's one way he may be able to find friends.

Also, there will be plenty of summer camps or programs that he can join to find friends.

What about sport activities?

Isn't there baseball, etc., that's available for kids not thru the schools?

Any beaches or beach clubs with volley ball or other activities he can join?

Does he sail? Do you belong to the yacht club?

A part time job might help.
Good luck.

How about a chess club?

How about a chess club?

He wants to help CURE his son's boredom 😉

Our 17 and 19 year old daughters lasted 6 months and moved back to states to live with family. My 17 year old wanted a "normal high school" experience rather than homeschooling. Couldn't afford GHCDS for two kids so homeschooling was our option. I have a 12 year old that is experiencing the same feeling of isolation and boredom. I think its harder on younger people to transition to island life. Depending upon what he enjoys doing, there is surfing, kite surfing, sailing and a skate ramp in Fsted. Hopefully he can find something to do. Good luck.

How about a chess club?

He wants to help CURE his son's boredom 😉

Oh, that's right.
One has to be intelligent to play.
Leaves you out. Sorry!

Maybe a car project - fixing restoring wrenching on an interesting vehicle in the yard always seems to attract like minded guys.
http://barnfinds.com/
http://bringatrailer.com/
http://www.jalopyjournal.com/

Depends what he is interested in - the previous suggestions are almost all good too - the part time job is a great way to meet people, build self confidence and have a little extra cash.

How about a chess club?

He wants to help CURE his son's boredom 😉

Oh, that's right.
One has to be intelligent to play.
Leaves you out. Sorry!

Yep. I guess it would have at 17. I really regret chasing tail instead of playing chess (which I do quite well now)

I think the suggestion of a part time job is a really good one. Funny, my island boy who moved to the states to live with dad (cause there is nothing to do here 😉 ) is experiencing the same kind of boredom that your stateside boy turned island boy is experiencing. You can have a million options of things to do and still find yourself lonely and bored. Having a job puts you out there with a responsibility to fulfill and forces you to be social.

Something I've noticed that is different here is that age doesn't seem to be a big determining factor when finding your set of friends like it is in the states. For my little guy (4 years old) his main set of friends range from 4 - 9 and they all bring something to the table which is cool to watch. For my older son (almost 14) his main set of friends here range from 13 to 65. I guess to me, it's not so much about finding activities to do to ward off boredom, it's more about finding people to do activities with to keep yourself happy.

Does STX have a social and sport club like STT? Probably better at 18, but they offer some cool activities here

Are there any summer camp programs in STX that your son can apply to for a job as helper or counselor?

Any summer sailing programs being offered that he might be interested in participating in?

A job would keep him busy and earn him money.

I was reading about a summer camp program that Whim is offering that sounds really interesting but I'm a 50's-something woman with quite different tastes than a teenage boy! Is he interested in diving? He's in one of the the best places in the world for it.

Sounds like stjohnjulie is on to something. Could be that he's afflicted by teenagehood.

bored people click here

There are a wide variety of activities available on all islands.
Anyone, regardless of age, that can't find something to engage and interest them, possibly doesn't want to be engaged and interested and prefers boredom.

Volunteer with your animal shelter, take diving or sailing lessons, buy a paddle board, get a job, volunteer at other non profits, etc.

Start a face book page for bored, home schooled teenagers!
Hope he finds what he wants.

I find your *Google Search* to be quite insensitive for a young man that is having difficulty finding his niche with island life. Some ideas are very good that don't cost a lot of money, but some ideas cost a lot of money, which this family or other people cannot afford, or have friends that are not willing to let you borrow the items, i.e. paddleboard and rentals can be expensive. Diving lessons then follow-up dives are expensive then he must rent or buy the equipment. That's where a part time job can help.

It can be teenagerhood, which sometimes comes with insecurity, self-esteem problems, shyness, stress over school work, social anxiety, and so many other problems young adults can be going through, but are afraid to talk to their parents about. I hope he one to talk to you about any problems he is having aside from boredom.

I really hope he finds an activity/activities that he has passion for and can meet a wide variety of people, not just a small group that have their own cliques and don't want to make friends outside their race. All the best for him! 🙂

Sounds like stjohnjulie is on to something. Could be that he's afflicted by teenagehood.

bored people click here

Does he have any interests of any kind?

it could just be his friends on facebook are going to concerts, movies, hanging out at the mall, roller skating

what about bowling? there is a bowling alley here on island. maybe join a league

Thank you ALL for your responses! We are working on getting his drivers license now. That should open up some doors (job, volunteering, exploring etc.). He's talking about going back to MD for his senior year with his old friends/schoolmates. We'll see. Thanks again for the suggestions!

so thats what it really is, he is missing his friends from back home. maybe that would be good for him, to graduate with his old friends

One other suggestion if he's still here next year. There's a private schools team in the high school football league.It's one combined team from the private schools. I believe that they do allow home schooled kids to play for that team. You could probably check with Good Hope Country Day when the school year starts back up.

Also, if he's really into sports, he might be allowed to try out for any of the public school teams. I believe that's allowed on the mainland, so I don't see why it wouldn't be allowed on St. Croix.

Young native Virgin Islander here (unlike most of the people responding to you). I can't believe you moved to a retirement community (STX) with the expectation that a young person would have fun here. LOL. Most local youth have pretty dangerous social lives. The only safe, fulfilling social opportunities for a young person here are at Country Day/GHS (lavish house parties, jet skiiing, etc). If not, you've got to "party like a local," which includes frequenting dances (we call them jams) and hanging out in Sunny Isle. Welcome!!

Our 17 and 19 year old daughters lasted 6 months and moved back to states to live with family.

Smart!

monogram, there is plenty to do thats not dangerous for the youth. it all depends om if that is something they want to do