My fourteen year old male character has never known his dad as he died before he was born. Kid is jealous of his mates doing things with their dad but never having been a fourteen year old male am struggling to think of a list of what these could be. Have thought of fishing trip, camping trip, sports games, cars or something car related but obviously have to consider age in this. It could be something that a ten year might want to do.
Things I've done with my son (who is now 17): attend sports events (baseball, hockey, basketball games, etc.) going out for ice cream, or his favorite fast food joint going to the movies playing catch with a baseball and glove going to an amusement park or carnival washing the car miniature golf and/or a golf driving range I coached little league teams for years, teams he was on Note: many of these activities also included my daughter (now 15), but you asked specifically about boys.
As a kid one of the things about my childhood I enjoyed the most with my dad was spending time in the garage. We wouldn't necessary be working on cars only but he was a very do it yourself-er and so I helped in just about every project he had from fixing some wiring to adding a whole second floor to our house. I think the pinnacle of it all was when we designed and built a whole tree fort fromt he ground up. Hope it helps.
Hiking / nature walks, camping, archery (casual and competitive), gunsmithing (my dad's into guns; as I kid I just recased bullets), carpentry, helping with car repair and washing, helping with cooking. All stuff my brother and I both did at or before ten. My dad's a bit of a homebody, but @LarryM has some great examples for out-of-the-house stuff like attending sporting events, going to movies, etc.
When I was a kid, for some reason known only to him, my father thought parking at the end of a runway at O'hare airport to watch planes land and take off was fun. The first few times were interesting, getting a visual of just how big those planes really were, and contemplating how something that big gets off the ground and flies. I'd recommend hearing protection if anyone tries it, and in our terrorist laden age- bail money if you get caught. They're likely to charge you with trespassing, now. (Getting arrested together could be a father/son adventure itself.)
Funny you mention that. I remember my Dad taking us to our local airport the first time a jet airliner landed (back when propellers were regular issue for passenger airlines). We parked in a small lot at the end of the runway to watch when it took off.
Based off of my own experiences (with parents who never believed in raising us with sex-based activities), these are what we did that I know guys did with others (and some of which were jealous that their own fathers didn't do with them): 1. Hunting (archery and guns). I didn't hunt, but my sister did. I practiced the bow with my dad, though; 2. Fake wrestling; 3. Gaming (some of my favorite memories are either playing with my dad or watching him play the South Park games and Resident Evil); 4. Camping; 5. Fishing; 6. Making costumes/Halloween decorations; 7. Watching horror movies and binge eating awful, disgusting (and tasty) food; 8. Going to carnivals and amusement parks; 9. Attending concerts, wrestling matches, and sports events; 10. Taking care of animals (my dad loves animals and he loved taking care of his grandpa's hunting dogs growing up). My dad always included both of us kids in these activities and they were (usually) a lot of fun. Even though I don't like sports, it was a fun bonding experience.
I played chess with my dad a lot around that time. We also competed in 5Ks together and went to the gym together. I also remember working on the house with him, doing things like painting, fixing walls, and stuff.
Holy shit l. This couldn’t be any more stereotypical. Then again, there’s a lot of truth to those stereotypes. Me and my dad are as different as we are similar, yet we both are utterly disinterested in cars as such or traditional spots. We used to just chill eating together, or chill watching Benny Hill. We played games like StarCraft. Chess too. Of course he taught me how to play them, even though we hadn’t never good at any of them. We took these very long walking trips, just strolling from the city to some rural area, to see bunkers from WW2 or just along some stream, where we’d pick up and eat some wild berries. We’d throw knives. He’d tell stories, and jokes that I was too young to fully comprehend, but got the punchline eventually... We’d work together, I was entrusted with some simple tasks that seemed like great responsibility. In a similar fashion he took me places where he had to do things, and I just studied life. Interestingly, we haven’t really “talked” in those days. Although I did much fewer activities with my mum, I can talk with her much easier. Ahh yes, he also took me to this exhibition that I will remember vividly, that set me in a lot of ways. But that was some years before teenage years. We also went camping where we did fishing together, though that happened only once, I cut it short and regretted doing so most of my life.
For as long as I can remember, my dad and I have gone to lunch on Saturdays. Sometimes we do grocery shopping, Christmas shopping, errands, booze run, mall, arcade (when I was younger), what-have-you, but even if there's nothing else to do we go to lunch. Fast food, usually. If something was going on, like a family event, we'd skip it, or if I had other plans, or high-school-part-time work, or something like that. But otherwise, every weekend. Even years after moving out, we still do (my parents live about twenty minutes away or so). I honestly don't really know Saturdays without going to lunch.
