Ever agonized over which activities to encourage your teenager to take up?

Especially, because you have to pay the bus fare or you have to drive the 'taxi' and you have to pay membership fees and the weekly dues.

And you get very little out of it.

Well, the best thing we have found is the A.T.C. Cadets (Air Training Corps). You may have Army Cadets near you.

- They take youngsters from 13-19 years of age.(Probationers can attend from age 12).
- Girls and boys can join.
- Uniform is FREE - three types -
Combat greens (shirt, jumper, trousers, boots)
Working Blue shirt )plus jumper,
No. 1 Wedgwood Blue shirt)trousers and shoes
Beret, badge and brassard.

My 13-yr. old son joined just under a year ago and loves it. He has been on two 'exercises' - involving camping from Friday to Sunday (cost £7)complete with night exercises -

(1) they had to find a 'bomb' (which was an egg!), work out the code to de-fuse it; and
(2) they had to find a 'missing pilot', apply First Aid and (pretending he had broken legs) carry him 100 metres on a stretcher made out of their combat jackets.
(3) Orienteering/obstacle course.

He could have gone on a weeklong (cost £17) visit to an RAF Station, but this Spring/Summer it was during the school term and around exam time. So, if they miss one of these activity weeks (they usually occur 3-4 times a year) those cadets who missed the one-week break, had the opportunity to travel one weekend to go flying.

He even loves attending the jumble sales and summer fetes to raise funds.

Twice a week cheap, supervised childcare with education thrown in and time back for yourself/yourselves! Great. You know where they are at night, and that they are not getting up to mischief.

Also, all the years you've tried to teach them respect for others comes to fruition, because military protocol
insists on it. Remember all those oldies saying, "they should never have done away with National Service". Now I know what they meant!

To the kids it is interesting and exciting stuff and their progress is marked by promotion. Promotion only comes with certain exam/tests which appear to be geared to their age and ability and are achievable. My son came home this week with a 'First Class Cadet' emblem to sew on his uniform. (If there is any bad behaviour at home, he is grounded and stopped going to ATC, otherwise promotion would have been quicker.)