It’s easy to think your kids’ childhood is over when they become teenagers. It’s certainly a season of immense change. You witness them growing physically and emotionally. They start listening to music you don’t know. And watching shows you’ve never heard of before. And using phrases you don’t understand. (No cap!)
But just when you think they’ve lost that spark of childhood wonder, they surprise you. Occasionally my kids will catch me off guard when they pull out an old beloved board game, or they ask to rewatch a favorite animated movie. Recently my kids introduced me to an endearing concept that I think is the greatest trend to happen to teenagers: The side quest.
What is a Side Quest?
If you don’t know what a side quest is, that’s ok, you probably monitor your children’s video game time better than I do. A side quest is an optional activity that a character can do in a video game that doesn’t advance them toward the overall goal or mission of the game. This gamer term has gotten popular in real life, where kids are stepping away from their endless hours of screen time to enjoy side quests in real life.
For example, one of my teenagers likes to plan side quests with his friends that usually involve nature, such as tromping through muddy creeks, or recreational sports like pickle ball and rock climbing. My other teenager’s side quests include things like trying a new restaurant with a friend, going on a photo scavenger hunt around town, or simply dragging out the old bucket of sidewalk chalk and decorating the walkways in our neighborhood.
Search for side quests on any social media platform and you’ll find inspo like this.
Side Quest Summer
During spring break my teenagers had a blast planning side quests, and they have declared this year will be the year of the SIDE QUEST SUMMER. I’m not sure exactly what it will entail, but I imagine a lot of impromptu trips to parks, Saylorville Lake, and sand volleyball courts.
If you have younger kids, you may be reading this and thinking, well of course I want my kid to play outside and have fun with their friends. But all of us with teenagers know how much time older kids spend online or looking at gadgets. It feels like a small miracle that this simple phrase has given kiddos, who were trapped inside during their elementary and middle school years because of the pandemic, a self-motivating phrase to get them off the couch and out the door.
Side Quests Aren’t Just for Kids
Don’t let summer slip by without venturing out on a few side quests of your own. I encourage all of you parents to start using side quest as a phrase to describe your next walk around the neighborhood or a Starbucks and Target run. Moms deserve side quests too!
Mom Hack: The Un-skippable Side Quest
While we’re talking about side quests, I must share this genius mom hack for getting kids to do chores: the un-skippable side quest. If your kids are already into this side quest video game lingo, you as a parent can use it to your advantage.
When I need to get my kids’ attention and let them know I need them to focus on a task right now, I tell them, “This is an un-skippable side quest.” The un-skippable side quest lets them know that before the can move on to the next level (time with friends or time playing video games), they first have to come along on this mandated detour. It may not always work, but for now this phrase has significantly cut back on the complaints in our house when it comes time for everyone to pitch in and clean up.
Maybe that’s the magic of this whole idea—side quests remind our teenagers (and us) that life doesn’t have to be optimized or productive every second to be meaningful. The best moments are often the unexpected ones: the muddy shoes, the spontaneous ice cream stops, the laughter that comes from doing something just because it sounded fun. So whether it’s a last-minute trip to the lake, a late-night walk, or even an “un-skippable” chore turned family joke, Side Quest Summer invites all of us to lean into a little more curiosity, connection, and play. And if we’re lucky, we might just rediscover that spark of wonder right alongside our kids.
Megan is an Ankeny mom of three. With two teenagers and one soon-to-be-teen, she’s always on the move getting kids to and from practices, games, rehearsals, and shows. When she’s not shuttling kids around the metro, she works in digital marketing for Kemin Industries in Des Moines.
