I have a fourteen-year-old.
And if I let him, he would spend every single day of summer with his face six inches from a screen, completely unbothered, completely sedentary, and completely convinced he is having the time of his life.
I get it. I am not here to vilify iPads or act like screens are the enemy. But I am a fitness coach and a mom, and I know what happens to kids — especially teenagers — when they have nothing structured to do, no one to move with, and nowhere to be. The energy turns inward. The moods shift. The days blur together. And by August, everyone is climbing the walls.
Here is the thing I keep coming back to: when I was a kid, summers looked completely different. We were outside. We were moving. We were playing with whoever showed up that day and doing it until the streetlights came on. Nobody scheduled it. It just happened because there was nothing else to do.
That version of summer is harder to come by now. And as a parent, I feel that.
The Real Summer Problem Nobody Talks About
Most parents I know are not bad at planning. They are just overwhelmed by it.
Summer sounds great in theory. No school. Slower mornings. Family time. But the reality hits fast: you still have to work. Your kid still has eight to ten hours of unstructured time to fill every single day. And "go outside" only works for about forty-five minutes before someone is back inside asking what is for lunch.
One of our coaches and I were talking about this recently. She has kids too, and she said the same thing I have been thinking. She does not want her kids sitting home unsupervised, playing video games all day, with nothing meaningful to do. And teenagers especially do not have childcare. They are too old for it on paper but absolutely not ready to self-regulate eight hours of freedom without some structure in place.
So what do you do?
You find something active. Something fun. Something flexible enough to actually fit your life.
What City Fit Shop Offers This Summer
We built our summer options specifically for real families with real schedules and real budgets.
Here is what we have available in July and August:
Summer Camps
Our camps are designed to keep kids moving, socializing, building confidence, and having the kind of summer they will actually remember. Every day involves games, challenges, movement, and the kind of energy that means they come home tired in the best possible way.
The flexible booking options are what make this actually work for busy families:
- Full Week (Full Day): $349.99 — ideal for working parents who need consistent coverage all week
- Full Week (Half Day): $194.99 — great for families who want structure without a full commitment
- Single Full Day: $84.99 — perfect for filling in gaps when plans fall through or vacations end
- Single Half Day: $52.99 — a low-pressure way to try it out or supplement other activities
Drop-ins are available, which means you do not have to plan the entire summer in one sitting. You can book as you go, fill in the days that need filling, and adjust as your schedule changes. That is exactly how summer should work.
Kids Ninja Fitness Classes
Our ninja classes run during summer days in the summer and are one of the best things we offer for kids who need movement and challenge. Kids climb, jump, swing, crawl, and race through obstacle courses that feel like play but build real athletic skills — coordination, balance, grip strength, agility, and the kind of confidence that comes from doing something hard and figuring out that you can.
These are not babysitting classes. These are high-energy, coach-led sessions where kids are actually challenged, actually sweating, and actually proud of what they did by the end.
Why This Matters More Than It Sounds
Movement is not just about physical health. For kids, especially during unstructured summers, it is about mood, focus, social connection, and confidence.
Kids who move regularly during the summer are less likely to spend the fall catching up. They sleep better. They regulate their emotions better. They show up to the first day of school with more energy and more confidence than kids who spent three months horizontal on a couch.
I am not saying screens are ruining anything. I am saying that kids need more than screens. They need to climb something. They need to race someone. They need to feel what their bodies can do.
That is what we are here for.
You Do Not Have to Plan the Whole Summer Right
One of the things I hear most from parents is that they want to get their kids into something but they do not want to commit to a full schedule before they know what the summer actually looks like.
That is exactly why we built flexibility into everything we offer.
Book one day. Book a half week. Drop in when you need it. Sign up for a full week when the schedule lines up. There is no pressure to have it all figured out.
If you need something for your kid this summer — something active, something fun, something that does not require you to have every Tuesday in July pre-planned — we have options that fit.
Come check out our July and August camp schedule or ask us about ninja class availability. We are happy to help you figure out what works best for your family.**
City Fit Shop is a family-focused fitness community in Edmonton, Alberta. We offer summer camps, kids fitness classes, adult group fitness, HYROX training, and more — all under one roof.
