Traveling with Teens: 5 Survival Tips for Parents
So, you’re planning on a family getaway with your teens, are you? Well, if you don’t want your adventure to make the Griswold family’s exploits seem tame and bland by comparison, then here are 5 survival tips:
- Set some fair but firm ground rules.
If you don’t want to spend most of your trip variously yelling at and pleading with your kids (and sometimes both at the same time!), it’s absolutely essential to set fair, but firm ground rules and boundaries. Let your teens know that while there will be some more flexibility — after all, it’s a vacation for them, too — that it’s not going to be anarchy.
- Offer an incentive.
Give your teens an incentive to be on their best — or at least, their most tolerable — behavior. Teens are usually easy to negotiate with, because they don’t beat around the bush when it comes to what they want — like a new iPad, a pet, a musical instrument (pro tip: many instruments can be affordably rented instead of purchased, like piano, guitar and violin rentals, just in case your teen’s desire to be a virtuoso starts to wane after a few lessons).
- Get them involved.
Often, the main source of pushback from teens is that they don’t feel as if they’re part of the vacation, but instead innocent bystanders who are forced to fit into someone else’s plan. While you probably shouldn’t give your teens the authority to choose what you’ll do as a family (i.e. you might find it a tad exhaustive to play laser tag for seven hours straight), it’s a good idea to involve them in the agenda. They’ll feel empowered and accountable for making the vacation fun vs. dreadful.
- Give them some time away.
Families often head out on vacation because things are so frenetic at home, that they barely see each other. This is fine, but don’t go to the other extreme and force everyone to spend virtually every waking moment together. Give everyone time to be on their own and do their own thing. Of course, make sure that it’s safe to do so.
- Give them some web time.
Do you know what’s it like to miss a day of work, and feel as though you’re completely out of the loop when you return? Well, teens feel the same way when it comes to their social circle. And while you don’t want them texting throughout the day, give them the opportunity to catch up and get connected. If cell phones aren’t an option due to excessive roaming costs, then there should be something at the hotel that they can use. Failing that, head to a library or internet café and let your teens get their digital fix.
The Bottom Line
Traveling with teens can be (and usually is) challenging; not just for you, but for them, too. While it’s easier said than done, your main objective is not to lose sight of the big picture, which is that you’re together as a family. Your teens may not place the same value on that as you do — to put it mildly — but that’s fine. When they get older and have families of their own, they’ll appreciate what you did. Heck, they might even be calling you for advice!
