It’s no secret that traveling creates family memories. And guess what? With a teen on board, your family vacation doesn’t have to be all attitudes and eye rolling. Consider the following tips to get your teens excited to come along on your next family vacation.
1. Plan your vacation together.
Before building the perfect family vacation, bring everyone together, including your teens, and sit down as a family — or with your travel agent if you plan to use one. Remember, it’s their vacation too, so make sure everyone is happy with your plans. Your teen will be less inclined to be disagreeable if he or she is also included in the planning.
2. Don’t overbook!
It’s called vacation for a reason. Overbooking the schedule makes everyone grumpy. And no one wants that. Build in plenty of downtime — and time away from each other — so the scheduled time together remains fun (and not an obligation).
3. Bend the house rules.
If your teens want to eat dessert first, let them. It’s okay if they don’t make their bed or pick up their clothes. Grin and bear it during your vacation, and everyone will be all the happier for it.
4. Unplug and then re-plug.
Before departing for vacation, clarify when your and your teen’s electronic devices will not be welcome (during family activities, during dinner time, etc.). But, also have times during the day that everyone can plug back in, so you can check your email and your teens can update their Snapchat story.
5. Allow free time.
Remember, you are traveling with teens. It’s okay to let go—just a little—and let them wander off on their own. Maybe a walk on the beach, or a solo run down the slope.
Finally, relax and have fun! You only have so many vacation weeks remaining with your teen, so enjoy each moment!
