Travel With Teens

 My parents always asked my input on vacations when I was a teen, maybe they were crazy but they did want to know. Now I didn't have 100% of the say(I wasn't paying) but we would have discussions. And I always appreciated the opportunities that my parents gave me to travel when I was a teen or during college. A week or two away from my friends didn't sway me when I had a chance to go to Europe for 2 weeks. From a young age I have never let a good travel opportunity slip away.

So now that I am a parent of two teens I try to get them involved but sometimes I wonder why I bother? Was I this bad? I know my schedule wasn't as busy as my kids. But here are some of my favorite issues when planning travel with teens.

1. If you have 2 or more you'll end up with an equal number of ideas. Well, both of my sons have different interests, that 's fine. But the majority of the time I think the one does it just to aggravate the  other. So that pleasant discussion has one leaving in a huff while the other has a smirk on his face and you are back to square one. So Mom makes the decision. Sorry guys, you missed your chance has come out of my mouth more than once.

2. Does your teen have a busier schedule than you? Between school, sports and other extracurricular activities trying to fit a vacation is like putting a puzzle together. This is where plans A,B & C come in. Maybe plan A is that longer trip. Well this year you can only slot one week in, fall back is plan B and sometimes it's only a long weekend plan C.

3. What to do with the friends issue, if your teen will be in a better mood with a friend on the trip invite them. Be very straight forward on what you are going to pay for on the trip with the friends' parents when asking permission. Not having this discussion can make for some awkward moments on your trip. Depending on where you are going and the age of the teen, you should discuss what to do in an emergency and also check if a cruise line requires some sort of paperwork for this situation.

4. Give the teens down time away from the grown ups, this could consist of letting them veg with their phones, tablets. Of course if you are on a cruise ship this is an issue, unless you pony up for a Wi-Fi plan. Nothing is more fun than a teen having tech withdrawal on vacation. So let them know up front.

5. Include activities/interests your teen would like to avoid the "I'm bored out of my scull" look. Take some time to do some research on activities or places that would interest your teen. So if it means shopping or stopping at some roadside attraction(world's biggest whatever) do it, it may put a smile on everyone's face.

6. Perhaps look at a specialized family tour, there are many companies that offer tours especially geared toward families. Most suppliers will let you know the ages and mix of genders of the kids on the tour. You get to drop being the family tour guide and hey maybe your teen meets some new friends.

Just as you used to plan vacations around the kids nap/sleeping schedules when they were little, when they get older it pays to include them and their interest in your vacation planning. Sure a few funny sulky teen stories are good, but don't you want to have those memories where your teen is enjoying themselves.