Teens with zero desire to travel

Im 40, and other than fsmily holidays to holiday resorts to chill out, uve never had the urge to travel.

Doesn't make me any less of a person

I have one of these teens , happy to stay home . She was probably the one person ever to walk into a gallery in Florence where Leonard’s paintings are and was on u tube 🫣. But her eyes lit up when she spotted a Sephora afterwards on one of the streets 🙄

I have adult children. I love to travel. I think the benefits of it are outstanding, it’s made a far better person. My adult children have no desire to travel. When I tell them about all the people I’ve met, all the places I’ve explored, all the things I’ve learnt, they simply shrug and say “that’s your dream, not mine “. And there it is , in a nutshell. It’s not about me, it’s what they want or don’t want from their life. And it is their life. We can’t make our children be interested in the things we are, we can’t make them value what we do. Leave them be, they might change their mind in the future, they may not. They may go on to have some massive interest that you don’t understand, who knows?!

The wanderlust gene exists. Our family is full of people moving countries, never mind going on holidays.

the world needs both kinds of people.

I travelled when I was younger and loved it - I was surprised my teenage daughter wasn't interested, other than standard beach holidays. I would suggest more exotic locations but she didn't want to go.
As she has got older she has got more interested in culture and heritage (and studied this for her masters) and we ended up going to Cambodia together last year - she loved it and is keen to explore more countries across Asia and South America and learn about their history and culture.

I’ve travelled extensively with my teen DDs 17 & 16, since they were babies. I’ve always Home Educated so felt it was intrinsic to their learning. I actually don’t believe my DDs would even renew their passports at this point … they appear to have zero interest if it’s not organised and funded by me. Maybe that will change when they’re older 🤷🏼‍♀️ At their age I was busy saving for my first 18-30 hol 😂

Many people do make a big thing about going on holiday

Some teens we know have expressed they never want to move out of the family home!

They are teens they know fuck all about fuck all, they will be more influenced by their peers than their parents.

You have given them experiences, it’s up to them whether they act on them or not. Can you reminder being 15? Imagine your parents spinning around thinking something you uttered then was set in stone forever. Teens haven’t changed that much.

We largely take what ours say right now with a pinch of salt, it will soon be their lives, their choices. And even then they will change throughout their lives.

Look on the bright side. If they're content in what you call a small world, they won't suffer much if future circumstances make travel impossible or difficult for them.

Many of us find pleasure in our own little worlds. So many enriching hobbies and interests can be pursued without the need for travel, and today we have endless opportunities to learn more and experience vicariously through books, audio, and video media.

I believe I could live the rest of my life without leaving my little area and still be perfectly happy. I don't see why that's a bad thing. If anything, contentment without the expense and hassle of travel is to be envied.

Mine are very ambivalent. Enjoy it while away but look forward to going home all through. Say they won’t holiday she I don’t take them along. They are perfectly capable and have travelled independently while we have been away but they are just a bit underwhelmed by it. Our future plan vaguely involves them staying put and me buggering off.

You can be curious about other cultures without feeling any need to transplant yourself to them. You can learn all about history, people, etc. The internet is a wonderful thing - people from said cultures are more than happy to post all sorts of interesting information, which can be accesses from the comfort of your sofa.

I’m sure many travellers have a richer experience than you.

Right now, it might be just as well that they don't! Travel to many places has just become much more expensive, complicated and, at worst, dangerous than usual.

DS1 was like this - DS2 was the complete opposite. However, DS1 is now in his late 20s and in the last year has developed the desire (and confidence) to travel and explore. Having always lived locally he has chosen to move to a city 200 miles away where he knows no one, and is loving it. He went on holiday and travelled last year by himself and had a great time.

Your DC are still young. There's lots of time

I wanna live like Fijian people,
I wanna sip Cava like Fijian people do

Watching the rugby and drinking cava in a local’s Fijian’s home is.

When travelling you get to experience different cultures along the way not just sightseeing.

@Floatlikeafeather2 That’s not us. Had a few sun holidays so dc could make sandcastles and enjoy a pool but we moved on to seeing amazing things in the world. It’s all part of a broad education. Widens horizons and you don’t have to get involved with locals as such. Although we have had some wonderful experiences with local people. I find food, architecture, history, art and many other things inform us about other cultures and it stops us living in a bubble.

Perhaps the value of it doesn’t register with them yet. If they’ve had these opportunities freely all
their lives. It’s not such a treat if it’s so frequent.

Or they don’t really enjoy your style of holidaying. I didn’t enjoy going away with my parents as I found their pastimes boring and would have rather been at home. I enjoy going away as an adult. I go on similar holidays to be honest, probably more organised and coordinated and do enjoy it now. I stay in more comfortable places as one of the things I hated most was uncomfortable beds in off-the-beaten-track lodgings.

I think you are being unreasonable.They don't need to have the same interests and hobbies as you.

You are lucky if that is your main concern for your 18 and 20 year olds.

I would be far more concerned if they were hanging out in gangs causing a nuisance, getting driving, taking drugs, committing crime etc.

Are they happy and healthy?
Are they still in study or working etc?

If so I wouldn't be concerned about not wanting to ho on holidays, especially if you have taken them to visit different places.

Some children don't get the opportunity to travel, even if they want to ( health of them or family members, cist etc). Your child will have experienced visiting other countries where they have not.

They are still young. Their interests may change over time, and they may want to travel, but if not, does it matter providing they are happy.

I have an old friend/ex-boyfriend who was never interested in travelling, he wasn't a 'holiday' type of person. He just wasn't into it. He met his now wife a few years ago and has now, in his 50s, travelled fairly extensively with her.

Younger people have access to information and knowledge we didn't have so freely, so physically travelling to obtain that knowledge is sometimes seen as unethical also. There's no need for anyone to travel outside the country just for the sake of it or to say they've been to Spain. It might change as they get older, it might not but it's really up to them.

Edit: I should point out that my friend's world wasn't 'small'. He is a pretty intelligent man and has always had a full life for as long as I've ever known him. He has friends, hobbies, he volunteers every chance he gets, he has confidence and is authentic. A lovely guy.

How many UK holiday makers who go abroad are genuinely "curious about other cultures"? The vast majority are concerned only with enjoying the sun and will have very little contact with any of the local culture.

Honestly? Whether I would be concerned depends on what their reasons are. I’ve seen threads on here where someone is appalled by the idea of a 11+ aged child (living in London) getting the tube to and from school or by a young adult getting a train to visit another city. Children seem to be coddled more now - if the result is that they are appalled by having to negotiate an unfamiliar situation then that isn’t good.

If, on the other hand, they just can’t see the appeal of going to Ulan Bataar then fair enough (alien though that is to me).

lol at expanding the mind. Most holidays are in English speaking hotels or AI. You might visit a few tourist attractions along the way. People need to get their heads out of the of their arses.

I don't really have the travel bug in that I don't particularly want to go abroad, I do however like to go to various places in the uk, I love a city break and I want to look at castles, cathedrals and gardens.
Even when I was younger I wasn't into travel.
My DS shows no inclination to travel. My DD is similar to me but being braver is including european cities.

Leave them alone.
(46 yo and already revoked my passport).
Not worth while anymore.

This is so pretentious and snobby it's unbelievable.
I've done loads of 'travel'. Europe, South and North America, Asia etc.
Its really not all that. Yes you see some nice sights etc but these days we love in an extremely globalised world and actually you see a lot of the same everywhere! Go to China and you'll see loads of KFC restaurants everywhere 👌👌