I have two kids who will be 17 and 13 by this coming summer. They get on really well and I’d say they are very close. The older one is a bit emotionally immature for her age, the younger one very mature. So they kind of meet in the middle.
Just returned from a long awaited two week long-haul trip abroad which was their choice. They got on well, had their own rooms, so own space.
We had a villa with a pool. My 17 year old despite this spent most of the time indoors scrolling Instagram/Twitter and talking/texting her friends. I should add that she has always struggled to fit in socially, and now has a group of friends and people she knows via a hobby, so she enjoys having more peers to chat to, I’m pleased about that, however some of these people are on a Twitter group related to her hobby, so it does appear she’s spent most of the last fortnight interacting with strangers!
Younger one was very disappointed that older one was not joining her in the pool. It was a very expensive holiday that both kids wanted and tbh very annoying when my elder child could equally have been at home in their bedroom. They also complained they ‘didn’t get a tan’ despite staying indoors 🙄
I kind of feel stuck between stages. My youngest wants and enjoys being on holiday, likes spending time with her sibling. My eldest wants to hang out with friends but also loves being with family for short periods.
We always holidayed for 2-3 weeks when they were younger. We’ve cut this down to a week at a time now, as it’s obvious that they are always keen to get back to friends after that time.
My elder daughter says she may not want to come next year, however I really think she has the impression that we will start paying for her to holiday with friends. She has a part time job but tends to spend what she earns on her hobby. She has a vague notion about going on holiday with friends but no mention of saving up to pay for it, and clueless about costs.
I’ve considered taking a friend for my younger daughter, but the dramas of female friendships at this stage are many, and I know there would be fall outs on holiday, as well as an amount of deliberately being cheeky to show off. Not my idea of a break!
Not sure where to go from here. Can anyone relate? What did you do? City breaks are an option but we’ve already done a few of those (Paris, Venice, Berlin, Siena, New York, Nice, Amsterdam, Seville - all done) and they aren’t relaxing breaks. We both work hard and need a bit of relaxation.
Thanks for reading.