Teens with zero desire to travel

[LyricalBoudicca]

Bit concerned that my 2 teens never express a desire to travel ever (NB they go abroad with me frequently but that’s always been down to me). They remind me of my grandparents who hardly ever left the county they grew up in which was probably due to lack of financial means. If I die I can see them perfectly content never to initiate a holiday. Has anyone else got teens like this? Or do mine have an unusual lack of curiosity?

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.

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.

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.

@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.

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.

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

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

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 😂

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.

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 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?!

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 🙄

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

My eldest and youngest both love travelling but in different styles.
Eldest loves to go to AI resorts and just chill for his whole trip.
Youngest loves to explore of the beaten track and stay in airbnb's.
Middle son isn't interested in travelling at all.
I'm a bit of both with eldest & youngest but lean more to the travelling style of my youngest.
We are off to Japan in 3 weeks time to do some exploring and site seeing.

That's not travelling.

Perhaps it’s a more a case of them having always had to go on holiday with you, and maybe not really being into the same sorts of holiday as you are. Perhaps to them, you make a big deal out of holidays that are chosen by you rather than them, and they’re just an age where they’d rather do their own thing.

Also, if they’ve travelled with you a lot, maybe they just take it a bit for granted and feel like it’s not a big deal.

Either way, they’re allowed to prefer to stay at home. Personally, I love travel and seeing new places. But some people just aren’t into it, and that’s fine. We’re all different. It’s not a character flaw.

I grew up with a neighbour who'd never seen the sea. He'd rarely left the county! And this was in the 90s / 00s.

I've rarely met anyone so content in himself.

Not everyone wants to travel. It doesn't mean you're not curious or bright.

Given how much damage mass tourism is doing to the planet and communities around the world, we could probably all do with a bit less travel to be honest.

Travelling does broaden the mind. It makes you question and makes it easier to converse with people. No one says it has to be magaluf . Interailing in Europe or City breaks. My kids are well travelled both working abroad post PhDs and it really makes a huge difference

I didn't travel much during my teenage years (and early 20s), mainly through poverty rather than wishes. Not entirely sure why this is bothering you