Tell me your solution to bored teenagers

[monkeyblonde]

This year’s holiday proved that we need to rethink holiday plans for next year, when I also have a ‘big’ birthday.

tell me what your 15 and 13 year olds have lived this year!

Fast WiFi.

3 teens. Honestly that’s it. They truly have no fucks for anything else.

By that age we took road trips, think castles, museums, cathedrals, Roman ruins, nice meals in the square, vineyards and yes them scrounging wine off willing waiters, or mocktails. Occasionally a zoo or other tourist attraction. They are grown now and choose to take these sorts of holidays with their partners.

Our 2 are 14 and 15. We no longer do beach holidays as it doesn't work for us I think, we went to Rhodes a.couple if years ago and it was lovely but I felt they were getting bored (whilst I happily read a book on the beach).
Last year we did Florida and it was a great holiday. However I think this year's holiday was better. We went for 11 days to New York. So much to do and they both loved it. I would definitely recommend it. You could join New York with Florida or DC or Toronto.
Next year we are going to Japan and Qatar. Definitely a bucket list holiday for us. We were swaying between Japan And South Korea but they chose Japan. Again a very active holiday.
If you want something closer then European city breaks are a great hit too, we will be going to Berlin next month.
Maybe ask them what they would like to do/where they would like to go?

Fortunately for us ours from that age o wards like reading sunbathing and going out for meals. So we do that on holiday with the odd action day of kayaking or similar. Turn off the WiFi and charge up the kindles.

You could try Neilson. Our two loved it, even though DS is really not sport.

What didn't work for you this year? Moving around a bit suits us - a few nights city break, a few active/adventure days and then beach at the end. Thailand was perfect for this.

Cruises worked for us. We either took turns choosing excursions or we let them choose. The sporty one did sports onboard and I did things with the arty one such as watch shows, watercolour classes etc. They both liked the amusements and loved the food and drinks.

We do activity based trips. Days stuck by a pool bore me let alone the kids.

My 14yo takes books and drawing stuff literally everywhere.

We do the usual day trips, so museums, zoos, castles, beaches etc. But when we go home I do let her go hibernate in her room to recover from the strain of socialising with us.

We do cut trips short though. No longer than our attention span, always - even if it was expensive. You’ve paid anyway whether you stay all day if an hour, so you might as well have an enjoyable short visit rather than a boring, frustrating, argumentative trip. Plus cake/ice cream. And friends - but I’ll only take friends who’ll behave appropriately.

City breaks.

With great WiFi.

Iceland in December has been the biggest holiday hit we have had with teens.

We’re on the last day of an AI with a 15 year old..
unlikely to do this again with teens. He enjoyed the day trips and maybe one or two evenings playing cards after dinner but mostly had a face like a slapped arse the whole week.
I took him to a festival with friends and their similar aged kids a few weeks ago and he absolutely loved it. So our plan for next year is:
Festival with the teen
Week AI with the youngest (who will be 12) and take one of his friends- leave the then 16 year old at home with his 25 year old brother (who will be working).
Whole family ski holiday ( all ages love to ski)
A week camping in Cornwall all together with friends and their similar aged kids.
I think at 15/16 unless they have their mates or similar ages around them then they just don’t really want to be there.

We did a beach holiday this year but also hired a jeep for a few days to go off roading and looking at some castles/ruins. Also did a boat day which was awesome. Lots of snorkelling and swimming. Played cards. Read books. Drank cocktails encouraged lazy days and hotel had good WiFi as well as a half decent gym.

In what way were they bored? My 2 (13&16) seem to enjoy all types of holiday. This year we’ve -been to Cornwall for a week in a holiday let with family. Beach, bit of tourist sightseeing, afternoon in splash pool.
-a week in Italy in a villa in the middle of nowhere with family. Mostly pool
and a day out to Siena.
-moved then to a campsite in a van. More pool, beach and nonsense entertainment.
-48 hours in Rome looking at culture, lots of walking , very hot.
They have enjoyed 95% of it and at no point were they ‘bored’. Hot, tired, hormonal, hungry maybe, but not bored.

A private pool. The last two years we have managed to find houses in France with their own pool that were not too expensive. Also wifi.

We still go on trips out every day but try not to make them too long, so DH and I don't always get to look around places as long as we would like. They are still incentivised by ice cream when out.

Also, try to build around any interests they have, eg one of my DC tried paddlebaording and enjoyed it so now we try to build around experiences like that.

Don’t agree that from 15 they “don’t want to be there”. Ours do. It depends so much on the teen. We have two same sex who get on. They enjoy relaxing and reading and although both super sociable with lots of friends they hate the idea of taking one on holiday as they would then have to host / entertain them.

They definitely want to be there proved by fact they keep enthusiastically coming along and dd1 is 20!

Cruising has been amazing for our teens. Fantastic day and night entertainment, making friends and visiting a new place each day was a brilliant experience. Cruising has become crazy popular and expensive now, so except busy ships, but it’s still brilliant fun.

Or island hopping in Greece. We definitely love visiting different places, exploring followed by relaxing.

What’s your usual Holiday like. Ours was similar to usual but we’re not lazing around beach people so tend to do day trips and exploring - as dc get older they choose more trips- activities. Croatian coast was good for lots of snorkelling- and in france we’ve done canoeing. I get bored quickly so I just make sure for those bits where they just sit on their phone in the accommodation you can find a good walk, the resort has yoga etc or I go to a spa.

Shows how different we all are. I would absolutely hate being constantly “on the go” on holiday and so do my teens.

City breaks and then a couple of days relaxing at the beach/lake
Self catering activity holiday
For DD's 16th and my 50th - 2 weeks US, Boston, Rhodes Island and New York

The last time AI was when DD was 15. First time after 3 years of Covid low-key holidays and we were all bored and so over it. Too many people, always the same and we basically went out each day so we decided to better put money towards the sightseeing holiday we enjoy more.

Internet
Airbnbs with their own room
They loved Seoul where they could go out and about on together without parents
They love shopping and eating out.

We did a beach holiday too in May in Greece, but we let them sleep in and just left the house each day between 11am and 1pm; but once out we didn’t come back until late.

We try to include them on what they want to do, eat, etc. Try not to impose, adjust, compromise halfway.

They are happy with some family time; but not all day.

The days where they used to do what parents want to do are long gone.

South Korea and Japan are where they have been more enthusiastic, planning, ready to crack on early, etc.

I took mine to places like alps for mountain biking and hiking for a fortnight, two weeks canoeing and cycling in the Massif Central (which was my best holiday ever - could barely get them ON screens after they met the local girls...), a couple of weeks Torridon again cycling and hiking mountains, a week in Hebrides with more cycling and hiking, and a week in the Great Glen canoeing and cycling mainly.

Summary: they need a sport they enjoy before they became teens...

Dd15 really enjoyed a summer week in Copenhagen ( she has a younger sibling). We stayed in a cool hostel and didn’t force her to get up and out early (very important!) but every day we did lots - whether it was theme park, “a castle in 45 minutes”, street food markets and lazing in the sun, swimming in the harbour, a museum (we found several she liked), window shopping, the beach, and day trips to other towns to see Viking stuff … the key thing was loads of variety.

Like a pp, I do not nag her to be sociable and I leave her alone to read and listen to music when she has put up with us all day!