What to do in Central London with moody 12 yrs old girl?

[Autumnwibess]

We are going to London for a day with my daughter who is 12 and she feels it will be boring and tiresome and all she wants to do is talk to her friends on the phone in her room!
My and DH went to London last month and had a good time especially in Abbey Road, pouncing around London but she doesn’t want to really go.
So far I booked a cable car across the river.
She is not into museums or anything like that, so no point going there, to be honest I did all these myself 25 yrs ago and personally I am not into it much either.
I sadly can’t afford any attractions like London eye or Madame Tussaud’s,
I am on the a strict budget.
Any tip’s please?

She is not into Harry Potter either as apparently too babyish. She loves K-pop though!
Any good K-pop theme anything?

Would this be manageable budget wise? Think it only lasts an hour but might cheer her up for the day lol.

https://dopaminelandexperience.com/london/

you'd have to google for K Pop but the dopamine land thing is paying a lot for no reason

is it the whole family or just you two - in which case, I'm wondering why you're going?

Worth finding out what's on at the Southbank on the day of your visit, there might be something free there.

@AddictedtoStarmix just checked and it’s sold out on the day we go..

Some ideas here: www.kpopwise.com/2022/07/top-5-k-pop-places-to-visit-in-london-uk.html

If all else fails, go to Camden Market

Head towards China Town, few shops/cafes etc that she would probably like. Failing that, go to Camden Market (Chalk Farm tube) a fail safe for most teenagers.

@EmmaEmerald its all of us DH, me and her. So whole family.

Chinatown, Camden Market, Covent Garden. Loads to see just walking around. Nice shops if a little shopping is on the agenda. Plus Camden is good for the quirky!

Second China town and Camden, very cool places for pre teens.

I've been following Pretty Little London on Instagram - they go to some really cool cafes/ice cream places.
Lots of teen girls like Brandy Melville (Covent Garden).

What does she like to do, apart from talk to her friends?

My 11yo loved swimming outdoors in the Lido and we went to a show, if I was going now I would go to the immersive Dali show.

If she's a bit cooler and grown up, you could perhaps find a list of the 20 most Instagram-able places in London and go round them taking pictures.

So it's got to accommodate everyone's needs? Has to be a compromise but Southbank good for a mix of events and food places.

@EmmaEmerald no really, me and DH used to lived in London many moons ago but left circa 13 yrs ago, so we are not fussed and had a great time last month just the two of us, did all sightseeing again like a tourists, but she never went there so we thought it would be nice for her.
Well apparently not!

Sorry, I'm probably saying this because I hated being on family holidays and days out. I stopped going when I was 16 and able to say no and think I then had my next weekend away with olds when I was 31!

if you're taking her because you'll think she'll like it...and she's already saying she doesn't want to and you know London and yet are still asking for advice..it sounds like it would be easier not to go.

I second Chinatown - there's a fair amount of quirky shops around there now, teenagers love it. Also, there is a K-Pop themed restaurant (called K-Pop!) on Margaret Street near Oxford Circus. The food is actually very good and inexpensive so it isn't just a gimmick. Could be worth a look.

If she likes Korean things generally:

Oseyo (Korean supermarket / shop various locations in London - Soho, Camden Town, Tottenham Court Road)

P2BUS (K Beauty Shop - Chinatown)

Sokkollab (Korean Music / Lifestyle shop - Soho)

Bunsik (Korean street food various locations - Camden, Charing Cross etc.)

Other things that have gone down well with teenagers we’ve had to drag around London:

• Camden market
• Borough Market for street food
• The Slide at Orbit
• Sky garden
• God’s Own Junkyard
• Portobello market
• Carnaby Street
• Lift at Battersea Power Station
• Street art tour - especially Leake Street Arches
• Boxpark
• One New Change roof terrace

@EmmaEmerald well she is sort always like it. We went to Berlin few months ago and she did not look excited and in the end she loved it.
Last week I asked if she wanted to go into some shops with me - no too boring, loved it and didn’t want to go home!
So I hope and assume she will like it too.

@cherryassam thank you, the Sokollab definitely looks good!

Hard but sometimes a person has to learn to do things to please others. It is different now to when I was young no mobile phones etc, however we used to enjoy any day out.

@Autumnwibess my niece who is a huge K-pop fan really enjoyed Sokkollab, do check the opening times though because we went too early originally

There’s a really fun restaurant on the same road, East Street by Tampopo, we did both and it worked well

Take a friend of hers with you? On the understanding that their parents will fund it?

If she says she doesn’t want to go, don’t take her? I remember my mum dragging me on holidays I didn’t like and laying on the guilt when I didn’t enjoy it and it was hell. Just leave her to text her friends and go with your DH. Especially as it’s going to stretch the budget anyway.

Where do you live? What shops & things are there there? We live in a town with a decent shopping centre but DD still loves Oxford St (her mind is blown by there being three branches of Zara within about 500m of each other). It's more interesting for her when we go to shops that we don't have locally such as Urban Outfitters or Stradivarius.
However, the winner is just being somewhere and people watching. London is so different to our provincial market town! Winners for this are Camden Town and Carnaby St but the Southbank is always fun and more relaxed. She used to tolerate Covent Garden but was more interested last night as she's become more aware of high end brands. This then led to a stroll down Bond St where her eyes were almost popping out of her head!
I also get her to navigate part of it. The tube & bus system can appear such a maze but is quite straightforward and she feels really proud when she's suggested what route we take. I also think it's good experience as she may well end up living in a city one day.

@letmesailletmesail we live in a tiny town, so any shops near unless you drive.
Thats what I was thinking the whole city buzz with shops around would be great for her. She enjoyed in Berlin.

Just out of curiosity what did you do in Berlin?