We just finished up spring break at our house, so I thought I would share 4 ways to make traveling for spring break fun for you and your teens. Yes, it is possible.
- Have a schedule of expected activities that the entire family will attend. In our family, we have the husband (AKA travel task master Clark Griswold). He wants us to see everything when we travel. I plan the flight/accommodations, he gets the best guidebook for wherever we are headed and plans out each day. We always appreciate him when we are home, since he never disappoints with the memories. The teens may not be appreciative of all of the fun activities in the moment, but they will remember later on.
- Be respectful of different personality styles. In our family, we have 2 extroverts and 2 introverts. Having fun does not mean we are always all doing the same thing. On our trip, the guys went out people/car watching while the gals got coffee and took a break one afternoon. We all recharge in different ways, and it is especially important to be respectful of this on spring break when you are more tired than usual and off your regular schedule. And if you are like us, in a different timezone.
- Schedule activities for each teen. For us, this meant hitting up the shopping district (hence the blog post picture) and visiting and the original cable car museum. Happy teens = happy parents.
- Allow for down time. Teens need their time with friends (on their screens at least while on vacation). In some ways, they need their routine more than we do. I am not sure mine could go a week without connecting with their friends! Plus, it is nice to have just some time with your spouse while on vacation. Just remember your Netflix firestick, and you can watch all of your shows anywhere. (Note that this post is not sponsored by Netflix, we just really like our TV shows :-).
So there you have it folks. How we do spring break with teens. What about you? Do you have any suggestions for traveling with teens? I would love to hear them!
Want to chat about parenting in the teenage years? Check out the Let’s Talk Parenting link and get in touch. I would love to talk with you!