Keeping a Smile on a Teenagers’ Face Whilst on a Holiday
While spending a holiday with my family last year, I found out that teenagers can be very uncomfortable, whiny, quarrelsome, and difficult to deal with when bored or 
ignored. Before making up my mind not to travel with my daughter and two sons again because of misbehaving, I decided to find out how to make them happy and cooperative while with them instead. Below are some of the best secrets I believe can help me and other parents in dealing with teenagers during holidays:
1. Involve Them
My kids often complained when forced to remain still in the hotel rooms, the car, or inside the camping tent. They could become very angry to the point of not wanting to speak to me during supper. This made me realize it is best for parents to let their teenagers move around and stretch their muscles whenever they are free. You can also take them shopping at the nearest mall or supermarket where they can pick their favorite DVDs or CD’s.
2. Let Them Sleep at their Own Time
There is nothing as bad as forcing a young adult to go to sleep when he/she doesn’t feel like. I tried it once and didn’t like the reaction I got from all of them. They kept looking sideways while grumbling to themselves and the younger one could even go to the point of covering his ears with headphones not wanting to hear another word. To avoid clashing with them again, I realized it is better to let them sleep at their own time without being forced as long as they agree to wake up at the right time. As young people, they might still want to talk about the things they experienced during the day, listen to music, watch their favorite movies, or surf the Internet.
3. Let them Meet Other Teenagers
Teenagers are always very happy and impressed to meet their age mates while on a holiday. While with my teenagers, I came to realize that they were always smiling and grinning when meeting with other young travelers from different countries despite the fact that they barely knew each other. The best places they can meet fellow teenagers include water slides, amusement parks, and shopping centers. Due to the fact that you are in a foreign country, it is very advisable for you to set strict ground rules for the young ones so they cannot just associate or interact with anyone.
4. Give them Some Responsibilities
The fact that you are on a holiday and away from home does not mean you stop giving your teenagers responsibilities as you usually do. As young adults, it’s very obvious that they already know how to use money and have an idea of what they should and should not carry while going for a holiday. That’s why I decided to allow my sons and daughter to tell me what to include in our travelling budget and let them decide for themselves on what to pack. Despite being young, I was surprised to notice that my kids could not only manage to contribute positively on the budget, but also pack very necessary personal items inside their bags.
5. Compromise on the Itinerary
While on a holiday, I always come up with a program to guide me on what to do and where to go at different times. According to my teenagers, the program does not suit the needs of everyone and prevents them from having fun as much as they would like. To make them happy nowadays, I see no problem in compromising on my program and doing whatever they want me to do for them as long as it’s good for all of us.
Author – Colin McDonald. I am a keen blogger, parent and traveller, having been fortunate to travel to many different countries and cultures I started to write about it to share my experience. Written with the help and cooperation of www.pottersholidays.com
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