Travelling with your teenage children, grandchildren or nieces and nephews can be a delight or a nightmare. This really depends on your approach and your ability to connect to a younger generation. Most teens are not brats, as movies would have us believe but rather inexperienced almost adults who believe they are old enough to care for themselves and yet need to have an adult to fall back on when they go into a deep end. If you are travelling within the country, the first thing you need to do is to get your teen’s cell phone numbers. This makes it easier to round them up with message blast whenever you all get separated and lost. Click here to understand more about message blasting.
Communicate at Their Level
No matter how wide the generation gap is, make an effort to try to communicate in a way they will comprehend. They could also be trying to make the same effort, to connect with you. A first step would be understanding the technology that they are immersed in and which occupies most of their attention. You can also set some boundaries such as no playing video games or checking their phone while eating at the dinner table. It is not really practical to deprive them of their smart phones because having a phone just makes it a lot easier to navigate in new places and help you find them if they get lost.
Decide on Activities Together
You can do this with any and all children you travel with, ensuring that they will be less bored and more engaged in your travel itinerary. Before going on a trip do research on your destination with the kids. Plan and pick the places and activities you would like to do according to your interests. Make sure everybody gets to pick something or that there is something for all to look forward to. Maybe you have a foodie in the group, and then you can go for some local cuisine. It is also alright if your party splits up fur just a night or part of the day so long as safety is not an issue. The family does not have to be together all the time. In fact, a short break from each other might do you all some good.
Call Out Bad Behaviour
Teenagers will act more immature than they really are when in the company of familiar adults. This is a natural trigger of their surroundings. Try to think about it. Adult children will revert back to their childish habits when they are together in the company of their mother. The same thing happens to teenagers, which is why you need to call out disruptive behaviour because they already know they are being disruptive. For instance, a teen constantly complaining about being bored like a two year old can be told to act in a more mature or adult manner will more likely do so. There is really no reason to endure bad company even those of teens.