As a parent, you may have planned your holiday trip with a lot of care. But, even such a meticulous planning does not guarantee that your teens will enjoy the holidays as much as you do. The following parenting suggestions may be useful.
Parenting tips to follow while on a holiday
Never forget that your teens will soon become adults
Your teens are on the threshold of adulthood. Though they may depend upon you for making some of the major decisions, they may at times behave like adults. If they say that they want to go alone or with their friends on a holiday, you need not prevent them. This will help them learn coping strategies for tackling various new situations. The only precaution you must take is to check if the friends who accompany them are good and dependable.
Remember that they are still teens
This point may sound quite contradictory to the first tip. But, this is very important. You cannot assume that since they will soon become adults, they will enjoy serious spots like museums, archaeological sites, etc. Another parenting point is that you cannot expect them to render a helping hand in making the arrangements for the vacation.
You may not succeed in making them happy
You may have arranged trips to dream destinations but such dream holidays may not make your teens happy. You have to take this in your stride because even if you tell them that you have been saving money and making meticulous plans all through the year for making the vacation enjoyable, they may not be impressed. They may have their own ideas about a perfect and enjoyable vacation.
Provide freedom
Though you may have saved money for the vacation, you may have a tight budget. So, you may have booked one room with an additional bed for your teen. But, teens love to have independence and they may desire to have a separate room for enjoying their freedom. So, you should think of innovative ways to squeeze your expenses on some other head so that you can provide a separate room for your teen. This is an important parenting tip.
Food choices during vacations with teens
Since you love exotic foods, you cannot expect your teens will also like them. They may have their own preferences. Most of the teens may like to impress their friends and so, some of the choices they make may be appalling to you. You should not mind this because after all, you have come on vacation to provide enjoyment to your family and you should not disappoint your teens by making food choices for them.
Make sure that your plans do not go awry
Though teens may not like strict schedules, they hate situations when things go awry. So, you must provide sufficient cushion in your scheduling so that you do not miss trains or flights or your sight-seeing excursions take place according to your original plans.
Avoid following domestic rules
You may be insisting on certain rules at your homes. But, when you are on vacation, you should avoid insisting on them and irritating your teens.
Act like a parent
You are the parent of your teens and your activities should not belie your age. Though vacations have to be enjoyed, you should not throw caution to winds and try to act like your teens. You may have a chance to act like that when you come alone for a holiday. So, one parenting tip to follow is that you must enjoy your vacation to the maximum but within the permissible limits.