Bored teenager

[jdouds]

Hi we would suggest you try and get him to help with the planning. This means he can decide what everyone does on some days. Get him to find out what else is available to do. Gun range , son loved it wife hated the thought of it.

[duchy]

Originally Posted by Andybear

Same here. I also don't understands parents who say 'I'm paying so I decide where we're going'. It just causes animosity.

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Perhaps that's because you aren't a parent though Andy. It's very easy to be an armchair expert .
Not allowing a teenager to call all the shots may indeed cause animosity, but it's also called parenting ! Teaching a teenager that their wants take prescedence over everyone else's isn't a good life lesson !

[NewtoOrlando]

Originally Posted by duchy

Perhaps that's because you aren't a parent though Andy. It's very easy to be an armchair expert .
Not allowing a teenager to call all the shots may indeed cause animosity, but it's also called parenting ! Teaching a teenager that their wants take prescedence over everyone else's isn't a good life lesson !

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Agree with this. I think a lot of parenting is about balance & compromise. We don’t let our kids dictate to us what we do, but we ask their thoughts/opinions on ideas we have and find a way to do something we all want to do. This years holiday is very much a different affair, I understand their getting older & we’ve taken that into account when it comes to what we plan to do and it suits all of us.

[Vinniecat]

Originally Posted by duchy

Perhaps that's because you aren't a parent though Andy. It's very easy to be an armchair expert .
Not allowing a teenager to call all the shots may indeed cause animosity, but it's also called parenting ! Teaching a teenager that their wants take prescedence over everyone else's isn't a good life lesson !

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Agreed.

[DisneyDaffodil]

Originally Posted by NewtoOrlando

Agree with this. I think a lot of parenting is about balance & compromise. We don’t let our kids dictate to us what we do, but we ask their thoughts/opinions on ideas we have and find a way to do something we all want to do. This years holiday is very much a different affair, I understand their getting older & we’ve taken that into account when it comes to what we plan to do and it suits all of us.

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Totally agree, happy teenager equals happy parents. So working together to consider everyone’s needs and interests on holidays means everyone enjoys it. It’s not a case of telling our children we are going where we want to go so you have to enjoy it, neither is it a case of giving in to their demands. It’s finding a balance that suits all the family

[lottiesmum0]

A tricky one I think. I agree with involving them in the planning. My DD (16) loves holidays - always has done. DS (14) can get a bit grumpy. We tend to alternate between Florida and other places. Last year we did California and at one point last year, I was ready to chuck him off the Stratosphere in Vegas as he was being so awkward! DH had to have a word with him.

My DS's issue is that he is sporty and we are away for 4 weeks so I think he misses that outlet. However, even though I wouldn't dream of leaving him behind, I am sure he would still choose to come along with us!
As we go away for 4 weeks, we try and have a mixture between hotel rooms where we are all in together (sometimes the family chats we have at night are our greatest memories) to then having time in villas where we can all spread out.
This weekend we all sat down as it was ADR day approaching so we talked about the places that we all wanted to eat and he seemed happy to join in. As they are older now, we have said that they could go into the parks themselves as they are so familiar with them, but we got told they like being with us as we all like to go on the rides!

[macadoo]

Originally Posted by duchy

Whilst I've never done Disney every year as to be honest much as I love it , there are so many other places to visit too but it is a favourite we've returned to many times ... My attitude is I'm the parent and I'm paying so whilst preferences definitely get taken into account she who pays the piper plays the tune and I wouldn't let any child dictate the destination. Once he was 15 my son got to choose if he wanted to come or stay with his Dad , wherever the destination was.

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We value our family holidays (the kids and us), it’s not just our holiday that the kids tag along on.

[duchy]

Originally Posted by macadoo

We value our family holidays (the kids and us), it’s not just our holiday that the kids tag along on.

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Indeed which is why I said everyone's preferences are taken into account ... there's a difference between between that and booking a family holiday to San Antonio because a teen insists they want a clubbing holiday to avoid animosity as Andy suggested.
My son had got bored with America at that point (probably went too often as a child of divorced parents he got double holidays ) and preferred not to go, which was fine .

At seventeen my parents booked a cruise to America that was the same time I had booked on week performing at a youth theatre festival, they were gobsmacked I preferred to go to Leicester rather than New York (discussed before they booked thankfully) , we all had wonderful holidays. The time was right for me to step away from family holidays , for some it's right at 17 for others it comes later, no two families are the same , even within families some siblings outgrow family holidays sooner than others. Neither is wrong so long as everyone is fine with it .
With Florida it can mean a villa rather than on site as teenagers often need their space and don't want to share , or a split stay with onsite and villa ...or even Beach split with parks . There's often a compromise to be found.

[Disney Dizzy]

When we visited in 2013 it was during a particularly awful year which started with my brother passing away and included having to reapply for my job due to a organisational restructure, a breakdown of a long term relationship of a close family member and having to offer emotional support to them, another family member passing away. It was terrible. To get me through it all I focussed on the holiday and unfortunately built the holiday up into something that was going to redefine the whole year for me. We were staying onsite, something we hadn't done before, and we had free dining so I could plan all those ADRs! I planned activities, I planned outings, I planned the whole lot. And what happened - yes my family spoilt it! They didn't want to go on the pirate treasure hunt, they were too hot to stay in the park, they had a headache and didn't want to eat at Be Our Guest, and were too tired to attend the Dessert Party. I was devastated. But the reality was, I had just planned too much and hadn't considered how tiring the heat would be for little people (aged 10 and 8). I blame myself entirely. Also being in such close confines in a single hotel room we soon found familty quality time can be rather draining.

So this time, yes I have planned. I've planned what villas/hotels we will be staying in. I've planned what parks we will be going to so I know what tickets to purchase and as we are travelling around Florida I have planned where we will be each day. When the FP window opens I will try to get the FPs we are really keen to get and will plan our day around them but that's it. There will be no ADRs booked as we're not so keen on having table service meals at the parks. Days when FPs are not booked we will decide each day what we will do. I have along the way asked DD and DS what they want to do and where they want to go but both have been vague and said 'Don't mind' - obviously really helpful but where I have thought of something such as going to a baseball game, I have asked them and got a positive reaction.


I have no doubt that there will still be some moaning and being 'bored' but that will probably be because DS is have withdrawal symptoms from having his Xbox controller surgically removed before we get on the plane.

[JLH]

After first discovering Florida , I went a bit mad on it and we went four times in a row . I have three boys and by the fourth time they requested another place 😂 Regardless of who’s paying I think compromise is the answer . We went elsewhere and my boys loved it ,dare I say ,preferred a lazy beach pool holiday . It’s now been four years since our last visit and they are now requesting to go back again to Florida so for us it did the trick . However you did mention Anna Maria, we did a week there followed by a few days in Orlando and they preferred Anna Maria . My youngest PlayStation /mobile phone addict son learnt how to fish there , never thought I would see him sitting patiently fishing each day . I would chat to your son to see what you he may like to do .