Too old for family vacations?!?!?

[SavvyMom]

I had a coworker ask me what we were doing for summer vacation. I told her we were going to WDW . She said she was glad we still took family vacations because so many people stop doing that when their kids become teenagers. I have 2 daughters, 14 and 10. This shocked me. Too old to go on a trip with the family? I asked dd14 if she felt too old for WDW. She said no way!! But, we are willing to do what the kids want to do. For example, dd10 wants to go to Disney Quest and dd14 doesn't. DH will take dd10 to Disney Quest and I'll hang out with dd14 at DTD. Do ya'll think kids can be too old to go on vacation with the family?

 

[hygienejean]

I had a coworker ask me what we were doing for summer vacation. I told her we were going to WDW . She said she was glad we still took family vacations because so many people stop doing that when their kids become teenagers. I have 2 daughters, 14 and 10. This shocked me. Too old to go on a trip with the family? I asked dd14 if she felt too old for WDW. She said no way!! But, we are willing to do what the kids want to do. For example, dd10 wants to go to Disney Quest and dd14 doesn't. DH will take dd10 to Disney Quest and I'll hang out with dd14 at DTD. Do ya'll think kids can be too old to go on vacation with the family?

No WAY! When I was in college, I happily went to WDW with my parents and 17 yr old sister. We had a great time and I still have fantastic memories of the trip!

 

[Suzanna1973]

Going to WDW in May'08 and sadly DD16 will not be going along . She graduates HS the week before we leave and is NOT a Disney Freak like her mother She wants to stay home and have some fun with her friends before she leaves for college(I'm not ready for that! Not ready! )I respect her decision. She went with us in '05 and had an ok time, but is looking forward to our Disney Cruise in '09 when DH and I renew wedding vows and take 2nd honeymoon with children in tow.

 

[sweetpeakaris]

I plan to always take family vacations with my kids until the day I die. We have talked about how we want to travel all over the world, right now the kids are all for it, but I know one day I will have to deal with them not wanting to come along.

Maybe once they are older you can have them bring a friend or two along. I saw a lot of people at ou resort who had brought there kids friends.

 

[tinkerbell615]

No WAY! When I was in college, I happily went to WDW with my parents and 17 yr old sister. We had a great time and I still have fantastic memories of the trip!

My DS is 21 in college and going to WDW with us in 27 days! DD is 15 and is taking a friend. DS has yet to find a friend that can afford the tickets and food (we were planning on someone going with him but that fell through). We have enough room in the Minivan and at the hotel so if one of his buddies comes up with the other money they are more than welcome to come along. But, even without a buddy, he is ready and excited to be going with us. We have turned him into a Disney "freak" like the rest of us I guess!! He actually can't wait to head to PI with his dad and hit some of the night clubs!!

 

[GreatLakes5]

We have friends whose youngest is 12 and eldest is 19. (There's one more in between). They even became DVC members because their kids still enjoy going to Disney together....their tastes in rides have changed, and the resort stay has become a bit more important (the teen girls like to lounge by the pool and work on those tans... ). They do a Disney cruise every so often as well. All in all, they still find Disney works.

(Oh, and this is not one of those perfect families where everyone gushes about how they love each other Very typical teen-parent relationships)

 

[iNTeNSeBLue98]

In May I made our reservations for the last week of August. DD is looking forward to WDW this year, but I fear in a year or two that even though she likes WDW now, she will have other interests, be working full time without time off, or may want to do things on her own or with her friends instead of going on vacation with her parents.

I am considering a Las Vegas trip when she graduates high school in two years, but I would expect that to be our last family trip.

 

[*KeepMovingForward*]

My oldest is 16 and I posed the question to him about possibly being too old for the family trips to Disney-he got a twisted look to his face and said we will never be able to go without him. I guess we are lucky because our kids haven't outgrown us or Disney yet and hopefully they never will.

 

[Snowysmom]

My 2 DS's, 21 and 17 are coming along to Disney with us this summer. I even got them to help with some of the planning. It never occured to me (or them) that they would not want to go.

 

[me again]

my kids are 10 & 11 and I feel they're too old for a family trip. I guess its just a matter of individual situations. We're not going on a family vacation this summer for a variety of reasons, finances, husband's work schedule, etc.

Next summer I'm planning for them to go to sleep away camp, probably for a month. They're already looking forward to it. At their age, they'd rather be with a group of kids their own age doing activities geared to them, not driving around in a minivan for a week looking at scenery and being bored to death, like I was when a kid!

 

[TheDizMom]

Absolutely not. I wish I had those memories as a kid. My DH and his parents and brother talk about all their family vacations with such laughter and nostalgia and I don't have that. I had a dad who was a workaholic and was never willing to make time for them. I lived in California until I was 10 and never once went to Disneyland! You are never to old to go on a family vacation, we just did with my DH's whole family and had a ball. I am making sure my kids have those memories I didn't. We don't have a lot to spare, but no matter what my kids are getting family vacations. We won't get to go every year, but we'll do them as often as we can.

 

[crzyred]

my family still does family vacations. my sister is 28, brother is 25 and i'm 22. we have a grand old time! it's pretty much the only time we ever see each other. (which most of the time is ok!)

 

[lynninpa]

Absolutely not! Just ask my 19 yo son and my 26 yo daughter! Not too mention my son's 21 yo girlfriend and my 28 yo son-in-law!

 

[susykt4]

In my teen years I skipped every family vacation I could. My brothers were 5 and 10 years younger and we ALWAYS seemed to do things that were age-appropriate for them. I skipped several Disney vacations as well as other destinations. I stayed with my grandma and had a blast.

Since my teen years I've gone on several family vacations including my husband and kids and my brothers' families. My parents have also come to Disney with us twice and have gone on several vacations with my brother and his wife and kids.

I'm sure my parents and brothers had a MUCH better time on the vacations I skipped than if I had been along sulking and complaining the entire time. Just because one kid is "too old" for family vacations doesn't necessarily mean there will never be another one.

 

[disykat]

Too old or too busy? I fully expect that our 2 or 3 week long summer vacations will be coming to a halt soon. Our oldest is 14. Already we work around summer school, band camp, and his lawn mowing commitments. It won't be too many years before he will have a job all summer. We have been planning accordingly, trying to get our "must do" trips in before then.

My family always took vacations during the summer while I was growing up - until those years when jobs got in the way. Then we started taking shorter trips during Spring break or Christmas vacation. There were 3 of us born within three years so working around 3 teens summer jobs and my parents schedule really didn't work.

I don't think there's such a thing as too old for family vacation, but there's definitely a time when other things become a priority.

 

[bord1niowa]

Well my 16 year old daughter and 25 year old daughter wouldn't trade it in for the world..

 

[Starr W.]

I was going on family vacations well into my 20's. To be honest my parents were great travellers, compared to some of my friends. Gosh I remember one Spring Break trip(Mom got us a deal on a cruise) and all the whining and complaining and nothing was fun. My parents were alot more adventurous and willing to try things.

Heck I went into the family business, end up running it, so I had to travel with Dad on business sometimes. Never a dull moment , especially being his "bag girl" when he would hit duty free at Frankfurt to buy stuff for the ladies in the office(chocolate and perfume) and the biannual Hermes scarf for my mom.


I am just sad they have both passed away, they would have loved to go places with their grandsons.

Now we won't mention my party pooper sister, if anyone should have stayed home it was her. She hates sleeping in "strange" beds even for a night, more of a picky eater than my kids. She's been pulling this stuff since she's been a kid and it hasn't gotten any better.

 

[mom-mom2three]

I have four adult children ages 31, 30, 25, and 22 and we all still enjoy family vacations together . It is hard for everyone to get the time off work at the same time but we are all going to Disney for Christmas this year

 

[Camping Griswalds]

I liked vacationing with parents as a kid, but i must say my parents took us everywhere. They never went on a vacation by themselves. Now that I am older, and married with three kids of my own I think that is strange. I like to do a little of both. We still vacation with kids, who were 14, 10 and 2 on last vacation. The age spread is quite difficult at times. Either the big kids are waiting for the little one, or vise veersa. We have a trip booked in Jan of 2008. We will allow each boy to bring a friend. My oldest is quite independant, and honestly still seems toenjoy our company, and I'd like to keep it that way, as long as I can. So if bringing a friend helps. I am all for it. So of course one kiddo can't bring a friend without the other. Honestly I can't imagine a vacatin with only some of my childre, and leaving others behind, but know this will happen. Between sports, college in the future, jobs, there really won't e any practical way to get all of us together as time goes on. It's quite sad really as I sit here typing this. It will make me appreciate these last four years together, until oldest goes off to college. Once that happens, I can't imagine that winter breaks and Spring breaks will match up.

 

[MommaPooh217]

I have DS 23 and DD 20 who still come on vacation with us. As well as DDIL and DD 20's DF all of whom you see below as well as DD's 7 & 4, DSis 51.I'll be surprised when they don't want to come along . And now of course I am a Mom Mom, and Mom Mom can't wait to take her grandbaby for his first visit to WDW.

DS23 with his sisters 7 & 4

DDIL,DS,DD's DF, DD at an O's game (could'nt find a Dis pic with them all together and I stink when it comes to working the scanner lol)

DSis 51 and DD's 7 & 4 with their Auntie and her fave Eeyore



Blessed Be,
Tina