When your teenager doesn't want to go on vacation with you anymore...

[popeyeohoh]

Good information. Having same issues with my teen.

 

[skiwee1]

It does seem DD's are easier to vacation with then ds's for some reason. I have 2 boys and 1 girl. Though the boys were more "attached" to me growing up, my DD is the one who still wants to go on vacations with us, and she is 28. IF we are paying. My 16 yr old ds, no way, no matter what. My 30 yr old ds would go now that he is married, but only because his wife wants to go

I am not so sure about that one either. I remember when my DD was 15 and we were going to WDW. She did not want to go even with a friend because she has a boyfriend at home. She was a miserable child the entire trip! At the time we didn't have any idea and booked our vacation through AAA. Not only were we paying too much but for things we didn't need. We ended up with those LOS passes for all us. DD literally laid on the beach at CBR for 7 days getting a tan to impress the little punk! I think she made it to the parks twice. Other then that it was wasted pining away for a boyfriend that didn't last 3 weeks after her return. About the same time that expensive tan lasted too! LOL! Fast forward 6 years and she loves going to WDW with us and anywhere else I chose to go. Now it seems I can't go without her! LOL!

 

[MScott1851]

Make him go.

I never had a choice. My parents dragged me all the way across the country and back for two weeks when I was a senior, and I had gotten dumped two days before.

You think I wasn't a raging mess? But I sucked it up and my brother and I played our favorite game the whole trip: "Get Mama" which basically means tormenting my mother. We totally regressed to childhood, booger flicking, "I'm not touching you" and punchbug games. Looking back, it was the best vacation I've ever been on (except my honeymoon.)

We are also going on our first "family" vacation since then this May. Also to Gatlinburg. DH can't go due to sweeps at work, so I'm sure me and brother will "get mama" just like we used to.

 

[DISNEYFANRI]

I may run into the same situation this year - DD will be 18 and DS 16. Except for our WDW trips we have always gone camping which my son seems to enjoy. MY DH and DS have traveled a couple of weekends to friends "hunting camp" in PA - DS took his best friend who "fit right in".
So I guess my answer is this....I would not leave DS home alone but depending on the circumstances (type of trip - expenses - etc) I would not be apposed to him taking a friend. There is always room for compromise.

 

[Disney Dee]

Terry, at 15 my dd liked to vacation with us because we did beach vacations, and she liked to tan. I don't think DW would have attracted her attention though, back then we didn't do DW vacations. By the time we started doing them, she was in college and being with parents was not so uncool. Not sure she would have wanted to go while in her teens though. The boys stopped wanting to do any vacations with us when they became teens, and I just never forced them, luckily I had my MIL right next door, so didn't have to leave them unsupervised ever. I know my now 16 yr old would have one heck of a party if we did!