and keeping everyone happy all at once? Is it even possible?
In addition to my 2yr old and my 5 year old, the hubby and I recently acquired guardianship of two teenaged family members. We had gotten rid of our DP because it was too big and were about to settle on a smaller class C when boom! Life happened, so now we're going to be camping in our new 5th wheel. Yay!
Except it seems like nobody has any common interests. As the designated trip coordinator, that makes things hard for me. Hubby will not camp without water, electric and sewer, which rules out a few state parks that I think would be really fun. (I'm willing to go without him as soon as I have mastered backing the rig into narrow spaces lol). The two little ones are pretty easily amused fortunately. Give them a pool and a playground and it's as good as Disney.
The teenagers...well...they're teenagers. I've been reading the teenagers thread with great interest. Do I let them just sit and text all day, and just settle for knowing they're at least glued to their phones and ipods in a more scenic location than usual? Do I risk making everyone miserable and try to get them to join in games and try new things like kayaking? Also, if I do try to engage them in activities, that means that we may have to divide and conquer as the little ones are too little for hiking/biking/kayaking. How do you guys manage that? Take turns, draw straws? Rock, paper, scissors to see who gets the teens and who gets the tots? Do I just hang out with my little ones and let the big ones roam the campground on their own? I have to admit that makes me uneasy. At what age do you let them wander?
I'm relatively new to the camping thing (about a year) and we've only had the teenagers a few months, so I'll happily take advice about either. I've been trying to find things that will have "something for everyone" but that is tough. A friend did suggest a local campground that is next door to a marine with fun fishing charters, and I think we may try that. Unfortunately it is very expensive, but it looks like a really good time and they have fishing equipment and flotation vests for both the big and little kids, and when I ran it by the family they all seemed pretty excited (except my 5 year old daughter made it clear she just wants to catch the fish and get her picture taken with it for the scrapbook but she is definitely NOT touching any fish or bait!). What else can you do that bridges the generational gap?
I have a few games (both board games and outdoor games like corn hole) but those don't seem to work as they are geared towards either the big kids or little ones. Somebody help me! I want to make sure everybody has a good time.
Here's what my parents did when my brother and I were teenagers.
They let us know what they expected of us each day of camping. What chores had to be done(roll up sleeping bag, personal hygene, firewood collection..etc). We were made aware in advance of hikes, sight seeing, relative visits - anything that would be construed as invasion into our time. We were allowed to bring a limited number of diversions like radios, games, toys, books, bikes, skateboards.
Basically everything was laid out as much in advance so we knew what to expect. We were told once our chores were finished then we could do what we wanted for a few hours as long as we checked in from time to time or stayed within eyesight. We were well behaved so it was easy for them to allow us to go off on our own. The reason we were well behaved was due to the knowledge we would be punished and our freedoms would be taken away if we failed their trust.
One year we camped in an area where the black berries were in season. My mom had come prepared to can the berries into jelly and jam. Our job was to pick a 3 gallon can full of berries each in the morning and then we were allowed to go about a 1/2 mile to the river where we could stay until it was dinner time 5PM.
We hated picking the berries, but the reward was so great we were able to do this for the 5 days we stayed there.
Trips like these is where I began to enjoy reading. We didn't have TVs or DVD players back then so reading was the only form of escape I had access to. I started reading comic books and then moved on to simple novels and within a couple of years was reading Hemingway, Asimov, Twain, Mailer, Poe....
I host exchange students and have picked up 2 stray teenagers along with my own. So I currently have 2 17 year old and 1 14 year old girls plus an 18 year old boy. I do not know your situation or why you have acquired your teenagers but even under the best circumstances they often feel unwanted. It is important for you to include them in family activities it will make them feel like part of the family. Even if they complain. This is true of all teenagers but even more true with new family members. Sometimes I do things that they want to do even if I don't want to but from dinner till bed is family time. They may include friends if they like but we are all going to share this time together. I would rather they remember me as forcing them to play glow tag than feel unwanted of not included.
This is just MOP. However it is the way We did it. You know you can't please all the kids. So just please DH, and you. The kids will come along, and they will have fun. How do I know? Because for all the whining, and crying mine did on our vacations. Guess what, and where they go now that they can do their own. Yep, The same places, and do the things we did with them when they were young.
Just tell them as we did. When you are paying for the vacations, you can go anywhere you want, until then. You are going where we want to, on OUR vacation. It works, and they will love you for it.
I have had custody of a niece (23) and nephew (21) when they were teens and now that they are grown, I miss them so very much. I have a 34 year old, a 7 year old and a 4 year old of my own.
We would plan vacations around something that we all wanted to do or could enjoy. We went to Maine (lobster for me, fishing for them) and we had a blast. We all (including the 7 year old, who was 1 1/2 at the time) went deep sea fishing. We caught a few fish, but we also had lobster pots included and most of the people that went were in hotels, so since we were camping, we got what they caught. Crab and lobster for dinner that night.
We have gone to several theme parks, water parks (everyone can enjoy these), and tourist areas.
Remember that it is NOT YOUR JOB to make sure they have fun, it is theirs. It is your job to offer them the opportunity to have fun, but only they can do it.
If you are camping in an area of tourist interest, more than likely there will be other teens camping who are looking for somebody to "hang" with. Sometimes, just hanging with other teens is as much fun as they want to have.
Good luck and plan to have your own fun on this trip.
I suggest fishing and hiking. Not necessarily the charter boats (sea sickness is no fun), but lake fishing. If canoe's can be rented, that would be fun. Floating down a stream or creek. Teens have that hard shell, because they have to. lol. Underneath that, they do enjoy being with their family, having fun, and being apart of the activities.
With our youngest, I keep a box of stuff he has never seen. If we get to that point, I bring it out and he is happy again.
I could spend my entire trip hiking, but the 2 year old is getting too big/heavy for the backpack carrier, and the 5 year old tuckers out quickly. I guess I could force the teens to come along and be pack mules and we could take turns carrying the little guy! LOL, I'm sure they'd be quick to cite child labor laws! I think we are going to try the canoes too, but most of them have age limits, which means one adult will be sitting back at camp again. I have a feeling there is no way around that. We are just going to have to divide and conquer at times and that stinks, because one of my favorite things about camping is being together.
Thanks Raidergirl for that perspective. I would definitely prefer to be remembered as annoyingly inclusive rather than have them feel left out, so I think I will err on the side of requiring participation, but still allow a little time for them to maybe do their own thing too.
We have an amusement park on our list, but I'm worried it is going to be a lot of hassle. One teen hates rides, the other is a thrill seeker. My hubby doesn't do rides so I'm afraid that I'll be teamed up the adventure-teen while hubby has to schlep the two little ones and the reluctant teen around. We're going to give it a shot.
We're also going to try camping at a beach. Beaches are usually fun for all.
And thanks for the reminder that it isn't my job to make sure they have fun. I know I can't make them, but it still doesn't keep me from wanting to try. I think teenagers can be standoffish and surly in general, and their previous home situation certainly has contributed to more of that as well. While I really do want everyone to have a good time, I would really settle for everyone not having a bad time! Thanks again for the tips and feel free to keep them coming.
Oh, and I'm already working on the chore list for everybody. They don't call me the warden for nothing!
A great activity for the whole family that everyone in the family will enjoy is at dusk when it's starting to get dark. Teens love anything that glows in the dark the kids will like it to. I go camping with my sister who has 5 kids from 11 to 2 years old. We stalk up on glow sticks and modify games to include them. For example we put of the thicker ones in the ground and have the kids play ring toss with the bracelets for the teens and necklaces for the little ones. Other kids in the park flock to our sites. I have actually had the teens playing duck, duck goose for hours with the kids thanks to glow sticks.
I wish we knew other campers that had similar-aged kids but most of our friends have younger kids (I'm not old enough to have teenagers!! Except by obtaining guardianship of course! LOL). Still, we do have a friend joining us on our next camping trip and I think it's going to be a help. If nothing else she will lend a hand with the little ones to free us up to spend time with the big kids. And she is one heck of a cook! I'm learning that teenaged boys consume approximately 50% of their body weight in food each day.
I guess there is always the chance that they could meet new friends at the campgrounds too.
Merrykalia wrote: Remember that it is NOT YOUR JOB to make sure they have fun, it is theirs. It is your job to offer them the opportunity to have fun, but only they can do it.
If you are camping in an area of tourist interest, more than likely there will be other teens camping who are looking for somebody to "hang" with. Sometimes, just hanging with other teens is as much fun as they want to have.
I would not like to force sb. to do sth. if I want he or she to be happy. I would rather like to offer choices for him or her to choose.
I've no house in the city, just a camping tent in the wild.
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lol). The two little ones are pretty easily amused fortunately. Give them a pool and a playground and it's as good as Disney. 
Rock, paper, scissors to see who gets the teens and who gets the tots? Do I just hang out with my little ones and let the big ones roam the campground on their own? I have to admit that makes me uneasy. At what age do you let them wander? 
