What did you do when teenagers no longer want to camp?

zackyboy3rs wrote:

Ex-Tech wrote:
We traded in the bunk-house model for a longer non-bunk model and then celebrated!!

I am ready to do that now.

:B

Ex-Tech wrote:
We traded in the bunk-house model for a longer non-bunk model and then celebrated!!

I am ready to do that now.

Trade for a MH. they only come with one bed. That way you won't have to worry about them tagging along.
Nah.
I bought a big pontoon boat several years ago. Figured it would give the whole family something to do together. Kids didn't care for it after a while and I couldn't lunch or retrieve it by myself. Kids want to do their own thing.
As another said the Electronic junk is ruining this generation. Even us, spend valuable time, on it, when we could be fishing or going to the fair or sealing the porch. Been trying to withdraw from TV fer a while and about to make it. Nothing on it worth watching. The PC well it is now the only source for most real news. Like the Huge turnout of Bikers, in DC to counter protest the Muslims. It wasn't in any of the major networks or papers it seems.
So I'm limiting it to a few minutes whenever I have a chance.

mine only this year has decided to stay home (when he was invited along)

I never forced mine to do anything on a trip except be there, there was no other option. sometimes he would mope around, sometimes he would go make friends, sometimes he would be family sociable, I JUST LET HIM BE HIM. if he did not want to go on a hike, fine we would go anyways, if he did not want to fish, fine we would go anyways. but as for the trip itself,,, that where we are living for the weekend, week, or 2 weeks so tough sht you are living as trailer trash with us.

oh he is 23 now, but now I am going through it again with my GF' kids, her 13 year old is starting to try to dominate the situations by saying he is not going unless__________,, well how would you like to spend the weekend with your grand parents then, away from your friends anyways, with their tight control and old fashion beleifs ,,, he changes his mind quickly so far.

Cryonic Freeze! My girls stopped wanting to go about the time they were of age to be left home alone. We kept them going a bit longer by staying near places that they'd like (somewhat close to a mall or shopping, they must have caught that disease from mom). When we started leaving them home, we put cameras in the house so they knew they can't get away with any shenanigans.

I just don't get it! Maybe my kids were weird, but as I said they always wanted to go, never didn't. I remember when my son got his feelings hurt when he was 19 and we went on a 2 week trip and didn't invite him knowing he couldn't leave college and work for 2 weeks. You could have at least asked me, he sadly said. Can you go? No, I have school. Exactly! :-)
Btw, as I type this my daughter and her husband (and baby granddaughter) are sitting next to me up in the mountains above Julian, ca.
Brian

For 15 of my son's 16 years its been just him and me. This summer was the first time I asked him if he "wanted" to go camping with me or didn't care to. If this was the case, I would have planned my trips for when he was at his Dads house.

Son said he would like to go. Luckily we get along pretty darn well, so we cooked dinners together, played a few games of mini- golf (in which he ALWAYS beats me), went on a couple of hikes, and then "did our own thing" too.

For me it was sitting by the river reading on my iPad; for him it was alternately sitting in the camper playing Xbox or spending a couple of hours jumping in the river and swimming. Son has 12% body fat, is in his 3rd year of JROTC, is Platoon Commander -- so I feel he deserves to enjoy his vacation however he wants.

I imagine this is pretty much "it" for us though. He'll have a job next summer, then he'll graduate & be off to the Army/Navy or college..... I will miss it.

From newborn through middle teen years, weekends for ours meant boating, overnight boating. Every weekend we could be found with like minded friends & boats all rafted together.

Past 16 ours were permitted to stay at home if they wished. The catch was, they had better answer the phone, landline, if we called. They always did. At 18 they more or less made their own decisions but they always called to let us know where they were.

These days WE are the ones who never seem to be home. The kids, now 25 & 28, want to know where WE are. One of them still lives at home. The place is still standing.

We traded in the bunk-house model for a longer non-bunk model and then celebrated!!

I went without them. Much more pleasant experience.