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

Not these grandparents, we take them camping!!

send them off to there grandparents while you go camping.??

problem solved.

next time i bet they jump at going camping.??

Where is it written that kids must enjoy the same activities
as their parents?

Go Dogs...

This post is one of those that runs much deeper then
most... the algorhythm for success has many branches.
The fact that the OP is even considering the issue
before it happens is probably pretty predictive that
their family will make the transition successfully with
a minimum of lost skin, bruised psyche, and family
breakdowns.

( I do get a kick out of some of the responses... some
very comedic Rv'ers out there on the road ! ).

Charles

I am now getting a kick out of the grandkids. My kids thought their kids would be well-behaved, cooperative, joyful children. Actually, they are around me! You really do have to be smarter than the child!

I've known people: The Jock thought his kid would be All-Pro, The Geek thought their kid would be the next Bill Gates, The Dancer thought she would have a Beyoncé, etc. It's easy to make a baby, not so easy to create a person. Just ask Michael Corleone, what did he get?

Go Dogs ,

Thanks. We are well on our way to earning the merit badge.

I was thinking back (child of the 60's), all we wanted to do
was get there.... hunt (Daisy BB guns, fish, explore, swim)...
then along came girls... followed shortly by Marb. Reds, getting
winos to buy us beer ( in exchange for Ripple, Thunderbird,
Mad Dog). Then hours of head phones (remember those)
Pink Floyd, Moody Blues etc... all too soon minimum wage jobs,
no weekends off, college (broke), and real life. We wont talk about
drugs, or the era where sex wouldn't kill you, or the never ending war
(but this generation has their share of that).

I guess the take home lesson for the OP ... it goes by fast, just
do the best you can , and remember that every parent here, has gone
thru very similar transitions... some better , some worse. We have
best friends that frequently share parental pity parties with us... it's all
the same , just different players.

one other thought... the parenting scheme that sells "keep em'
busy" ... while on the surface seems protective , also runs the
risk of burnout... not something we use to talk about with teen
agers...but a new reality. Consider that option carefully....

Charles

Charles: Very wise advice!

Zacky,

Ah...I suspect a Kobyashi Maru scenario.... no win options.

What works for us won't necessarily work for you. We have had
some experience with your dilemma...some things work , others
never did.

- don't buy into anything that smells of "poor parenting" blame.
- restrictions on electronics are counterproductive, a different
generation.
- taking the "right" friends is the single best option.
- nothing worse then a weekend with a sullied up teenager, we would
rather cancel then go thru that...
- spending a weekend with a teenager hunkered down in the 5ver/TT/
MH may be a better option then home alone scenarios.
- our oldest (now in the Army) is one that benefitted from his own
pup tent out in back of the rig... our now 15 y/o is the Ipod/Ipad/
Iphone ear buds in 24 / 7 type... but does like to pick out and lead
family hikes... understanding the personality differences will
help make for more enjoyable trips.
- during the peak of adolescence ...we found success in limiting our
trip length...shorter unhappy trumps longer miserable.

.... as Mom would like to quote... "this too shall pass".

Good luck . Just escorting them successfully thru adolescence is a
victory.

Charles

ps.... make more s'mores... teenage manna from heaven.

Bought a smaller RV!

When we had kids, we towed a TT with a full size van. Van had a bed and the kids would sleep in it, away from Mom and Dad. We used a walkie talkie to yell at them. Later, because of school or other kid obligations they stayed with family.

What's kind of neat is now that they are grown, they still go back to the places we camped for their vacations. I guess it wasn't as bad as they made it out to be!

Norm and Gin

I started taking my daughter tent camping when she was 2. My wife joined in a couple years later when we got a popup. My daughter has brought many friends camper with her over the years. Sometimes it was just the 3 of us. I always tried to do fun things with them to keep them engaged in camping. She's 18 now and still looks forward to going camping. Some times she can get off work for the weekend and bring a friend. If she has to work at some time during the weekend, she drivers her car to get to work. Some weekends it doesnt work out and we go without her. Our normal weekend campgrounds are within 30 minutes from home.

I hope to continue camper with her for many years to come. On our last trip, my wife and I stayed in TT, and daughter and 3 friends tent camped in a site on the other side of the loop. I think the woods are in her blood.