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

Oh I feel your pain, just recently crossed that stage in our married lives and it's not been easy for me. Our youngest just left home last week for college in Fairbanks AK and our kids were only weeks old each when they first went camping. RV'ing has been our passion for over 20 years with kids.

My dad never let any of us kids drive his vehicles, I've let my kids drive ours even though they do have their own daily drivers they bought with their own money. But when camping I did let them drive our Suburban to town if the campground wasn't way out, just so they could have fun. (Mostly they did like doing things with us)

The picture below is also the first time we let our oldest son drive with his sister just over 100 miles to the campground himself. My wife and I would often leave early ahead of the kids, enjoy a night or two alone, and then Friday afternoon the kids would come out right after school.



And as mentioned, we've always let our children bring friends. I've managed to get extra bicycles in our trailer and now that they are young adults we try to book sites with Yurts so all the young folks can crash there and stay up late, even though our bunkhouse like most can provide a lot of beds. If the weather is nice, tents are good, and we've had tents set up right under the awning when it wasn't so nice.



And we love to winter camp, and you do things different than summer. We go to movies in town, stop at outlet malls, go cart racing, hauling mountain bikes up a mountain and then racing down on the bikes and so forth.

We still have board games and cards, a TV and DVD player, but never a video game console of any kind. I miss my kids though I'm enjoying the freedom to travel with just my wife and the dog. Our kids hung in there to the end, and even now my boy likes to borrow our truck and slide in camper for his own outings.

All the best, Hans

Don't really matter if it's camping or moteling. Some of them don't want to go where the parents want to go. We always went to Carolina Beach when the kids were young. We didn't camp at the beach then.

When she hit High School DW wanted to go to Myrtle Beach, because her friends were there. I told her. When it is her vacation, she could go where she wants, but as long as it is my vacation, we go where I want to.

Still do go where I want to. They can come along IF they want. Guess what. They do.

Go dogs--No future trips with that one.
One of the major issues an adult has to do is deal with disappointment and things he/she doesn't want to do. It's called obligations. Bet you have had hundreds of instances in your life where you had to do things you didn't want to. Teaching a kid that being a surly brat has rewards is counter-productive.
In any case, using my way, the kid could not go if he chooses, just not under his conditions.

The teen years are the years that they want to spend time socializing with their friends and not with the parents. That's reality.

Get your kids to bring some friends along and everyone will be happier.

The antiquated "I'm paying the bills, you will do as I say" thinking is just that... antiquated. It might have worked in our day, but it's unproductive and problematic today.

13 and 16....they don`t have a choice! they will go until they can stay home themselves. personally when they turn 18 then they have there choices. the big thing going to a campground that has things to do for older kids.

My 13year old DS loves to go camping but my 15 year old DD not so much. To make her happy on our last trip we let her pick where to go and what to do. In our opinion we are a the parents and you will go with us camping. If you want to sit in the fiver all day and do nothing that's fine by me. My son and I and one of his friends take a mancation once a year and really enjoy our time together. While were gone the DW and DD hang out and do whatever they wish. Seems to work for us.

The DW and I raised 5 children and when they decieded they no longer wanted to camp we let them stay home where my Dad lived near by to check on them Never had a problem so to speak but that was a different time as my kids are all in their 50s except the youngest who passed away at 44. I never once forced any one of them to go camping with us. Now they each have their own DP, 5th w and TT

TOMMY47 wrote:
Go Dogs--First of all--Don't let them bury their faces in the phone and computer. I believe the parent pays the bills and, therefore, controls the devices.
I was in Bryce this summer. A large 5th wheel pulled up with apparent grandparents and 1 surly boy, wearing his cap pseudo-gangster style, about 14. He didn't want to go sightseeing and wanted to stay at the 5th. They planned to be gone 5+ hours. The grandfather said OK.
I would have said OK, gotten him out of the 5th for a second and locked the door. He could spend the next 5 hours hanging around outside the 5th or the visitor center.
Zero chance of him being inside playing on the phone, sleeping, watching TV.

What, pray tell would that have accomplished, other than making the next trip ten times worse? I'm a grandparent now, but I can remember when I was a teenager. Part of life for a young person is learning to be an adult. It's up to the parents to figure out how to be smarter than the teenager. A battle of wills, doesn't prove anything. It just teaches the kid that force wins over intellect. Isn't that a good thing?

At that age they went regardless. If it’s a contest of wills, I win. After the mid-teens I might let my boys stay home if it’s just a weekend trip, I wouldn’t do that with girls. And they were told no parties and the neighbors kept an eye on them, too. But we tried to temper the trauma by also doing activities they liked or allowing a friend to come along. That really didn’t happen very often; for the most part they went along without any flak.

I agree with the advice to take them to see or do things they want to do or see.
As a teenager, I can recall that the only thing I complained about was that Dad always wanted to go to the backside of the beyond. no people(boys)no activities and nothing to do but look for wildlife by day and the stars at night. borrrring :)
nowadays, I like to get as far away from people as I can get.