Going on Family Trips With Teenagers

1 They'll Want to Bring a Friend . . . Badly

Mention the words family trip and you'll probably get a response back like, "Can I bring a friend?" What part of family trip do they not understand?

Source: Flickr user D. Sharon Pruitt

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2 They Can Be Wishy-Washy

Even if they were excited and maybe even helped plan the trip, don't be surprised if in the morning, when you try to coax them out of bed to get ready to go, you hear, "I don't want to go on this stupid trip. You drag me everywhere!"

Source: Flickr user Andrew King

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3 They Have Their Own Sleep Schedule

Just like babes, teens sleep to the beat of their own heart. So while the rest of the family might be up and ready to go at 9 a.m., your teen, not so much.

Source: Flickr user Jeremy Noble

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4 They Embarrass Easily

Suddenly parents in bathing suits are an issue. Being friendly with the locals is a cardinal sin. And you might as well forget volunteering to hula on stage.

Source: Flickr user Steve Shattuck

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5 They Want Alone Time

Long gone are the days where the parents are wishing for a few minutes away from their small children. Now the tables have turned and most teens are going to desperately want some time alone — from you!

Source: Flickr user Ed Yourdon

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6 They Need More Space

Physically and mentally (see above), teens require more space than they did when they were younger. Packing the whole family into a car for a cross-country trip or one hotel room for a week may just be their worst nightmare.

Source: Flickr user Tim Jones

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7 They Want to Do Different Activities

Got your whole trip stocked full of tours for the entire family? Think again. A few rare teenagers might be just fine spending their time off school wandering the halls of a museum or seeing how a real farm works, but most would rather plan and do their own, cooler activities. Or none at all!

Source: Flickr user Mike Baird

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8 The Ultimate Fifth Wheel

From phones to games, when a teen is feeling out of her element, she's probably going to want to be using her electronics a lot. So be prepared for her to want to text in a nice restaurant, as the whale breaches on your whale watching trip, or in front of the Mona Lisa.

Source: Flickr user Jeffrey

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9 They Eat a Lot

Having snacks on the ready is not only imperative for little ones, it's critical for teens (and everyone around them). They eat, and they eat a lot. Vacation usually leaves everyone tired at the end of the day, which means mama better have the food situation figured out, stat.

Source: Flickr user D. Sharon Pruitt

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10 They Have to Do Homework

Teens get a lot of homework and it's hard getting them to sit down and do it at home, which means its downright impossible trying to get them to tackle the mountains of studying that needs to be done at the beach.

Source: Flickr user Ingo Bernhardt

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11 And Then There's the Hormones

Sure, hormones are to blame for the majority of a teen's temperamental changes, but this time we're talking about the hormones that create boy/girl craziness. Other teens on vacation along the way can make mama's life much easier, or a whole lot harder.

Source: Flickr user Diverbo Idiomas

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