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7 Tips for Time with Your Teen

1. Identify who will be a part of the experience.  Surprise tagalongs or visitors may not be a welcome sight to a child who has been looking forward to alone time with parents.
2. Set the expectation around what interruptions to expect.  Life is crazy. It may be difficult to have an uninterrupted block of time. Or, like Dr. Chapman and my dad, business meetings may need to happen.   Have conversations before the start of the trip to clarify expectations.
3. Honor the young person who adores you. Turn off the phone, eliminate other distractions, and engage with the child.
4. Invite the child into the planning process.  I consider this my chance to enter the child’s world and experience what’s important to them.   Find out what the child loves and try it!  This is not a time for you to plan out a complete itinerary based on someone’s travel guide.
5. Set your budget and encourage the child to be a decision maker.  This is an opportunity to empower a child and encourage them to use their voice.
6. Celebrate the child and their strengths. Correction, sarcasm, and criticism have no place here.
7. Not all experiences are created equal; nor will we try to make them equal!

Most recently, it was my daughter’s turn.  She had been requesting time alone since last November, but it took until just a few weeks ago to make it happen.  See, we are slow movers around here, but it happened and was worth the wait.  Check back for highlights from our overnight adventure. It was fantabulous.

Consider today who in your family needs an extra bit of feeling special and apply these 7 guidelines to create a moment that feels right for your family.