One of my recent coaching clients a couple of weeks ago was telling me about the holiday they wanted to take with their kids over the school holidays. All together they have a family of four
one girl and three boys, three of which are over the age of twelve, with a girl having a romance' with a guy at school, which made it even more difficult to decide on a mutual holiday duration and destination. So I decided to cover this topic in this week's mail out: Holiday Tips with Teens!
ONE
The holiday destination and duration is a mutual decision it's a way for everyone to relax over a period of time, so if you don't know where to go, ask your teens because they may have some ideas. You don't want it to turn into a what parents say goes, whether you like it or not' because it has
the potential to ruin the entire mood of the trip. My coaching client friend's son actually knew a friend who's parents had a batch they wanted someone to look after over the holidays, so
they saved HEAPS on accommodation...plus they got to go jet skiing every day at lake Taupo (for free!).
TWO
The whole family goes. It's one of the only rules I feel parents should enforce, especially if your trip includes seeing relatives. They'll regret not seeing their family as much later on in life if they're always given the option to stay home during family getaways.
THREE
Everyone's idea of a holiday is different. I suggest you don't do something crazy like ban cell phones or iPods. If the technology really is getting to you, you're going to have to come up with alternative activities to keep them entertained. The lady I was coaching, her daughter was a TXT-a-holic, so the rule she decided to enforce was if her daughter's idea of relaxing was lying on the beach TXTing, that was fine, as long as there were a number of other options available for them to do.
FOUR
Decide to complete one useful thing during the trip. During most of our getaways from the big city, because my brother and I were at school, my Mum used to set a goal that we will cover a whole
history book, or take a piece of literature we would take turns reading in the car, and then analyze the story and characters. It sounds silly, but in parents' eyes, they felt we didn't get enough time to do this at school, so for us it was entertaining to learn a whole book, or history of a country, with our parents two-cents into it. I know one of my friends used to go away and come back with a whole scrapbook of their family's history this was their way of organizing loose family photos into one
place, and find out a bit of their family tree history. Maybe you'll want to plant an idea of shooting a documentary of the holiday, to put up on YouTube and maybe one day get discovered by a famous producer! Anything can happen!
FIVE
Remember this is your holiday just as much as your family's. Take time-out to do what you need tod aswell. If you're in a good mood too, everyone wins! :)
HAPPY HOLIDAYING :)
Eva-Maria
- Bestselling Author of You Shut Up!', International Speaker and Certified Coach
Get a complimentary copy of the CD where I reveal... "7 Teen Secrets": www.trustyourfuture.com
Disclaimer: All information on this site is provided for informational purposes only! By no means is any
information presented herein intended to substitute for the advice provided to you by any health care or other professional
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