ProudGrandma Posted June 10, 2017 Share Posted June 10, 2017 we have been camping with our kids for years, but it seems to be getting harder and harder for us...not because of the time so much, but rather when they were little, the activities we would do or have for them kept them busy...but now that they are teenagers, the kids get bored easier. So....if you camp with teenagers, what do you do with your time? We try to camp where there is water...so that is one thing...we do hike and the kids bring their bikes...but that also only goes so far. So I am just looking for other things I haven't thought of before. thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NorthwestMom Posted June 10, 2017 Share Posted June 10, 2017 We try to go see local points of interest. The last time we went camping, we drove 20 minutes away to see a dam visitor's center. It was a big hit. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kwg Posted June 10, 2017 Share Posted June 10, 2017 Listening in here :) Camping next week and feeling a little nervous about my teenager. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hilltopmom Posted June 10, 2017 Share Posted June 10, 2017 We camp with other families with teens,or let them bring a friend. Our homeschool group camps together a few times a year, so they're used to all camping with each other. Webring lots of gear- kayaks, boogie boards, stand up paddle boards, hammocks. Cards games. We let the teens cook & man the fire. But mostly, it's time to hangout with friends. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pawz4me Posted June 10, 2017 Share Posted June 10, 2017 We RV, which is quite a bit different but still kinda sorta the same as camping. When the boys were teens and traveling with us we rarely/never went anywhere with the idea of hanging around the campground day after day. We all would have been bored out of our minds. We went with the intention of seeing the local sites and doing unique things in that area. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marbel Posted June 10, 2017 Share Posted June 10, 2017 (edited) We don't camp but stay in cabins in state parks. When the weather's good, the kids go off together, hiking, running around in the woods, playing around in lake or river if available. They seem to use that time to reconnect. We also go hiking together as a family, and if there are interesting places nearby, will go check out museums, nature centers, stuff like that. If there is a town we'll go walk around there, maybe stop at a cafe. If there are any historical sites in the area, we have to go to those. In the evenings everyone reads and/or we play card games. If we had only one teen, or there was a wide age spread and kids weren't really connected, we'd have them each bring a friend. ETA: there is no tv or wi-fi in the cabins, so electronics aren't really useful and there is no vegging out with tv or movies. :-) Edited June 10, 2017 by marbel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carrie12345 Posted June 10, 2017 Share Posted June 10, 2017 I grew up camping, and I don't recall my parents ever trying to entertain us! I enjoyed it, and I miss it. (I was researching travel trailers this morning, and I have 3 teens, lol.) 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KungFuPanda Posted June 10, 2017 Share Posted June 10, 2017 Bringing a friend helps . . . or a same-aged cousin if you want to keep it to family. You can also bring books and a deck of cards. Maybe a craft that's suitable to outdoors like woodcarving or something? Macrame? I don't know, but teens aren't happy to just sit in a chair and think deep thoughts. Ask how they'd best like to spend a technology-free day and go from there. A photography scavenger hunt? A day of canoeing where you're picked up in another location? I thnk it's bliss to just plant myself in a camp chair and only move to cook and eat, but my teens would lose their minds. DH would bring a ham radio to see if he's getting different bands (or something like that). I'd probably look for a letterbox. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
regentrude Posted June 10, 2017 Share Posted June 10, 2017 (edited) We camp because of the activities it enables us to do, not for the sole sake of camping. We spend the day rock climbing, and that is a hit with my teens/young adults. Or we hike. ETA: After a day of climbing or hiking, there is no need to entertain anybody or come up with activities - everybody is just happy to eat and crash. Edited June 10, 2017 by regentrude Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ProudGrandma Posted June 10, 2017 Author Share Posted June 10, 2017 our kids aren't "plugged in" to begin with...so here at home they find things to do...books to read, games to play, friends to play ball with...etc....we watch very little TV as well.... so it's not like we are trying to get away from the plugged in world....so I am trying to give them something different than what they already have here at home... so keep the ideas coming... 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sasharowan Posted June 10, 2017 Share Posted June 10, 2017 Often, we plan our camping around something we want to see like a museum or historical site. We usually camp with friends, so that helps. Also, we bring board and card games, books, easily portable entertainment. The biggest help is to let the teens explore on their own while the parents relax. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Χά�ων Posted June 10, 2017 Share Posted June 10, 2017 Are you staying at the same campgrounds, if so maybe find a new one to change things up a bit. When we camp just to camp wr do not leave the campground. On those trips I bring one or two games with minimal pieces or we play theater of the mind RPG when we are not hiking or fishing. We also camp to go to destinations. We either drive or take the subway (if it is a big city) in for the day and return to the campground in the evening. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skimomma Posted June 10, 2017 Share Posted June 10, 2017 We camp alone as a family with one teen and also often with a group of families with lots of kids from babies to teens. No need to entertain at all. When it is just our family, we go hiking, paddling, see local sights, etc.... During downtime, my teen is happy to while away hours reading in a hammock. When with a group, we tend to stay at campgrounds that have a lot for the kids to do on their own so the adults can relax and socialize. The teens play lawn games, swim, paddle, hike, read in hammocks, build forts in the woods, climb trees, walk/ride to get ice cream, cards in tents during rain, elaborate chalk drawing, etc.... All of our teens are musical so they will spend hours composing songs, practicing them together, and performing them for the group. When they are feeling charitable, they will pull the littles in to make up plays or games. We have stayed in one spot for as long at a week and have seldom heard the dreaded B word from any of the kids. The few times we have, they get put on fire-building, dish washing, ice/wood fetching, or babysitting duty. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lady Marmalade Posted June 10, 2017 Share Posted June 10, 2017 (edited) When we camp, we go to the campground with the intention that we are staying put for the week, save for a quick trip into town to resupply with ice. However, we go camping with family, so there are cousins to hang with and little cousins to mind/play with. When it's hot out my kids will happily spend the entire day at the beach/swimming area. My parents bring kayaks and canoes, so they are free to boat if they like- but like swimming, no one boats alone. On lucky years we will find berry bushes ripe- raspberry, blueberry, blackberry, gooseberry, and they will spend hours searching for a fresh patch that hasn't been plundered. We've pan-fished in the past. Our current spot is terrible for shore fishing so we don't even get a license anymore. We take board games and books, though the board games don't usually come out until after dark OR if it rains. and we're caught in the tent for a while. We spend a LOT of time reading. It's so glorious to be able to read a book without having a billion household tasks to attend to. A couple of years ago one of my sisters brought paracord and some books of instructions on things to make with the paracord. All the kids had a good time with that- both boys and girls, teens and littles. Outdoor games are always fun. Cornhole, ladder golf, bacce ball are great in pairs or groups. Usually once during the week a big water balloon fight will happen- if someone remembers to bring the launchers they'll do some target practice with them. Frisbee golf can last for a seriously long time! Speaking of target practice! Sling shots and rocks shot at cans or solo cups lasts for hours. We've definitely done the wildlife/nature study thing. Not intentionally as something schoolish, but with a couple of field guides in hand to identify certain birds, insects, trees, plants, etc. Cooking and playing with fire (safely) just naturally happens. We'll bring along some strange things to try and cook over the fire as an experiment- canned biscuit dough wrapped around a stick did NOT work like we thought it would. There are all kinds of ideas on Pinterest, but be warned that many/ (most?) of them do not work in reality. We mostly unplug, but as the years have gone on the cell signal at our campground has drastically improved. My kids do still unplug, but they designate ten minutes in the morning and ten minutes in the evening as time to check their phones and their snapchats. Other times they may pull out their 3DS's for some group game time- that happens most often in the afternoon when littles are napping and teens just feel lazy. The reality is that the video games do not come out very often. I've always wanted to buy a slackline to take camping, as well as some really good hammocks for reading time. I've heard great things about the escape room-style board games and I wonder how those would work out in an outdoors setting. Might be a hoot! My teens are free to do whatever they would like while we're camping. I'm always proud of them for choosing to unplug (mostly) for the week. Our only hard and fast rule is that no one goes anywhere alone. If you are simply running to the bathroom, tell someone before you go and come straight back before moving on to another thing. ETA: forgot about the drone competitions. The guys in our group that have gotten into flying drones (big and small) will spend a lot of time setting up obstacle courses in the woods and have contests seeing who can do what. Things like, go around this tree, over that branch, through those forked branches, etc. Sometimes someone will hang hoops up for them to fly through. Edited June 10, 2017 by Lady Marmalade Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stutterfish Posted June 10, 2017 Share Posted June 10, 2017 We camp with other families with teens,or let them bring a friend. This. My teens don't want my company, or the entertainment I try to provide. They simply want to hang out with their friends, as I did at their age. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
myfunnybunch Posted June 10, 2017 Share Posted June 10, 2017 I bring activities I think they'll enjoy, like card games, badminton rackets and birdies, pencil puzzle books, etc. And we find hikes in the area, or go to a nearby lake. But I finally started telling the teens(ish...12+) they're responsible for packing the activities they want to do and for entertaining themselves. They usually don't take a whole lot, but they stopped telling me that they were bored. They often go down by the water and play with sticks or climb things and jump off or explore, just like when they were little. 😄 Or they sit around and talk. :) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
myfunnybunch Posted June 10, 2017 Share Posted June 10, 2017 Cooking and playing with fire (safely) just naturally happens. We'll bring along some strange things to try and cook over the fire as an experiment- canned biscuit dough wrapped around a stick did NOT work like we thought it would. There are all kinds of ideas on Pinterest, but be warned that many/ (most?) of them do not work in reality. Ha! We tried the biscuit on a stick too. Nope! But the muffins baked in an orange shell worked really well and were a hit. Cooking new things on the fire is a great way to entertain everyone. :) I like your slack line idea. My boys might like that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HS Mom in NC Posted June 10, 2017 Share Posted June 10, 2017 (edited) Group camp with friends. When there's a mix of family and friends around it tends to work out better as the kids get older. Have each family bring a canopy so if it rains you can put them together for a large shared space that isn't their tents. Take tools and instructions for survival skills and let them practice starting a fire without matches and lighters, build a lean to, edible plant guide for the area, different techniques for catching fish without fishing gear, a compass, navigate by the starts to determine cardinal directions. Take board games and books. Take a great read aloud for around the camp fire and individual reading. (Ralph Moody, JRR Tolkien, CS Lewis) Take field guides for flowers and a flower press. Take watercolor pencils, a watercolor notebook, and a few brushes. Take wild life guides (pawprints and scat) and track something. Build a PVC blow dart gun and shoot marshmallows at each other. Take a telescope and stargazing materials: include a read loud of Greek/Roman myths for around the fire while you star gaze. Assign teens some of the cooking. We've had cherry pie, upside down pineapple cake, cornbread, biscuits, stews, and such in the dutch oven. It's kind of Iron Chef sometimes when my brother and I camp between the dutch ovens and his propane tank and the wok he cooks on for making fajitas. We typically have each family prepare a communal meal for dinner one night and then they take care of their own family's meals other than that. Take 1 hammock per kid. You'd be amazed how kids can entertain themselves for hours in a hammock. Edited June 10, 2017 by Homeschool Mom in AZ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KungFuPanda Posted June 10, 2017 Share Posted June 10, 2017 Take office supplies and a copy of Mini Weapons of Mass Destruction. It's better they discover this book outdoors. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skimomma Posted June 10, 2017 Share Posted June 10, 2017 I've always wanted to buy a slackline to take camping, as well as some really good hammocks for reading time. We bring one of these and that right there is hours of entertainment for teens and adults alike. On our last trip, we had an all-teen-and-adult nerf gun war. That was great fun and took up a great deal of time since we had to find and collect all of the bullets. The hammocks are a huge hit with our teens. They even camped out of the tents in them one night. They like to hang them double decker or really high up for fun. Again, hours of entertainment. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alisoncooks Posted June 10, 2017 Share Posted June 10, 2017 (edited) We have epic Swingball tournaments when we go camping. My children are not teens, but my 11 year old and I played for HOURS over Memorial Weekend -- it's popular with the adults and kids in our family; maybe teens will like it, also? https://www.amazon.com/All-Surface-Swingball-Tether-Tetherball/dp/B000MDT7KO ETA: We have found it handy to pack two 15-pound dumbbells to stabilize the base after set up. Sand works, as does water -- just messier. Edited June 10, 2017 by alisoncooks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lady Marmalade Posted June 10, 2017 Share Posted June 10, 2017 We have epic Swingball tournaments when we go camping. My children are not teens, but my 11 year old and I played for HOURS over Memorial Weekend -- it's popular with the adults and kids in our family; maybe teens will like it, also? https://www.amazon.com/All-Surface-Swingball-Tether-Tetherball/dp/B000MDT7KO ETA: We have found it handy to pack two 15-pound dumbbells to stabilize the base after set up. Sand works, as does water -- just messier. This reminds me that we bought Spyder Pong to take with us camping this year. I hope it ends up being a hit! We didn't pay that price though- I got it on clearance after Christmas for about $15.00. I'm not sure it's worth almost eighty bucks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HS Mom in NC Posted June 10, 2017 Share Posted June 10, 2017 The hammocks are a huge hit with our teens. They even camped out of the tents in them one night. They like to hang them double decker or really high up for fun. Again, hours of entertainment. When my middle daughter was a tween she pitched our old, small, 3 man tent between a couple of trees, and hung her hammock through it. Bugs and rain aren't a huge problem where we go and she could sleep in the large tent if she wanted. As they get older, many enjoy having their own smaller tent to themselves or to bunk with their friend/cousin. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
katilac Posted June 11, 2017 Share Posted June 11, 2017 My teens will play with fire at our camp for hours on end :laugh: We have a fire ring there, I don't know how actual camp fires work, but they will feed and adjust the fire endlessly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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