Camping is a fun experience to plan for a short holiday trip with your family. It provides a wonderful opportunity to connect with nature as well as your loved ones. Campfire foods are fun to make as well as delicious to eat and there are games, singing and dancing activities that involve the entire family. But when those teenage years hit, your formerly enthusiastic children may not be as excited about spending the night in a tiny cabin in the Sri Lankan wild.

Here are a few tips to help your teenagers appreciate the family expedition this holiday season. 

Encourage their ideas

Whether your children are in their teens or pre-teens, they want to know that their opinions are valued. Giving out instructions as to where they would need to be and when, isn’t the best way to get them excited for a trip. Instead, ask them whether they’d like to stay in a hotel in Wattala or camp in a Sri Lankan rainforest and explain to them why you prefer the latter. This way they’ll feel more included in the planning process and desist from throwing tantrums. In a family trip everyone will likely have to compromise, so let your children pick what kinds of activities or sights they may be interested in. For instance, you can even consider entertaining the idea of visiting an amusement park on the way to entice them. This way you can be sure your children become invested in your plans.

Let them bring a friend

Social opportunities are very important to teenagers in this phase of their life, and if they feel completely cut off from friends in a camp or hotel in Kiribathgoda, they will be resentful towards the trip. To make the trip enjoyable for your children let them bring along a friend so that they don’t have the fear of missing out. This way, they will be more likely to take part in the different camping activities and will not withdraw. This approach will allow your teen to spend more time with the family as well as their pal.

Put away electronics

Instating this rule at first may cause them to put up a fight and may prove to be a deal-breaker. But to your surprise (as well as theirs), your children will realise that they don’t actually mind it. In retrospect, they will realise that this way they were able to appreciate their surroundings and make priceless memories, as opposed to simply staring at a screen all day long!

#YohoTip You’ve to realise the importance of making your family camping expedition along with your kids exciting and addictive. Organise a get-together around a bonfire, plan to play a lot of games, and indulge in mindful family interactions; in short, just keep it exciting!