Wow! Excellent suggestions from everyone...stuff I had not even considered...especially gonorth's suggestion of a euroaffair for mom! Probably couldn't work that in but it's a very nice thought! Took my boys to the bookstore this weekend and showed them pictures (visuals work quite well of course) of France, Spain and Italy. They were impressed! Didn't they ever see this stuff in high school? I'm beginning to wonder (but afraid to ask) if they even know where Europe is!!! I think I may be gaining some ground, slowly...

I have to say that compromise is the way to go with your kids. I started traveling with my mom in my teens and haven't stopped, but it was by choice... and if your kids are feeling forced they might miss out on how lucky they are, just out of spite
If you have a good library, check out tons of guidebooks...set them loose in the travel section...then buy copies of the ones that seem the most useful. And give yourselves permission to cut up your new purchases. If you only want certain sections of the book, only take those. Backpacking with ten pounds of books won't make anyone happier.
Sadly, no, they don't get much of "The Joys of European Travel" in high school, at least not in mine. That is up to parents, I guess...good thing your kids have such an adventurous mom!
I second the idea of having them play with language while they're there. If they're into it, get a few fun phrasebooks and practice on each other this spring. Learning how to say "Please bring me some sour cream" in Hungarian always entertains me, but then...I'm a bit of a language nerd. <Also, in retrospect, it would have been entirely more useful to have learned "Is this the train to Becs (Hungarian nickname for Vienna) or to Pecs (town in the waaaay far south of Hungary)?", but that's an entirely different post.>

And for what it's worth, as much as I hated the idea of Disney invading Europe...my brother took his four-year-old there this summer and said that it was tough to say who had more fun there...him or my nephew. His pregnant wife was less enthused, though

quote:

Originally posted by bigmaude:
Maybe I could just drop them off in the morning and pick them up at closing? Is it safe? Would I get the bad mom of the year award for that?

I don't think you are giving your kids enough credit. If the oldest is 19, he should be able to take care of his younger brothers around any European city... especially in a Disneyland... let alone other places along your trip. Even the 16 year old... unless they are especially immature, I'm sure they will be able to handle themselves and look after each other. It may be a great bonding experience for them.

I think you should let them go to some clubs/discos. Maybe not the 13 year old, but that is something they cannot do back home and will give them something to look forward to plus an opportunity to meet locals. In major cities, there are usually clubs that cater to the 16-22 crowd... I'm sure they'd find it quite interesting.

Well, again, facinating suggestions and points of view. I like the idea of each person picking a country (out of the 5 or 6 I intend to visit) and then doing some research and learning some of the language. That would really work out great because then that person could be our "expert" on that country and it would save me from doing all of the research. I'm still tossing around the eurodisney idea. Is it as expensive as disney in the U.S.? If it's more, I may just take them to disneyworld (groan) before we leave and get it out of the way. The disco idea is really cool but I honestly don't think my boys, ages 19 and 16 would be interested...I may be totally wrong but that's my gut feeling. My daughter, age 13, would love to spend every waking minute in a european disco but thankfully she's not old enough. The Sinsheim idea may have sold my 16 year old on the trip...it's right up his alley. My 19 year old is primarily interested in comparing/sampling as many different beers from as many different countries (purely for scientific purposes of course) as possible. Have I bitten off more than I can chew here? Am I going to be a nervous wreck the entire trip? How safe is it for kids wandering around alone? Should I even let them wander around alone? Help...I'm beginning to second guess myself on everything! Maybe I should just chill and quit thinking so much before I really hurt myself...

Don't forget about the Zeppelin museum in Friedrichshaven Germany. Its a real blast, and only 3-4 hours by train from many major centers.

quote:

How safe is it for kids wandering around alone? Should I even let them wander around alone?

It's safe. Let them.

Probably not a bad idea to make sure that your youngest is always with one of the others or yourself, though I'd say even that's not totally necessary, but certainly the older two should be able to take care of themselves.

I went on a school trip to France when I was 14. For the 30 or 35 kids that went, we only had 4 chaperones, so weren't too closely supervised even when the group was together. On top of that, we were allowed to wander as we pleased when tours weren't scheduled (which was probably about half the time), as long we were with at least one other person, and showed up at meeting places on time. My school did (still does, as far as I know) that every year, and never lost anyone.

As for eurodisney, I expect it'll be a bit more expensive than the US park, since everything in Western Europe is more expensive. A quick reveals a one day ticket costs €44, two days €95, and three days €119.

I really hate to sound like I'm totally for supporting American commercialization of Europe...blechhh...but just out of curiosity I did a price check on how much a one-day pass to Disneyworld (Orlando) costs. Unless I was selecting the wrong options, I think it was $67. At today's rate, €44 = $57. So you're even saving a little if you can get it out of their system while overseas *note: I did see that they €44 price was for the off season, which ends in March. Just food for thought.

Pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeease don't go to Eurodisney while you're in France. Your 19-year old should certainly enjoy being able to go to a pub and have a bière legally

Hi All,
I'm getting discouraged here and losing steam. My kids are really resisting the backpacking through europe idea. I don't get it but then again it's been a long time since I was a teenager. All they want to do is park themselves on a beach somewhere in the Caribbean (yawn) for a couple of weeks. They apparently have no sense of adventure... Any ideas for a Caribbean holiday with teenagers?

Park your kids on BootsnAll for a few hours so they can see the error of their ways...

Failing that, I'd suggest you post a Caribbean question over here.

quote:

I don't get it but then again it's been a long time since I was a teenager.

Your teenagers also have different priorities than some (as in, most of us here). I couldn't wait to go on international adventures when I was a teenager, and that wasn't so long ago. I always thought of lying on the beach as something that old people do.

I'd keep at it. As was mentioned earlier, if it's your money, you get to pick the destination. If it were me, I would definately consider an ultimatum (it's Europe or a summer at home). But, I'm not a parent, and don't know how well that would work for you.

The Carribean has its interesting bits, but the whole tourism industry there is designed to keep foreigners in fortified enclaves, thus making it a challenge to see or do anything interesting. When I was quite young, my parents took me on a cruise through the Carribeann, which was interesting, especially since it wasn't your standard Carnival-style cruise...had much more of an educational focus. It was through a program that usually offers University students the chance to take a round-the-world cruise while taking classes, but they do shorter runs between semesters. Link for this past year's cruise...doesn't look like they have any info on this year's yet.

I actually had a friend that had a simular problem a few years ago. One thing that worked for him was that he tied in favorite movies that his kids liked to the places that they would see. Such as Mission Impossible. I don't know but do they get into some movies that would have an international flavor to them. The Da Vinci Code springs to mind right now. Or if they got into the Lord of the Rings or Narnia they could see where these ideas first came to light.

Silly geese!

Okay, last-ditch, my suggestion:
Get travel book(s) from the Library that are youth oriented: like Let's Go travel guides. Show them pictures. Encourage them to read and pick destinations.

When you're there don't let yourself worry about them. Unless they're completely clueless about street smarts, they'll be fine on their. You can send your boys off on their own to bum around and do their thing and you can hangout with your daugter. (Like I said I've been to a jumble of European countries alone and with freinds. No parrents involved. What so ever. So far I have never encountered a problem and my mom hasn't won the bad mom of the year award. If they prove to be trustworthy, trust them, and it will be an amazing experience for everyone.)

Comming from a, only maybe silightly more cultured than average, American 17 year-old: at first your boys will probablly be interested in trying to get their hand on some beer. Then, they'll realize that its not as novel as an idea as in the US and they'll most likely get tired of it and find other things to do.

If they want to chill on a beach, suggest Croatia. It sounds crazy, but the beaches are amazing. Search for pictures. Its a great place to do outdoor activities as well.

You could consider renting a vacation house/apparment on the coast somewhere or staying in a campground, so, everyone would still be able to have the leasurely vacation it sounds like they want, yet, there would also be nearby sights to see. Hotels are boring. Consider hosteling.

I really don't get why your kids aren't into it. All my freinds and I are trying to figure out how to get our butts over to Europe. Although it sounds like you already have, make sure its not "mom dragging us around churches." Set guidelines of what your expecations will be in Europe.

Try again to presuade them. If you can't, wait a few years, then tell them you're going and they can come along if they want.

My vote is take them and skip disneyland ...give them a much more enriching experience.I have a 6 year old ( who is loving Europe by the way) and I would not take her to disneyland here. If you must go to a theme park ...got to that asterix one ..or something local.

I don't think you force them, I think you find ways to excite them and include them in the adventure. It can and should be a wonderful bonding experience.


Since you have 6 weeks , get a camper as it is a wonderful way to see Europe and they will meet friends from every nation in the campgrounds.They can help you drive and navigate and it will increase the bonding and adventure.

I only have one and she is not a teen ,but this has been the best experience in the world for our whole family. Your children will remember this trip for the rest of their lives.

Life is short and kids grow fast ... I would not miss this opportunity.Carpe Diem!

Can you persuade one of them this is a good idea? Your youngest, maybe (a girl, wasn't it?). get her on your side and she might help with the brothers. Otherwise, take just your daughter and let the boring big ones stay at home.