Imagine traveling with your teenage son or daughter. Needless to say, being with parents can become quite a bore for these teengers, with all their hormones telling them to speed things up all the time, and you lagging behind them. While this is often a cause for conflict, here’s a less known fact: it does not have to be. Contrary to popular belief, you can actually use their hormones to your advantage, as a way to get to know them better, and, in the context of travel, as leverage for knowing where exactly you are supposed to take them.
When traveling in Amsterdam, for instance, it’s best to know the places and the activities that will best match your teenage child’s needs and preferences. If you’re at a loss as to where you can take them, take a long look at this list and make sure you’re paying attention. (Also, exert a little extra effort to come up with your own creative ideas for your child.)
Amsterdam: What to Do, Where to Go, Teenage Style
Activity #1: Visit a museum.
You might think, “A Museum? Isn’t that going to be boring for my teenager?” Again, the answer given above will prove sufficient: it doesn’t have to be. It doesn’t have to be boring, if and only if you know what your child’s buttons are, and how to push them.
In the case of visiting museums, make sure that the tour you sign up for is interactive. And no, not the kind of interactive where you force your child to answer some triva questions. It has to be the kind of interactivity where your teenager gets to listen to some audio, or watch a video of the trivia that’s being talked about. Ditch the boring tour guide. Go for the lively and animated guide who is just a few years older than your child. Or maybe an app tour. That way, you’ll notice your teenager begin to lighten up.
Activity #2: Go watch a concert.
Resist the urge to say that your child’s music tastes are worlds apart from yours. To a teenager, it means so much if their parents and guardians actually express a level of care for their concerns, and this is especially true for their music. At the same time, whenever teenagers travel, it is also a huge source of excitement that they should ever get the chance to meet their music idols in a foreign country.
If you’re worried about the costs, don’t worry too much. You’re in Amsterdam, and Amsterdam is the city where you will always get your fill of cultural shows – for free. In the main squares of Amsterdam, you will find street performers, all ready and willing to exhibit their talents for no price at all, except for the joy of having you watch them. And, of course, your child will have the time of his or her life, too.
Activity #3: Experience the Canal Cruise.
No matter what age bracket you belong to, there is something so utterly overpowering and irresistible with Amsterdam’s Canal Cruise. These iconic canals of Amsterdam are the stuff of beauty and perfection, which will surely give any teenager a reason to keep still and to marvel at the architecture of it all.
Of course, the scheduled tours with recorded messages might put them to sleep or bore them. So, the more appropriate suggestion would be for you and your child to take the pedal boat instead. That way, you still get to see the canals, but you also get to exercise all of that youthful energy in the process. If you can afford it, you can also rent out an entire open boat just for you and your teenager, that is, if the weather permits it as well.
So, there you have it – three ways to enjoy traveling with your teenager, taking in the beauty of Amsterdam.
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