As much as they roll their eyes, teens may actually love family vacations, and this child psychologist has the proof to back it up
Summer is in full swing, and that means so are family vacations! As fun as it can be to pack up the whole crew and make some memories, parents also know that family trips can be stressful—the packing, the schedules, the budgeting. And if you have a teen, you can add attitude, eye rolls, and complaining to that list. Teens are infamous for being giant haters about going on a family vacay. But could it be that, deep down, they actually love it? One child psychologist says yes, and she’s sharing all the evidence in a viral TikTok video.
Dr. Erika Velez is a licensed child and teen psychologist, and in her video, she explained that many parents don’t understand just how much their teens appreciate family vacations, even if they don’t show it on the outside.
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“Despite what behavior might be displayed when they’re on vacation, when they come back and report about it, they genuinely love being on vacation with their parents,” she says. “The things that they mention, especially the younger ones, have more to do with the time that they spend with their parents.”
She specifically calls out things like getting to share a hotel room, something that gives teens access to quality time with mom and dad that they may not get at home. Same with eating meals together throughout the day—during the school year, it’s not common for families to have breakfast, lunch, and dinner all together, she says.
“I do hear them say, like, ‘oh it was too long’ or ‘I didn’t like this or this or that,'” Dr. Velez says, lest you think she’s never actually had to vacation with a whining teen. But she continues, “You’d be surprised at some of the positive feedback that I also get, despite what’s happening on the outside. On the inside, when they share it, these are… core memories that you are creating with your family.”
We know there’s a parent out there who needed to hear this, so here you go. Despite how much your kid may complain, keep making those family memories.
