Getting Teenager to meet others

[doemichael]

Our 14 year old is sailing with us in March on IOS. He may find it hard to meet others his age and I know travelling with 2 adults will be hard for him.

 

On first day if we go for a look around ship will there be Teen Staff about who will come talk to him and introduce themselves and then hopefully once he goes to teen club he will meet up with someone. We just do not want him to miss out on things by not going along to the teen club.

 

We are not going to force him to go to teen club but know once he meets others his own age he will enjoy it rather than hanging around with us " oldies " lol

[uksimonusa]

Our 14 year old is sailing with us in March on IOS. He may find it hard to meet others his age and I know travelling with 2 adults will be hard for him.

 

On first day if we go for a look around ship will there be Teen Staff about who will come talk to him and introduce themselves and then hopefully once he goes to teen club he will meet up with someone. We just do not want him to miss out on things by not going along to the teen club.

 

We are not going to force him to go to teen club but know once he meets others his own age he will enjoy it rather than hanging around with us " oldies " lol

 

Normally, once kids go to the teen club, they meet kids their own age and hang out all cruise!!

[marci22]

The only time I would make him go is the first night. Lots of kids should be there and they are all in the same situation. That's how my kids always met people to hang out with onboard. They wouldn't go to all the activities but would make plans to meet around the ship.

[doemichael]

Normally, once kids go to the teen club, they meet kids their own age and hang out all cruise!!

 

The only time I would make him go is the first night. Lots of kids should be there and they are all in the same situation. That's how my kids always met people to hang out with onboard. They wouldn't go to all the activities but would make plans to meet around the ship.

 

 

thanks for the quick replies, yes the first night is a good idea :D

[gingerpeaches]

There is a welcome meeting for parents and kids around 3 p.m., usually in Studio B (ice rink) to inform you of rules and regs and to meet the staff. My daughter (who is the same age as your child) went to the meeting with us and did a few of the kids club activities. However, once she made a few friends, they hung around together and did their own thing (swimming, flowriding, scrapbooking class!), participating only in organised activities which interested them. I'm sure your child will have no problem meeting people his own age. Enjoy your cruise. We're not back on Indy until July and the wait is killing me!

[galavant3]

The only time I would make him go is the first night. Lots of kids should be there and they are all in the same situation. That's how my kids always met people to hang out with onboard. They wouldn't go to all the activities but would make plans to meet around the ship.

 

What she said!

[doemichael]

There is a welcome meeting for parents and kids around 3 p.m., usually in Studio B (ice rink) to inform you of rules and regs and to meet the staff. My daughter (who is the same age as your child) went to the meeting with us and did a few of the kids club activities. However, once she made a few friends, they hung around together and did their own thing (swimming, flowriding, scrapbooking class!), participating only in organised activities which interested them. I'm sure your child will have no problem meeting people his own age. Enjoy your cruise. We're not back on Indy until July and the wait is killing me!

 

 

Thanks for that, did not realise they had a " parent and kid" meeting. Will the info about this be in cabin when we get onbard ?

 

 

yes I am hoping he will meet up with someone and they can do things together , ohhhhhhhhhh getting excited now lol

[johneeo]

Join your roll call and see how many other 14 YOs are going.

 

You can get to know them (both the teens and their parents) prior to your cruise.

[gingerpeaches]

Thanks for that, did not realise they had a " parent and kid" meeting. Will the info about this be in cabin when we get onbard ?

 

 

yes I am hoping he will meet up with someone and they can do things together , ohhhhhhhhhh getting excited now lol

 

There will be staff from Adventure Ocean near where you board the ship. They will give you information but there should also be something in your stateroom.

 

I know, this wait until July is killing me!

[Bobal]

You need to be aware that since you are sailing outside school holidays there will probably not be a lot of teens onboard. When this is the case, they often combine a couple of the age groups and it may be that his group gets put with younger kids which many 14 year olds would not regard as 'cool' :rolleyes:

 

I agree that the very best time to go to the teen club will be on the first night when they have a special welcome get-together. My teens always went along and met people to hang out with, even if they didn't go along to the organised activities.

[skippyy]

Suggest you allow nature to take its course.Kids will find each other despite your best efforts. Hope you can find him prior to end of cruise and be glad child is boy not girl:eek:

[doemichael]

You need to be aware that since you are sailing outside school holidays there will probably not be a lot of teens onboard. When this is the case, they often combine a couple of the age groups and it may be that his group gets put with younger kids which many 14 year olds would not regard as 'cool' :rolleyes:

 

.

 

I know there will not be many his age but was hoping in combined it would be with the next age group up not younger lol

 

Hope you can find him prior to end of cruise and be glad child is boy not girl:eek:

 

lol

[Riverrider]

I'm mostly worried that I won't see my son, we are traveling spring break so the ship will likely be mostly kids. He is usually fine hanging with us though if that ends up being the case, I thought that having to go in and meet strangers and find peers would help him have a positive experience to draw from before he starts at a large high school next year.

[Sugar*Magnolia]

The only age bracket where it is tough to meet same aged and like minded others is the 18-20 group.

If your son goes to the club the first night, he will meet others. Remember to tell him, if he is shy, that the other kids his age are also looking to meet friends.

[julie buck]

My son is 15yrs and is going through the stage of his life where he dose not speak only "grunts", never smiles and likes to spend most of his time locked away in his bedroom. We are going on BOS in April and i am dreading it. The last holiday we went on you would have thought it was a punishment for bad behaviour. Don't think he will go in the kids club, but willing to give a huge tip to anyone who can get him in a club.;)

[Sugar*Magnolia]

My son is 15yrs and is going through the stage of his life where he dose not speak only "grunts", never smiles and likes to spend most of his time locked away in his bedroom. We are going on BOS in April and i am dreading it. The last holiday we went on you would have thought it was a punishment for bad behaviour. Don't think he will go in the kids club, but willing to give a huge tip to anyone who can get him in a club.;)

 

Tell him to create a group for the cruise date on facebook and to talk to others. He wont meet others his age if he doesnt speak to others. Tell him to check out the deck plans so he is familair with the layout of the ship. Get him involved with the planning of excursions.

Good luck.

[Alligirl1]

I have 2 sons,they are in different age groups, 12-14 and 15-17. Does anyone know how much they do together. We cruised last year and they didn't join in on any of the teen activities. This year they are hoping to join in, but are wondering on the first night when they all meet up do the 2 groups go together? They are in that same stage of mostly "grunting" when adults are around, so I am hoping they can go together to get over that first night so they can meet some other kids.

[marci22]

My son is 15yrs and is going through the stage of his life where he dose not speak only "grunts", never smiles and likes to spend most of his time locked away in his bedroom. We are going on BOS in April and i am dreading it. The last holiday we went on you would have thought it was a punishment for bad behaviour. Don't think he will go in the kids club, but willing to give a huge tip to anyone who can get him in a club.;)

 

At that age, it's not really a 'kids' club'. Find out when the first meeting is for his age group and tell him to check out what kinds of video games they have available (if he is interested). Hopefully that will get him in the door and he will see others his age. Lots of kids meet up the first night and stay in those groups for the rest of the cruise.

 

Did you join the Meet and Mingle for your sailing? On our Brilliance sailing, several of the parents brought their kids to it and they ended up meeting several times during our cruise. Don't underestimate the power of a familiar face.

 

I agree to get him involved in planning your excursions. My kids really enjoyed getting out into the ports.

[marci22]

I have 2 sons,they are in different age groups, 12-14 and 15-17. Does anyone know how much they do together. We cruised last year and they didn't join in on any of the teen activities. This year they are hoping to join in, but are wondering on the first night when they all meet up do the 2 groups go together? They are in that same stage of mostly "grunting" when adults are around, so I am hoping they can go together to get over that first night so they can meet some other kids.

 

The might go to several of the activities together, although the teen disco (Fuel?) is 15 and older only if I remember correctly. These older groups are really informal; sometimes events get cancelled if not enough people show, but my kids did things like 'late night pool party', 'scavenger hunt', and things like that. The best idea is always to go to the first meeting night for their age group so they can see who else is on board. Once they get the daily activity planner they can decide what might interest them but don't miss the first night.

[Gone Fishing]

We were on SOS in October and my 12 and 14 YO daughters were the only teens on the ship for the most part. There were 2 sisters close to the same age but they only spoke French. There were maybe 20 kids total on the ship.

 

We hung out together and were on the islands much of the time. We had a great time.

 

Depending on the time of the year you may or may not find a lot of kids on board.

[meandmaboy]

Our 14 year old is sailing with us in March on IOS. He may find it hard to meet others his age and I know travelling with 2 adults will be hard for him.

 

On first day if we go for a look around ship will there be Teen Staff about who will come talk to him and introduce themselves and then hopefully once he goes to teen club he will meet up with someone. We just do not want him to miss out on things by not going along to the teen club.

 

We are not going to force him to go to teen club but know once he meets others his own age he will enjoy it rather than hanging around with us " oldies " lol

 

Hi,

I joined the 'roll call' for my cruise & knew there was @ least 1 other teenager ages with my son (aged 16 years) he is not shy but did not seem that bothered about meeting other teenagers, until we got on board. It turned out that he met the other teenager that I already knew about & became very friendly & hung about with him.:)

I kept asking him if he had met this other boy & he indicated that he hadn't,typical teenager not really listening to me or digesting any of my conversation !!!!!!!:D We only discovered we were talking about the same family when they had left the ship.

During my son's time on the cruise he hung about with most of the teens they seem to hunt in 'packs'

I'm sure your son will join in & have such a good time that you won't see much of him.

Enjoy your cruise:cool: