10 Vacation Ideas for You and Your Teen

Water parks are the perfect places to bring your family. With the freedom to go down waterslides, stroll down a lazy river or just lay about beside the pool. And your teen can always find someone their age to look, providing the necessary eye candy they may demand.

Any sports hall of fame is the perfect getaway for any sports fans in the family. With the all the sports history in one place, your teen can get a crash course in his or her obsession's past. These places also are fairly entertaining even for those how don't quite understand sports.

Hang gliding is an almost criminally fun experience and if they offer it anywhere near your vacation spot take the lesson. Beginner flights are only a few seconds long and with the flyer tethered to an instructor on the ground running alongside. Definitely worth the time if you are old enough to take the lessons.

Airborne tours are plenty fun and can present an old and familiar from a different angle. Give your teen the co-pilot seat if available and they might even get a chance to pilot the plane given your guide's disposition.

Skiing resorts are the best solution for vacationing in the winter. With the freedom an older kid would want and plenty of family and group deals provide the perfect place to bring your family during a winter break.

If you choose to go to the beach then make sure that the beach you go to have the necessary trappings of a teenager's definition of civilization (mall, movie theater). Without them a beach quickly could become boring but with them everyone can have a good time.

Older stadiums like Wrigley Field and Fenway Park are also so steeped in sports lore and legend and the tour guides there are very enthusiastic and even non-sports fans will find something interesting to listen to.

Times Square and other unique shopping areas can give any teenager a lot of joy visiting since it isn't often that you see that many lights, that many people, or a Toys 'R Us with its own Ferris Wheel. If that doesn't awaken the child in you, I don't know what will.

Ask your kid a question: who do they look up to and respect as a role model who would have a museum that you could go to? This is a nice way to let you kid know you care and a good way to learn something about them that you wouldn't normally find out.

Above all else ask your son or daughter what they would like to do. You may be surprised that once you actually engage them they can come up with things everyone can enjoy. Just be ready to go in with an open mind.