You might be surprised to learn that taking your kids on vacation is a nightmare for some parents. While this is supposed to be a fun time for everyone, some parents simply find themselves lost when it comes to entertaining their children.

The problem here is, kids get bored fast. 

You have to be on top of your creative game most of the time when attempting to keep your children occupied, even at home. This often requires trying new things and activities which you yourself might not be familiar with.

No matter where you go on vacation, there’s bound to be some universal resources at your disposal that you can use to help entertain your children. So, hopefully you won’t be reduced to singing show tunes.

Here, while you’re packing for vacation, we’ll explore a few ways to keep children (and teens) entertained while on vacation. 

Learning New Skills

While a child’s eyes often glaze over when you try to teach them anything, there’s nothing wrong with teaching them new things while you’re on vacation. Besides, you might just spark an interest in something that they’ll love.

One of the best methods is to teach them life skills. And, one of these skills that everyone should learn as a child is how to fish. 

Fishing is a great pastime, and it’s a valuable survival skill. All you really need to do is go out and buy a beginner’s kit, which is perfect for kids, and teach them the ropes while you’re out at the lake on vacation, or even while you’re at the beach. 

Now, if you have really young kids, this might not be the best activity for them. But, you can always buy a kiddie fishing pole and have them pretend to fish while you aim for that big trout that keeps taking your bait. 

Hold Competitions 

You might think that this will only work if you have multiple children. But, you can always enter into this competition as well if you have an only-child. 

Friendly and sporting competitions invigorate the competitive spirit, and they teach focus, determination and help develop critical thinking skills. 

If you have your kids on the beach, hold a competition to see who can build the biggest sandcastle. Or, mark off an area and have a beach race. You could also see who can hop over the most waves without falling down, or who can collect the most seashells.

You’ll have to work with elements that you have available wherever you’re on vacation, but you get the idea.

Competitions are great exercises in sportsmanship, and they help to occupy the time that your child would normally spend being bored to death. You could have fishing competitions on a boat or try water skiing. See who can stand for the longest. For more activity ideas check out the Travel Lens.

Have a Photoshoot 

We’re all caught deep within the technological web these days. As such, many of us have access to cameras on our phones, apps with filters, and the like. 

If you find yourself with a group full of bored children, challenge them to do a funny photoshoot, and then get them creatively involved with playing with the filters. You’ll be surprised at what they’ll come up with. And, you might even want to have a few of your photoshoot images printed and framed. 

This is a great activity to perform indoors or outdoors, and it’s perfect for when your vacation gets rained out, or if issues arise and things don’t go as planned. Additionally, it gets your kids engaged with each other and with you as a parent. 

At the end of the day, all you really have to do is use your imagination. You’ll be surprised at how easily adaptable children are to any situation, and how the simplest things and activities often are what creates the best memories. 

The key is to simply engage with your children. And, if you find yourself stumped, why not try asking them for ideas and see what the group can come up with that everyone will enjoy.