Ashley ChandlerFounder + CEO, The Teenage Guide · Founder and CEO, The Teenage Guide | Parent and Teen Coach

the vacation you've been sold is a lie

9 Jul 2026 · 1 min

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You can plan the perfect summer trip down to the minute, but you can't manufacture connection with a teenager. When expensive vacations fail to bring families closer, what's left is frustration and resentment.

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We have been sold this image of what summer could look like. The truth is, is that those things, those experiences, are not what actually creates the real connection that helps you enjoy the summer with your team. We can plan the trips, we can coordinate the activities, but we cannot manufacture or engineer connection. And so we might be frustrated when we're on that vacation that we've spent thousands on, And we have planned for 6 months and you're like, wait, I thought this trip was supposed to bring us closer. And so then you feel frustrated, resentful, and disappointed. It's just that you can't plan for connection with your teenager.