Seattle w/a difficult teen...
 

Hello all --

We live in Seattle (for nearly 3 years now) and know what we like here. But, we have a difficult teen coming to visit this weekend and could really use some help! She's a bit antisocial, is into music and books, but that's about it.

Any suggestions would be appreciated!
Thanks...

There is a special tour of the underground of Seattle you might take.We missed it when we were there in 2000.I believe the entrance is near Pioneer square.Paul

empsfm.org Experience Music Project - technically a museum, but don't tell her that. All sorts of music/rock related stuff with mostly interactive exhibits - activated with personal headset thing.

Has she done any research on Seattle? Why not ask her. If she's over 3 years old I'm sure she knows how to use the computer. Seattle's new Library is pretty cool as well as the EMP. You could also check on concert tickets at the Gorge.

Funny, but I had never heard of that Experience Music Project in Seattle until just yesterday when I saw it as item #7 on a list of the world's worst tourist traps. I personally know nothing about it, but here is the link that just rang a bell in my head:

travel.msn.com//Guides/MSNTravelSlideShow.aspx?cp-documentid=474852&imageindex=7

We enjoyed the Underground tour. Not sure if a teen would like it. Many teens enjoy certain crafts and take part in the Indie craft movement. You might check to see if there is anything planned for Seattle. From what I've read people bring old clothes to share/donate, pick something from a pile to personalize and visit work stations around the room to 'make it theirs'. A sewing machine company is a big sponsor. Most teens also like jewelry and I know Seattle has places that sell dichroic glass jewelry. Check to see if there is a bead shop that lets people make a necklace or whatever at the store at a work table. The bead store near me has work space as well as formal classes. If it's not a class you just pay for the beads you use and store people can offer some assistance. Although stringing beads is simple, selecting them and doing the stringing can take more than an hour. A good used book store should also be good for a couple of hours of browsing. I don't think there's a female teen who doesn't like beading.
I work with teens. Some are interested in learning how to knit and make felted purses. A pair of needles and one skein of wool yarn is enough to make a felted clutch purse. There are free instructions on the internet. A local yarn shop might help with the basics. There are teach yourself videos on the internet.
The secret is keeping teens busy and helping them learn a new skill is very helpful. (Actually I think it's critical to their growth!) There's a lot out there that some kids don't know about. Maybe she'd like to try some ethnic restaurants. I'd even try a walk thru and around Pike's market to try different foods. There might be fruits and vegetables she's never had.

I though the music experience was a waste. But they have a room were you can play instruments so if she is into that she might enjoy.

Take her to pike street, with her

Grab copies of the PI/Times entertainment guide for the week, The Weekly & The Stranger. She can look in the caledar events and "all ages" listings for things that might interest her. Give her bus fare & a city map and let her do her own thing.

Thanks for these great suggestions! Lots of great ideas here. I think Suze might be onto something in particular... =)

My teen nieces loved the interactive EMP, with its sound stage and sound lab, but they are really into music. We spent a lot of time there, so got our money's worth. My DH, who came reluctantly, spent ages in the Guitar Gallery and being a West Coast Boomer, loved the Pacific Northwest music history aspects.

Ditto the Library suggestion. It's definitely cool and unique. (The tubes and colors give me a headache but can see appeal to youth) Seattle is also noted for its book stores.

What about Hiram M Chittenden (Ballard) Locks and salmon ladder, can be a fascinating outing on a sunny day, even for a difficult teen.

When all else fails, window shop? My daughter always loved to shop in Seattle, its various didtricts provide such a wide and unique range of stores, styles and prices.

I think the EMP is a good option for teenagers. It's not the greatest museum, but for that age group, it works at least once or twice, at least according to my son and his friends.

What about a cool coffee shop where she can read, listen to her ipod and people watch? Something like Bauhuas Books & Coffee? Or maybe an all ages comedy club -- I think Comedy Underground is all ages but I'm not sure.

Is she coming by herself or with more family? Are you trying to find something specifically for her to do or something that a varied group of people would also like to do?

Take her to Fremont, the center of the universe. Peer at the Troll, then let her wander the shops (music, book, clothing) on her own...then maybe meet back up for lunch or dinner at one of the restaurants in the neighborhood.

Or the Pike/Pine corridor on Capitol Hill (Pike & Pine are two parallel streets... and stretch east of the freeway & west of 15th Ave). Loads of great shopping, cafes, bars, restaurants for the 20-something set.

She's a bit antisocial, is into music and books,

Too bad it's too early for the U District street fair. :D

To early for the street fair, but just in time for the Sunday markets in Fremont and Ballard. Well worth a browse! The Fremont market is more "stuff" oriented and the Ballard market is more "food" oriented. Can't go wrong with either.

You might earn brownie points if you take her to the Showbox on Friday night to see Colin Meloy from the Decemberists perform (provided she like the Decemberists). Give them a listen on iTunes - you might really enjoy it.

Hmmm, definitely some more interesting thoughts here. Thanks again to everyone for your help. One other thing I should have mentioned is that she hates shopping, too. =P She is coming with her mother, but she's relatively easy to please thankfully.

Thanks again!

See if there're still tickets available for Corteo, Cirque de Soile out in Marymoor Park. Tickets are 90 bucks, but I can't imagine that anyone wouldn't be blown away by that performance!

For anyone interested, if not for a difficult teen, the Ballard Locks were described as one of top 3 Seattle tourist draws in the following informative Seattle Times article about the locks, salmon ladder and gardens.

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/htm...tsdone010.html

Hi hlocke1

As a person who has been shy/quiet/reserved all my life, I think your best bet may be asking her what she's interested in. From what you've said, her personality sounds a lot like mine and I've found that many people mistake my quiet demeanor for anti-socialism. While it's true that I prefer my own company and entertain myself quite well, I do have a wide variety of interests and there are lots of places and activities that I enjoy. The people who've had success getting me out of my shell are the people who've taken the time to know me or who've just outright asked me what I like instead of trying to guess. If my feeling is right, you may find a marked change in her personality if she finds something to do that really "speaks" to her.

Just the 2 cents of a fellow "antisocial". :)

Difficult teen...isn't that the norm? Give her a private room with a TV, computer, video games, stereo, DVD player and you won't have to put up with the antisocial behavior because you won't have to interact.

Tess <--mother of a teen girl B-)

Author: hlocke1
Date: 04/29/2008, 12:57 am
Hello all --

"We live in Seattle (for nearly 3 years now) and know what we like here. But, we have a difficult teen coming to visit this weekend and could really use some help! She's a bit antisocial, is into music and books, but that's about it.

Any suggestions would be appreciated!"

Yes, don't coddle her. She needs to learn to adapt to different environments and be appreciative of others. If she doesn't like it, tough.

Thanks again, everyone. She arrives today, so I'll be sure to report back on what goes over well.

Kostroma, she's actually my husband's step-sister. So, we know her very well. My husband is shy and reserved, but this situation is completely different and rather hard to describe. That is why it's a particularly challenging situation. Thanks so much for your input... we'll def. be asking her what she wants to do.

So it's more sullen than shy then? :)

Well, if you ask her what she wants to do and she wants to hole herself up in the house with a book, I agree with TTess. Let her keep herself company and don't worry about it. I do hope that she finds something to do that's to her liking though.

Hello again, everyone --

Just wanted to report back after our weekend with the visitors.

Friday, my husband took the &quot;difficult teen&quot; and her mother to the <b>Underground tour</b>. He was reluctant as we've taken the tour 3 times before, but they had a great tour guide, so that made all the difference. The teen also seemed to enjoy it. We spent the evening eating at <b>Judy Foo's Snappy Dragon</b> and playing Rock Band at home. Honestly, that went over best of all. She's 18, so we thought she'd be more into seeing the town, but we were wrong...

On Saturday, we went out for a large breakfast followed by the teen deciding she wanted to spend the rest of the day in the house. We went ahead and ventured out with her mother for awhile instead, honoring her request to be left behind. So, Tess pretty much nailed it! =) That evening, we all went to <b>Red Mill</b> for burgers and made a short visit to the <b>Chittenden Locks</b>. The teen wasn't loving the weather (it was a little misty and cold that evening) and this isn't a great time of year to view the fish ladder either (peak time is June-September). So, our visit was brief.

Sunday, we went to <b>Easy Street</b> for breakfast in West Seattle. Score! The teen enjoyed eating there and liked that she could shop around while we waited for our food. Afterwards, we headed over to <b>Constellation Beach</b> where the tide was extremely low. There were a lot of large starfish, anemones, and crabs to look at. While we thought this was pretty neat, she seemed lukewarm to it. They left for Vancouver in the afternoon...

Thanks again for everyone's input. I think we did the best we could!

<b>Also, one last note that I should have added into the report above:</b>

We asked the &quot;difficult teen&quot; a couple of different times if there was anything in particular she would like to do, but received no answer in return...

Appreciate the update, had wondered how the visit went.

All so predictable. Gave me great giggles reading it. A couple of months ago, we flew our high school daughter down to L.A. to spend a few nights with her college sister. I wasn't sure if she'd come back alive. Her sister had enough of her by the second day. Teenagers! b(

Hlocke1, I am convinced there is a crown waiting for you.

And I thought I wasn't &quot;understood&quot; when I was a teen...hmmm, given some of the responses now I can see why.

Totally with you there, Dukey. I was also &quot;misunderstood&quot;. I totally called and apologized to my mother after the &quot;difficult teen&quot; left us yesterday afternoon. ;)

Tess, you're too funny! =) Thanks again for helping me keep my own expectations real. It's hard not to take situations like this personally sometimes!

When I was out and about yesterday, I wondered how your weekend was going. Glad that you survived. :)

I never went through the &quot;surly teen&quot; phase, so I don't think I'll ever get what it actually stems from. Sounds like quite the ride.

Thanks, Kostroma! Hope you enjoyed that amazing weather we had. Not much could have ruined a day like that... =)

You're welcome, hlocke1. I just glad you survived! /:)