My 9 and 11 year olds used to LOVE our weekend hikes. Now all they want to do is sit inside playing Fortnite. We tried bribing them with ice cream stops, 'scenic photo opportunities' (lol), even let them bring their friends. Nothing works. Am I just supposed to accept that the outdoor phase is over? How do other dads handle this?
Mine are 8 and 10, same exact situation. What actually worked was letting them invite a friend along. Something about peer pressure made hiking cool again. Still way more Fortnite than before but we get the hiking back
The scenic photo ops thing made me laugh because that's exactly what my 10yo called me out on. 'Dad you're trying too hard.' So now we just... go. No agenda. Sometimes they actually engage when you're not selling it
The ice cream stops should've worked in theory but yeah, by 9-11 they're over the carrot-dangling approach. They can smell desperation lol
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Have you tried asking them what THEY want to do outside instead of assuming hikes? Maybe they're bored with the same trail. My 11yo got into trail running which is basically hiking but faster and he thinks it's way cooler
Responding to the friend idea - this actually changed our whole dynamic. My sons' best friends' dad started joining us and suddenly hiking wasn't 'time with dad' it was 'adventure with the crew.' Game changer