My family is coming into town soon (I'm the daughter away at college) and are only staying for a short time. I'm curious if parents prefer to have their kids visit them at home or to go visit their kids in their town! My parents are leaving so quick that it makes me wonder if its just bad timing or they don't want to be here.... hopefully not! LOL.

And if you visit... is it better to be busy with activities or just hanging out and talking? My dad has never been here!

If you are staying here for the summer and not going home,it is only natural that they would come see you. My suggestion,if they are only a day or so and you can't go too far.....Minnehaha Falls and/ or MOA........can't go Wong with MOA and mom, dad will love the fals.....more ideas if you need more.

Visiting goes both ways.

It is always nice when you visit home and when you do, spend quality time with your family and catch up with them. Don't spend all your time with friends. Show them you are growing up by offering to help around the house with dishes, cleaning up, cooking, mowing the lawn, giving dad's car a wash, grocery shopping, running errands etc. You will be much more appreciated. Getting up at 2:00 p.m. everyday and spending all your time with friends like you are on vacation is not cool.

I would not read too much into it that your parents are visiting for a short time.

It is probably a sign that they see you as a young adult and respect your independence. Your parents want to catch up with all the happenings in your life and make sure you are doing fine. Dad probably wants to kick back and talk while mom might take a look in the fridge and pantry to make sure you have enough food. If your apartment is messy, she might want to clean it too.

When they come to town, play host. Allow an afternoon or morning to hangout and talk. After that, plan activities that the whole family can enjoy together like going to a Twins game, walking Downtown, going to a park, museum, a play or whatever they enjoy doing. Suggest places for lunch or dinner if you want. Time will fly faster when you are doing stuff together but it will be a memorable visit and they will want to come again.

Don't send them out alone unless you are tied up with other important stuff. Avoid having them spend the entire time at your apartment or their hotel, things can get tense fast over minor stuff.

You were not clear if your parents are back in Scandinavia or in the U.S. If in your parents are not in the U.S.  than the visiting part gets a little tricky and it that much more important that you spend quality time with them and make their visit memorable.

think that HobbyCity's advice is spot on....Enjoy the time with your folks, show them around and have a memorable time for all.  Other things and friends can wait.  The fact that you are concerned and asking says a lot of good things about you.  All the best. BTW love ur pic.

I always enjoyed going to my daughter's campus.  Seeing all of the young chicks made me feel young again.  If they like baseball and are here while the Twins are out of town, you can take them on a Target Field Tour.  Have fun and enjoy them while they are still here.

Smart parents know that at your age they have to stop hovering, as it is neither welcomed by the daughter nor likely to be conducive to relaxed and happy relations. Nonetheless, they will impose their presence upon you long enough to see if you have found safe and healthy living arrangements, have friends who are not openly psychotic or debauched, and seem happy.

Beyond that, and especially if they have not visited you at school before, they might simply be unsure of their welcome. If you were a typical teenager, there were years when you wanted as little to do with them as possible. It's a natural part of developing independence. Could be this flying visit is their way of checking to see if they are really welcome.

I doubt there is a parent in the world who would be offended to hear "Oh, can't you stay a little longer? I really want to spend some time with you." But only say it if you really mean it.

If they like to sightsee, there's a drive that starts in Minneapolis, heads through the Kenwood neighborhood to Lake of the Isles, winds down past Calhoun and Lake Harriet to MInnehaha Creek, follows the creek over to Minnehaha Falls, then up the Mississippi (either side) through the U of M campus to downtown Minneapolis. It shows off the park system, beautiful and well kept neighborhoods, the city skyline, the Guthrie, etc., etc. About 30 miles all told with lots of restaurants along the way if they get hungry. Figure on two hours. My in-laws loved it when they visited. The driving is mostly relaxed so you can chat on the way, while silences don't become uncomfortable because there are always things to look at and comment on. But be warned, you are trapped in a car for two hours so if the conversation heads in a direction you don't like, there's no escape.

As a parent I have been in this situation, they are wanting to visit and not wanting to intrude in your life.  Don't worry about the time frame or motive of their time frame, just show them a around your new city and enjoy their visit.  If you make sure they know they are welcome, they will return.

Live in the moment!

I think my kids prefered not seeing us parents visit them except for a very short duration because they had roommates and no privacy so we would always be in a hotel. It was way more comfortable and enjoyable for us having them back home and they were not as pressured to organize things, and could also go see their old friends that were still around.

By the way, that photo gave me instant wood!!!

Maybe they're just not that into you......

...just kidding   I'm sure they love you very much.
When my daughter went away to college, she was never more than an hour away and she usually came home every weekend.

Good grief, very nice pic!!!   Secondly, don't worry about your Dad.  Dad's like nothing
better than spending time with their daughters regardless of what you're doing or where
you are.  And C, or thirdly, holy crap that's a nice pic!!!

That I don't know how to entertain my family, I have a very good idea of what we'll be doing! Thanks for the advice and ideas, only a few of you said if you like to visit your kids or have them visit you lol.


"You were not clear if your parents are back in Scandinavia or in the U.S. If in your parents are not in the U.S.  than the visiting part gets a little tricky and it that much more important that you spend quality time with them and make their visit memorable."

They are in the US! Every break last year I went home to see them, so this is the summer where I'm not going home LOL.

PS That pic isn't me, and if you look closely -- is she wearing underwear?!

It might be a good idea to wear underwear while you parents are visiting - moms always make a big deal about wearing clean underwear.

Mmm, that should spark an idea for the next photo theme here, lol. Who can carry off the best naught school girl fantasy photo?  And commando does work doesn't it. Boing!!!

As far as whether I prefer to visit my children or have them visit me, it kind of depend.  However, in general, I prefer to have them visit me, especially if they are just starting out.

There are a few reasons for this.  One is that it is generally a more comfortable environment.  It is home.  Hopefully, neither myself or my child feels like a guest while we are together but rather family.  It takes the pressure off of for the child to think they need to entertain me.  Most likely, money is tight for them.  I don't want them spending their hard earned money showing me a good time.

On the other hand, it is nice to see where your child lives and how they are doing out on their own.  Especially, if they are planning on making the area they're in a more permenant residence or if the area they are living in is an area I'd enjoy visiting anyway.

As far as whether, I would rather spend time doing activities or hanging out, that again depends on how comfortable you are hanging out with each other.  If you have a very good relationship and everyone can hang out with one another without being uncomfortable or getting on each others nerves, then my definite preference would be to hang out with an occasional activity to make the visit a little more interesting.  However, remember that they are there to.see you and catch up with what is going on in your life.  If you decide to spend the time with activities, make sure they are activities that you can also easily talk with one another.  Also, if your parents want to pay for the activities, say thank you and let them.  Don't argue about it.  Parents don't like to be a burden on their kids.