Schools for troubled teens, drug rehabs, military teen boot camps all address addiction in the individual. But addiction does not grow in a vacuum. Countless documentaries and books explore the cultures of addiction and the environments that spawn it. One such documentary, Cottonland, has met with much acclaim. It studies dependency and it’s connection […]
The consequences of rampant teen age drug abuse reach deeply into the community, spawning an underground economy manned by thugs and the source of endless violence. Drug deals gone bad, turf wars, and drive-by shootings occur on a daily basis in almost every American city. The tragedy is that so much of this bloodshed is […]
Teen crisis intervention begins at home. It begins with committed and aware parents willing to be “proactive instead of reactive” in their teenagers’ lives. It is becoming clear that too many parents either give tacit consent to their teen’s drug or alcohol experimentation, or simply take too few measures to monitor their teen’s activities.
Unfortunately, it […]
Sometimes all of the help in the world will not bring a drug addict around. Not schools for troubled teens, not rehab, not the tears of their mother nor the deaths of their friends.
“Right now, it’s tough love. I cannot continue funding. It’s not helping him.
“Once you’ve paid for nearly six rehabs, seen your […]
Teen crisis intervention isn’t just a one time program or a few seminars. It is an ongoing process for parents with teenagers. It not only entails parents developing preventative measures against teen drug abuse but also requires them to be continually pro-active in their efforts to keep their teens from straying.
By pro-active I mean […]
“I don’t believe that every problem requires a therapist,” Townsend says. “Part of the job of parenting is helping kids succeed with problems. Help them come up with solutions.”
Parents of teens at risk often feel that they are walking through land mines. The threats to troubled teens today come from all sides - from a […]
A common debate found in discussions of teen age drug abuse is how harmful pot may or may not be. There are copious defenses written of it’s use - on the internet, in medical literature and in various arguments before the court. And as is always the case with pot, you have one side who […]
One very effective means of teen crisis intervention is peer pressure. Yes, the same peer pressure that may convince a teenager to try drugs can also convince them not to. Teens have an opportunity to apply some of that type of pressure by presiding over the sentencing of their fellow teens in teen court.
Teen […]
I wonder if I can buy stock in schools for troubled teens. I shouldn’t be so flip, given the importance that these schools have in a culture that has become increasingly bizarre and threatening to teens. But that is my point. When I read some of the philosophies parading around out there as professional or […]
A proponent of marijuana legalization suggests that your children become inflamed drug users the minute that they find out that pot is not likely to kill them. If only we told the truth in DARE and encouraged the children to understand that alcohol and ecstasy and pot are just fine, because, gee, they aren’t as […]