Troubled Teens Resources

Specialty schools offer a variety of courses and programs for parents with bored or troubled teenagers. Instead of summer time being filled with picnics and baseball games, parents of out-of-control teens find themselves dreading dealing with teens with empty time on their hands. A troubled teen might throw a veritable tantrum at the prospect of attending a brat camp, but he will likely sing a different tune when he comes home.

“At Pine Island Camp, a narrow ribbon of green in a picturesque Maine lake, boys ages 9 to 15 live in tents with no electricity. They leap into the chilly lake first thing every morning, and fall asleep at night to the eerie call of loons. There are no TVs, video games, or computers, and counselors keep the only cellphone on the island hidden away for emergencies.

Six weeks of this might sound like punishment for the average boy today, who lives with his iPod in his ear and talks to his friends in text messages.

Yet this year, for the first time in recent memory, Pine Island sold out for the season six months before it opened. It is one of a number of rustic wilderness camps in New England that are seeing a surge in their popularity , at a time when parents and educators are increasingly concerned that children do not spend enough time in the natural world.”

Countless studies reveal the detrimental effects of teens being “plugged-in” 24/7. From ADD to obesity to depression, nature and shutting out all media has proven therapeutic, with long lasting beneficial effects. Every community offers a similar program. If you can’t find one through school, get on the internet. Do the entire family a tremendous favor; plug into nature and unplug culture.