Troubled Teens Resources

“At age 16, Caitie C. was pulled over by the Laguna Beach Police and spent a night in jail as a result of her first DWI (driving while intoxicated). “I pulled into a little market to use the pay phone, and there were cops sitting in the parking lot as I drove my car into a pole,” she said. “They did a Breathalyzer and took me in, handcuffed.”

You have to ask why we even allow 16 year old teens to have a car and cell phones and all the other luxuries unless they have exhibited maturity commensurate with the priveleges that they are granted. But teens have come to view these coveted possessions as rights and parents have bought in.

Caitie began drinking began when she was 14. The article also describes Alexis who began drinking when she was 12 and quickly accelerated to a meth addiction that required a complicated intervention. What both girls seemed to have in common was the usual combination of too much time and money and too little interaction with parents.

Teen age drug abuse does not happen in a vacuum. For parents to not recognize aberrant behavior in teens so young suggests a significant family melt down. The article describes it as “alienation”.

“Underage drinking often starts with alienation at home,” according to Wayne Rothwell… He says a sense of isolation sets in and a breakdown of communication develops between the parent and the child.
[..]”Drugs and alcohol are easily available and a way for them to escape from uncomfortable feelings.”
(Source)

It used to be teenagers turned to their parents when struggling with “uncomfortable feelings.” Years ago there was an ad campaign that asked parents “It’s midnight. Do you know where your kids are?” Now it is the kids who are wondering where their parents are. And some just give up looking for them.