Teen Crisis Intervention Starts With the Parents
Sometimes the first step in teen crisis intervention is addressing the parents themselves. If parents do not model behavior that reflects self-discipline and restraint, the troubled teen typically has no other role model that they can turn to.
It is simply not enough to blithely shrug irresponsible adult behavior off by saying ” do as I say, not as I do,” That isn’t sufficient to stop a teen from taking a few pills when they have witnessed Mom or Dad popping pills and “drinking socially” for their entire lives.
The American Academy of Pediatrics has a list of questions that parents can ask themselves.
- Do you usually offer alcoholic drinks to friends and family when they come to your home?
- Do you frequently take medicine for minor aches and pains or if you are feeling sad or nervous?
- Do you take sleeping pills to fall asleep?
- Do you use alcohol or any other drug in a way that you would not want your child to?
- Do you smoke cigarettes?
- Are you proud about how much you can drink?
- Do you make jokes about getting drunk or using drugs?
- Do you go to parties that involve a lot of drinking?
- Do you drink and drive or ride with drivers who have been drinking?
- Has your child ever seen you drunk?
- Do you let minors drink alcohol in your home?
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Parents have got to understand what, if any, complicity that they have had in their teen’s problems and address it honestly if they hope to have an honest dialog with their troubled teen.
Teen Crisis Intervention