Troubled Teens Resources

Teen crisis intervention typically targets troubled teens. A new program circulating through the nation targets the parents of those teens. Many parents simply have no clue what to look for beyond easily recognized drug paraphanilia, such as pipes and bongs.

Some parents are very removed from anything to do with teen drug abuse because they can’t imagine their own teens using. Word to the wise - all teens are at risk and parents need to be drug educated regardless of how confident they are that their teen is “clean”.

“The program featured a mock bedroom of a teenage drug user and around 70 items or indicators were placed throughout it. Parents had the opportunity to walk through and try to identify possible signs of drug use.

In addition the Department of Public Safety provided a teenage drug user’s car exhibit out in front of the high schools so parents could also find possible signs there too.
[…]
“Our goal is that hopefully a parent will see something during the event and a voice inside their head will be screaming to them that something is not right. Even if we just reach one parent, that could be one teen that we save,” Teresa Burnett said.

Gregory Flores, of Port Arthur, admitted he has always had little knowledge as to what drugs are out there, but feels he is not alone.

“It’s alarming. I knew kids were doing some of this. After seeing all the ways that they can hide what they are doing shows that they are smart, but we need to get them focused on being smart in school,” he said. “Parents also need to educate themselves so that they can see what is really going on.”

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Teen crisis intervention directed at the scourge of underage drinking is an ongoing campaign for parents, schools and communities. What is undeniable, though parents do not quite grasp this, is the power of parental communication.

Believe it or not, your kids are listening to you. And they are watching you. So, if you are warning them about the dangers of alcohol and drugs, yet drink and medicate yourself, you might have a problem. If you aren’t meeting your teen’s friends, communicating with their parents, or making your rules crystal clear, you might have a problem. The parent who also tries to be their teenager’s friend, will fail at both. Teens want parents.

“Parents’ ability to influence whether their children drink is well documented and is consistent across racial and ethnic groups.Verbally expressing their disapproval of drinking, setting clear rules against drinking, consistently enforcing those rules and monitoring your child’s behavior all help to reduce the likelihood of underage drinking.”

See how you do on the following test, linked below.

• Tell your child that you disapprove of underage drinking?
• Monitor teens while they are in your home?
• Talk to your teen daily?
• Set a curfew and consistently enforce house rules?
• Inquire of another parent about a gathering or party to verify safe situations and supervised homes?
• Welcome telephone calls at your home verifying supervision of gatherings at your own home?
• Check levels of open alcohol beverages in your home?
• Attempt to meet your child’s friends and their parents as their environment changes?
• Call authorities or other parents to report unsafe situations, parties or gatherings?
• Help your child figure out how to handle risky situations with a plan of action?

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Teen crisis intervention begins at home and it begins with parents. Parents who do not assume the responsibilities of adulthood will experience some intervention themselves. Troubled teens require mature adults to raise them, not teenage wanna-bes trying to be buddies with their kids. So any parent that is thinking how hip they are to host drinking parties for their teenagers might want to reconsider their view.

“A Deerfield man will report to the Lake County Jail this week, to begin two weeks of work-release — because he allowed his son to host a teenaged drinking party that turned deadly.

With homecoming weekends at hand for high schools across the metropolitan area, police, prosecutors and advocates are hoping it serves as a warning.

Jeffrey Hutsell seemed to many, including friends and associates, as one of the least likely people to go to jail.

The 53-year-old Hutsell is an entrepreneur known for his years of charitable giving and community service to his church and community, working with the victims of Hurricane Katrina and on volunteer projects as far away as Guatemala and Africa.

But Lake County (Ill.) State’s Attorney Michael Waller said a night of “appallingly bad judgment” last Oct. 13, that ended in the deaths of two 18-year-old partygoers, stained that reputation.

“(Jail) time in this particular case sends a message and it will deter others doing what these defendants did,” he said.”

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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 educated parenting counsel, I can pretty much guarantee that the need for programs for troubled teens will be with us for quite awhile.

I propose a new type of school however - a school for parents without a clue. The woman described below is a perfect candidate.

“Verity believes in four hourly feeds, no cuddling during those feeds, and leaving the baby outside in the pram for three hours at a stretch, in the middle of winter, crying as much as it likes. By using her method, Verity reckons you can be throwing a party within twenty four hours of giving birth, as your life will have “returned to normal…” Verity is obsessed with the idea of parents drinking wine from 7pm onwards, whilst their 24-hour-old baby wails itself to sleep upstairs…”

If an infant survives this woman’s “care”, she’ll no doubt destroy any chance the child has of becoming a caring and self-aware teenager. And one wonders at the increasing cruelty being recorded amongst teens. It would seem to stem from just such indifferent and selfish parenting. The blog author hit the nail on the head below.

“I can’t really see how Verity’s methods differ greatly from the kind of dissociative behaviour that would have any “underclass” kid being whisked into care. Left outside to cry, drinking, displaying little or no affection.”

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If parents with young children want to know ahead of time how to raise them safe from drugs and strong enough to resist peer pressure, they might start with examining their own values - or lack of them. If parents want their kids in good boarding schools and not names on the rosters of boarding schools for troubled teens, they’d best provide them with the ammunition that they need and there isn’t a more dependable defense against teen drug abuse than a belief system built on strong principles.

“Having a clearly defined Belief System for your home helps everyone know how to act, where the “line” is so they know when they step over it, and what consequences to expect. Teenagers can learn from established rules and consequences, but generally get frustrated from rules and consequences that seem arbitrary or inconsistent.

Why is this so important? Because teens are prone to test their parents in every possible way. It is part of their built-in and growing need for independence, and they need to exercise their own free will. This is why parents need to take time to establish a clearly defined Belief System before their children enter the adolescent years. Doing so will go a long way toward avoiding parenting chaos and helping your teen eventually establish similar beliefs for himself.”

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