With both parents typically working out of the home and a permissive culture afoot, troubled teenagers can easily fall into the traps of promiscuity, drugs, alcohol and other illicit activities. The threat of disease, jail and even death can send parents into desperation and panic. If you have a child making poor decisions, you are not alone. There are solutions for troubled teenagers. Here’s a look at the problem, the solution and a strategy for making it happen.
The problem today is that access to the most dangerous of activities is no longer limited to big cities. Drugs like methamphetamine, cocaine and heroin were once only found in “bad” neighborhoods. Today these drugs are most commonly found in rural and suburban communities we all thought were safe. And a troubled teenager can not only get a hold of these poisons, binge drinking is a common pastime among the young. When these things get into your kid’s life, you don’t even want to imagine where things might end up.
The good news for teenagers in trouble and their parents is that there are more options for their treatment and restoration than ever before. In almost any town in America there are outpatient programs and 12 Step meetings which can offer support and life skill training for people in need. Not only that, but rehab facilities—once few, far between and prohibitively expensive—are now available almost everywhere. Your insurance will likely even cover such an expense. Most families choose a facility far away from home for their kids to go to without fearing the pressures of bad friends just on the outside. Finally, a boarding school for troubled teenagers and boot camps offer means of squaring away troubled teenagers in a creative way.
Which program works for you depends on your child’s problems. The strategy most experts suggest for troubled teenagers (or anybody with drug and alcohol problems for that matter) is to get progressively more intense. Start by taking your child to an open meeting of Alcoholics Anonymous—they work with addicts of every stripe. If that doesn’t work, ask their school counselor about intensive outpatient treatment programs. If that doesn’t work, try a rehab facility. Finally, a boarding school or boot camp might be the trick it takes.
Whatever you do for your troubled teenager, don’t despair and don’t give up. Their very lives are at stake and your faith in them can restore their faith in themselves.
