Teen Boarding Schools

Many parents today are struggling to raise an out of control teen. They dont know where to turn for help when it coems to this kind of problem. Rarely will the state do anything to help, and the school system will suspend or expell any defiant teen that breaks the rules. So what can you do if you are a parent with a troubled teen? Typical boarding schools wont take an out of control teen. They expect the teen wants to be there and will follow the rules. However, there are boarding schools out there which specialize in helping troubled teens. They have great academic programs and trained staff who help all year round. If you have any questions about placing your child in one of these schools please call us today.

Troubled Teen Options

Parents dealing with an at risk youth are not without any type of help. There are several types of placement options they can consider. We will discuss the various types of options available and our observations about each of them. There are several factors to consider when determining if a child is ready to be placed somewhere outside of the home. Parents of the at risk youth will usually have tried any of these options listed below:

Counseling or therapy

Increased parental control/grounding etc

Loss of privileges

Home contract

Medication

Teen Counseling

Parents will usually try some type of counseling or therapy when their child heads in a negative direction. In some cases this can be effective, but usually the at risk youth will refuse to attend therapy sessions, or simply waste the therapists time and their parents money. Therapy will only work if the at risk youth is willing and interested in seeking help.

Some parents turn to grounding, taking away privileges, or monitoring their child 24-7 as a way to help them. This becomes very burdensome, and parents will usually find that their child is able to still find ways to frustrate them. The at risk youth will also find ways to manipulate the rules.

Home Contracts

A home contract is basically what it sounds like. It is an agreement reached between the parents of the at risk youth and the youth. The agreement will clearly spell out privileges that the youth will have and the responsibilities associated with them. The youths choice of friends, curfew, and grades will usually be included in the contract. This also requires a willing participant.

The family Dr will also be an option some families turn to. The Dr can try some basic meds to see if they will help with the at risk youth. This may work in some cases, but again if the youth does not want help they will refuse to take the meds or sell them to their friends. In other cases the youth is not actually in need of any type of medication. What the youth may be most in need of is structure and discipline.