It can be every parent’s nightmare when their teenager turns violent. He has grown rapidly since his childhood and now as a young adult, the teenager has turned ugly. There could be any number of reasons why his behavior has changed.
He has gotten in with the wrong crowd, he has fallen out with teachers at his school or he has started drinking or even taking drugs. There are many reasons but only one outcome. The teen is out of control.
No matter how much love and concern his parents show for the boy, nothing seems to be working. There is the definite risk he could do something far more serious like get into crime or even hurt himself or his family.
In many such cases, the authorities will recommend time out for the teen in a boot camp. These facilities are designed to show how important discipline is to an out-of-control teenage boy. These camps are not for highly emotional lads who may have depression or some other mental illness.
They exist to remove troubled boys from their dangerous environment, to give their families some relief and to instill discipline and respect into the camp residents.
The program is not for academic purposes but operates on a military style format making the boys get out of bed early, take responsibility for their sleeping quarters and carry out rigorous physical activities in all weathers. There is no time to argue and less time to slack off.
It’s a team environment where all the lads are forced to co-operate and get whatever tasks they are set completed to a high standard. It’s tough but it’s fair.
What must never be overlooked in regard to your troubled teen is the reason or reasons he is behaving badly. If you can discover the underlying cause you are well on the way to changing his behavior. Punishing him in a boot camp may not work. In fact it may only make him worse. If he was resentful when placed in a boot camp, he may well become more resentful.
Consider carefully the reason he has gone off the rails. A boot camp may well be the answer but be sure it is the right solution to your problem of a troubled teen.
Remember there is a huge difference between a symptom and a cause. If a parent looks at the symptoms of say insolence, going AWOL and poor grades and decides that a spell in boot camp will fix the problem, they may be right or they may be horribly wrong.
Why is your son behaving that way? Does he have an illness or condition like depression or schizophrenia or ADHD? Has he been secretly taking illegal substances? Is he experiencing difficulty with his sexual orientation? There could be any one of a number of factors causing your son to behave badly.
Please take the time to discuss the matters with him and if necessary do so with a trained professional. The cause is just as important – more so – than the symptoms.
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