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Are teen bootcamps useful for problem teenagers?

What teenager is free from problems? How can a parent know if their problem teenagers actually require the professional residential intervention provided by boot camp boarding schools? And are boot camps actually useful, or do they just provide relief for the parents. “Thank God we know he’s alive and can’t escape.” How healthy is that? Luckily the answer is that a good teen boot camp transforms families and changes lives. Through behavioral interventions, empowering decision-making experiences and reinforcing healthy habits, it’s like an intensive teen attitude makeover.Motivation is one key factor that parents often complain of when it comes to teens in turmoil. “He just lays around all day” or “She’s smart, but she won’t bring up her grades.” One effect that a reputable teen boot camp has upon troubled teens is that it first helps them find internal motivation to proceed through their day in a way that benefits their future. Identifying their goals and dreams for the future is a good way to begin to help teens make the decisions they need to make in order to create a brighter future for themselves. Sometimes the long-term decisions teens make are a surprise to their parents. Imagine, hearing that your video-game playing son wishes to be an orthodontist, or a news reporter.

Responsibility is another factor of respectful community living that is reinforced in a boot camp setting. Since it’s communal living, everyone must work together to meet the needs of the group. It’s not a vacation, it’s not a resort. Teens are intelligent enough to learn to help prepare meals, order inventory for the kitchen, make sure that their bed is made and that their personal effects aren’t left out. The communal environment ensures that each teen is expected to participate and contribute, and at regular meetings, usually each evening, instead of sitting around a dinner table hearing Mom and dad harp “You never clean up after yourself.” They’re hearing it from their peers in a circle counseling session. “Dude, I put your iPod away like 4 times man, I’m not feeling appreciated.” The dynamics change and teens with responsibility issues end up wanting to be responsible for themselves.

Behavioral issues can be controlled easier in the organized setting that teen boot camps can provide. Teens who suffer from ADD and ODD often don’t even realize what has set them off. It can be as simple as expecting chicken for dinner and getting pizza instead. In a normal household, unexpected things can and do happen. Life is unpredictable and for teens who suffer from behavior problems, the flexibility of a home environment can be traumatic. An organized boot camp with official schedules and routines, without surprises, can give your teen the opportunity to deal with emotional issues as they happen, instead of bottling them up and waiting for the next reason to explode.

There are many ways that a boot camp boarding school can help troubled teens. With therapeutic treatment plans in place that are custom-designed for your child, you can be sure that the counselors and teachers are all working together in a supportive environment that is created so that each teen can be empowered to be their personal best. Regardless of the specific nature of the troubles, teen boot camps are designed to help each teen, individually, make the best possible decisions for their life.

Here are additional resources you might be interested in:

Boot Camps for Troubled Teens – Take action to help discipline your child

Turning Winds, A residential treatment center for adolescent

Do you believe your child needs help, does he or she need "a lesson" or "to get some discipline"?
Boot Camps for Troubled Teens Are Not the Answer.
We DO NOT endorse teen boot camps because they were proven ineffective and dangerous. Learn More!

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We understand this is a difficult time for you.   Sadly we do not know of any free programs.  

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