stressed out parents

If your child wont't listen its frustrating for the entire family

Dealing with Violent teenagers

Your troubled teenager may be susceptible to violence or hostile behavior if he or she exhibits the following:

Aggressive actions displayed in earlier stages
Drug or alcohol use
Committing common offenses at an early point
Weak control over behavior
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder or traits of it
low IQ
Difficulties with information-processing or social cognitive skills
Antisocial behavior

If your family exhibits the following factors then your child may also be susceptible to hostile behavior:

An authoritarian style of child upbringing
Displays of violence and disputes or conflict within the family
Extremes in terms of discipline (it may be a lack of or severe discipline)
Disciplinary inconsistencies
Not being there for the child
Lack of emotional attachment of a child to his parents
Poor income and a parent’s low education
Parents dealing with substance abuse and criminal offenses
Deficient functioning of the family
Inadequate supervision of the household and children

The factors which may prevent your child from developing hostile behavior are the following:

High IQ
Constructive orientation towards social relations
Steering away from deviant behavior
A strong commitment to academics
Participation in school and extracurricular activities

Statistics for teen violence

The statistics for teen violence may shock you as a parent of a troubled teen. But these are statistics that we must face in order to get a real picture of the critical situation many teenagers may be facing. A study made in the year of 2002 showed that about 900,000 of people from 10-24 years of age suffered from injuries incurred from acts of violence. Sad to say, homicide follows as actually the second major cause of mortality among those from this age bracket.

Surveys conducted have shown that almost 20% of students actually had a weapon on them in the month prior to when the survey was conducted. A little more than one third of the students admitted to have been in a physical dispute at least once in the year that came before the survey. Concerning adolescent relationships, almost 10% of students admitted to being victims of physical abuse by a boy/girlfriend, also in the year prior to when the survey was conducted. It was observed that girls were double the percent more likely than the percentage of boys to have sexual intercourse forced upon them. Boys, on the other hand, were found to be almost double the percent more likely than the percentage of girls to get in a physical dispute.

Your Teenager Needs you

Sometimes it's easy to forget that whilst being an adult has
all sorts of stresses and strains, being a teenager isn't always that great either. First of all, they are at a difficult age when they're no longer seen either as children or as adults. Secondly, their hormones are racing, they're under pressure from friends and the latest trends won't leave them alone.

Setting Boundaries

When a child is small, we often use boundaries to protect them and keep them away from harm or danger. But it is important that you explain why boundaries are there - for instance, if you pull away from an open fire explain why.

When parents give orders, children often dig in their heels. One way to stop this happening is to let them know why something is important.

Boundaries are about setting the bottom line or making agreements about what is acceptable and what is not.

Empty Nest Syndrome

You may all feel quite stressed when getting ready for your kids leaving home. Lots of your time may be taken up with helping them to get things ready.

Talk about it. If arguments are flaring up near to the time when your kids are leaving home, talk about how you are feeling. But remember to try not to make your child feel guilty about flying the nest as this will cause resentment.

You may feel quite a shock when they are gone - almost like grieving. Think about ways of keeping in touch if they don't live round the corner, such as learning how to email. Or, if they have moved locally invite them over for dinner or plan a shopping trip together.

Be aware of how you are with any of your children who are still at home. Try not to over compensate with other children who may feel suffocated by too much attention.

A-Z Guide to Common Drugs

Young people are usually aged between 13-14 when they have their first alcoholic drink without parent’s knowledge.

Effects – after a couple of drinks people can feel relaxed and less reserved. A few more drinks can make someone more talkative, cause their speech to become slurred and make them physically uncoordinated.

Problems – alcohol can become dangerous in large quantities. Long term drinking can cause physical and mental damage. Being drunk can cause people to become more vulnerable to violence, theft and assault.

The law – at 18 it is legal to be sold alcohol................