Trobled teens????

hello I believe the most common mistake that we make as parents is to use idle threats. We threaten our children on a regular basis in an attempt to scare them into complying. It usually goes something like this ... if you do that one more time, I am going to .. And then when they do it again, we do nothing. We are always threatening to punish, ground, restrict, etc. But how often do we follow through? In order for our children to take us seriously and believe in what we say, we must be consistent. If we make threats all of the time and never honor them, our children will just learn to ignore us.

I agree that there are many troubled teens in the world today. Who knows if it is more than before we cannot say for sure. I don't think anyone deserves a "good beating" though, and I have never heard any of my friends say that. I think one of the problems with teens nowadays is because both parents have to work in order to be able to afford to live. I think that with the absence of a mom or dad home with the all day for the first few years of life, and then home with them in the morning and RIGHT after school makes a BIG impact on that child's life (and teen). I know myself my parents were not home after school for two hours. So I could have done whatever I wanted when I was a teen and perhaps they would have never known. But, I was a good kid and just never got into anything bad - I don't know why or how but I am glad! haha I wish the government would help more with after-school programs so that kids can stay there and learn, or have fun, or find out what they are good at, or find out what career they want when they are finished school instead of leaving school and being able to be free until parents are done work for the day. I also think the government should pay babysitters at least minimum wage, with benefits and raises just like many other jobs. (especially in Canada, many employers give their employees benefits like dental and health). And I think that families who don't have a lot of money should not have ot pay a lot for childcare. And people who do have money should pay. And then those babysitters can be evaluated to make sure the kids are not being put in front of a television all day long. This way the babysitters are making more money, there are higher quality babysitters, and the kids are getting good support, good education and someone reliable is watching them after school. I have one thing to disagree with you. I do not believe in God. But I respect that you do. That is your choice completely. But religious-based institutions that can help teens are not always the best choice. There are plenty of places out there where people can go to get help! Please, if you are a troubled teen, or if you know one, take the time to find some help. Talk to someone. Because you deserve better.