My Teen Is Being Reckless – How Do I Talk To Him?

But why do the teen years so often coincide with dangerous or reckless behavior?

There’s a long-standing debate about whether reckless adolescent behavior stems from nature or nurture, and it seems that it’s likely a combination of the two.

Parenting teens who display reckless behavior can be tough! When you’re certain that your teen should know better than to do the crazy things that they’re doing, there’s no simple answer in how to respond. Many parents find themselves turning to military schools or boot camps to try to knock some sense into their teens, but those schools don’t usually have the best long-term effects. They might get the teen to straighten up and think through the consequences of their actions while at school, but that doesn’t help much once they’re back in the real world.

Teens who engage in extremely reckless behavior often see greater long-term success from the therapeutic approach used by trained counselors. Learning to think through their actions and take on more responsibility is hard for many teens. The counselors at Sundance Canyon Academy work with each student to create a therapy plan designed to target their behavior.

Why do teens engage in reckless behavior?

Before talking to your teen about their reckless behavior, it’s essential to understand why they’re acting the way they are. Numerous studies have shown that adolescence (the period between hitting puberty and reaching adulthood) is fraught with more reckless behavior than the child or adult years.

Is it simply hormones, or is it something more?

The short answer is: it’s something more.

Though hormones are indeed raging and adolescents experience all sorts of mental and physical changes throughout their teen years, their behavior is influenced by more than just hormones.

As kids hit puberty, their focus in life starts to shift away from family and towards independence. This shift is excellent in that it begins to prepare them for adulthood away from their parents, but it’s a weird t