Preparing For The New Year With Troubled Teens At Home

Looking back at the past twelve months, you probably see a lot of conflict. When you have a troubled teenager in your home, every day feels like a fight, every night riddled with worry. As a new year approaches, you may feel burnt out and lacking hope for a better twelve months ahead. With the additional stress of the holidays, your emotional well being may be plummeting. You may even be considering more extreme measures to deal with the problem.

Don’t worry, it isn’t hopeless. You can have a better year with your child; think of this as a fresh start, a clean slate, and a chance to begin making the changes that will improve your teen’s behavior, and the life of your family. Chances are your teen is eager for such a shot, as well. They may not always seem as though they are impacted by their challenges in the same way you are, but you can be assured that they feel the sting of those actions. They are just out of control, and unable to get back on track alone.

Some Statistics On Modern Teen Behavior

The latest report of the lives of teens in America has been released. It gives us a picture of trends among the youth of the country, such as drug use, sexual activity, and violent crime. As you can see, some of those rates have dropped, while others have remained the same. Though we have to keep in mind that these figures are based on self reported data, and so many not be entirely accurate.

Unfortunately, what it also shows is that those rates are still very high among teens between 13 – 18. For example, marijuana use is now more common than tobacco use among US teens. Those who have teens who have struggled with negative behavior in the past are more likely to be within these reported groups of users, and so engage in other harmful activities.

Discussing this issue openly with your teen can be a great start to making better decisions in the coming year. Show them these statistics, and that drug use is declining as more information on the long term harm of chemical dependency becomes widely available. Show that both alcohol and marijuana are less popular among their peers. You may be surprised by the difference that fact makes.

Getting Through The Holidays

The holidays might be a particular source of stress for you. But it m