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A fundamental difference between ‘commercial’ boot camps, and traditional military establishments of the same name, can be summed up in a single word- willingness. New military recruits know it’s a precursor, a necessary step to becoming something they are willing and eager to become-a soldier. Conversely, the ‘inmates’ at teen boot camps aren’t there voluntarily; usually they’ve been sent as an alternative to serving jail time, or they’ve been brought by parents at the end of their tolerance for the teen’s behavior.
So much of what drives a parent to seek out a correctional program is based in perceived helplessness; they believe they’ve run out of options, and nothing else they’ve tried has worked. What they don’t understand is while harsh and heavily monitored environments of that nature do affect some positive change in some teens, when it comes to tending to the long term needs of the individual, these programs can be sadly lacking.
The majority of programs are structured to employ the same rigid discipline and heavy emphasis on physical conditioning and exercises as the military does, in order to shift the mentalities and behaviors of those teens who’ve had troubles with the law, anti-social issues, troubles regarding their parents, drug abuse, and/or a variety of other disruptive behaviors.
In the military, drill instructors and trainers are working with raw young men and women who ardently wish to become soldiers; yet they routinely have to discipline, chastise, and berate their young charges.
When dealing with troubled teens however, who are there involuntarily, and who know they’ll be freed afterward, it is an infinitely different situation. Most corrective camp organizations boast a specific period of time within which they will allegedly be able to ‘turn your child around’ or get them back on track and it is not at all uncommon to see the phrase ‘scare them straight’ employed.
But, for a positive paradigm shift within a ‘troubled’ teenager, they have to want to experience a shift on some level. When this is not the case, they will ultimately adopt whatever strategy works best to complete their time, in most cases not even looking at the original issues that originally precipitated the behavior or mindset that set them on the course they eventually chose.
Relating to someone other than themselves; developing the skills necessary to communicate honestly with themselves and others in order to get at the roots of their behaviors and issues- these are among the things that a ‘troubled’ teenager may need instituted in order to actually affect change. Also, sending the teenager away can have the effect of allowing the parents not to look at what role they may have played in the way the situation has unfolded.
So while teen boot camps can look like an immediate solution to parents searching for a quick remedy, searching for other ways of dealing, like specialty military schools, or treatment centers, or even youth counseling, where lasting impact is the focus instead of instant gratification, could make a serious difference in their overall situations, and the transformation of their teenager. Finding out about the options could put additional, effective tools into your hands.
Discover why teen boot camps may not work for many teenagers now in our complete overview of everything you need to know about how and where to find the best Teen boot camp in the United States.
Technorati Tags: family, mental health, parenting, Parenting Teenagers, Teenager
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