Troubled Teen Help Directory

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Get practical parenting advice to help your child through adolescence. Articles and tips from experts in the field of child development and psychology. Learn about common parenting challenges on topics including communicating and motivating your teen, dealing with substance abuse, and coping with emotional or behavioral issues.

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• Breaking Parent and Teen Denial

  When a parent or teen is in denial about addiction, it is for a reason. Below are some of the main motivations for denial and how you can challenge any beliefs that might prevent your child from getting into recovery.

• What Is Tough Love?

  Although TOUGHLOVE ® is firmly rooted in psychological principles, it does not conduct therapy sessions. Rather, groups are parent-run and offer support to members as they determine and apply individual boundaries and limits to their children.

• 10 Tips for Raising Children of Character

  It is one of those essential facts of life that raising good children--children of character--demands time and attention. While having children may be doing what comes naturally, being a good parent is much more complicated.

• All I Do Is Nag, Nag, Nag

  Parents often engage in nagging techniques because they need their child to do something and because they believe their persistent requests, demands, reminders, and threats of negative consequences will influence them to do what they want. It's really important to understand how nagging affects everyone involved.

• At Risk Youth

  At Risk Youth strives to provide troubled adolescents and their parents with valuable information pertaining to issues that face todays youth. This site includes information about adolescents and the issues that they may be struggling with, including substance abuse, defiance, violence, weight management, learning disabilities, eating disorders, and other behavioral and emotional issues. At Risk Youth strives to provide parents with advice about effective treatment options.

• Is This Bad Attitude Really ODD?

  ODD, oppositional defiant disorder, is defined by therapists as a cluster of behaviors that include specific characteristics, which can be a particularly frustrating disorder, because your adolescent generally believes he or she has just cause to be so angry.

• MyChildToday.com

  MyChildToday.com offers advice for parents of babys, toddlers, tweens, and teens. They are a resource for parents with tips and articles about your child from toys, games and clothes to common issues for effective parenting.

• Parenting a Child Newly Diagnosed With ADHD

  Your task as a parent is to start building a comparable home structure that will create and support a way of life that rewards your child for consistent behavior. Recovery from ADHD means learning new skills and replacing old behaviors for all family members.

• Parenting Tips from Dr. Phil

  The Dr. Phil show features such topics as family, how to raise your children to be outstanding adults, and creating healthy family relationships. Dr. Phil has chosen programs like Copper Canyon Academy, Youth Care, SUWS, to help treat troubled teens.

• Parents Reduce Risky Driving by Teens

  The Checkpoints Programs central feature is a written agreement that parents and teens sign. The agreement limits teens driving under conditions that place them at increased risk for a crash. A supporting video and periodic newsletters explain the risks that new drivers face and reinforce the need for parents to limit their newly licensed teens driving under these risky conditions.

• Raising Good Citizens

  This article from Better Homes and Gardens Magazine will help you teach your children the "3 Rs" of good citizenship: Respect, Responsibility, and Resourcefulness.

• Raising Happy Kids

  Your job as a parent is to encourage and support your kids during their journeys toward self-respect and happiness. Learn how to raise happy kids with this article from Better Homes and Gardens Magazine.

• Re-establish Communication with Your Teen

  Whens the last time you and your teen really talked? If you cant remember, then its time to re-establish communication and rebuild a strong relationship with your son or daughter. Its not too late to start now.

• Successful Parenting

  Being a parent is an adventure. It's one of the most fulfilling and rewarding experiences in life  and one of the toughest. Even the most conscientious parent can feel overwhelmed when faced with unexpected challenges. New help is available in the form of an easy-to-read booklet from the NIH's National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD).

• Supporting Your Teen

  Supporting Your Adolescent: Tips for Parents was developed for the Family and Youth Services Bureau from the Administration on Children, Youth and Families; Administration for Children and Families; and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

• Take a Stand Lend a Hand Stop Bullying Now!

  The Take A Stand Lend A Hand Stop Bullying Now! campaign educates parents, teachers and children about bullying.

• Teaching Values

  Here are two good ways to convey to your children the importance of values such as compassion, respect for others, and honesty. Learn about teaching values with this article from Better Homes and Gardens Magazine.

• Teen Drug Help

  Teen Drug Help offers information on drugs and addiciton so parents can learn about ways to help their children.

• Teen Drug Help

  One of the most telling signs of a teen's increasing involvement with drugs is when drug use becomes part of the teen's daily life. Preoccupation with drugs can crowd out previously important activities, and the manner in which the teen views him or her self may change in unrealistic and inaccurate directions. Learn more about talking to teens about drug abuse and addiction.

• Teenagers and the Internet

  Most parents forget the cardinal rule when it comes to children and computers: they put the computer in the bedroom rather than in a common area, and lose their strongest defense against problematic use of the Internet. If you suspect your child has been using the Internet in an inappropriate manner, moving the computer into an area where they cannot hide their activities can help curb the temptation to break the rules.

• Teens and Lying

  Most parents know that angry feeling they get when they realize their teen is lying to them, but the child will simply not admit it when caught. If you are sure your child is lying, however, it is important to deal with the situation immediately by finding out why your teen feels compelled to be dishonest, discussing your feelings about the importance of trust and honest communication, and by making clear the consequences your teenager will face if you catch him or her lying in the future.

• Ten Mistakes Parents Make with Teens

  Learn about the ten mistakes parents make with their teenagers and how to avoid them.

• The National Character Education Centers

  The National Character Education Centers mission is to develop value driven respectful and responsible people by offering a clear model for reference points for each of the 7 core ethical virtues in our program.

• Tips for Parents of Underachieving Teens

  Find out tips to motivate your child and get him or her back on the right track.

• Whatever Happened to Manners?

  Recent reports find that eight out of every ten Americans believes that lack of respect and courtesy is a serious national problem, and six in ten said the problem is getting worse. Judith Martin, the New York Post etiquette columnist known as Miss Manners, believes that the breakdown of courtesy in our country has reached dangerous levels.

• When You Don't Like Your Teenager's Friends

  Read this article from MSN about how to deal with your teen's friends, especially if you don't approve.

• Why Is My Teen Sleeping So Much?

  Your once punctual child has become a perpetually tardy teenager. Whats wrong with her? Chances are, your teenager is not getting enough sleep. Find ways to help your teen get the sleep they need.