These parents are easy marks because:
1. They are in a state of panic. They feel they have no choice. They are willing to try anything; even dangerous things.
Their judgement is clouded.
2. Faulty logic. They fall for the rationale behind the tough love approach; break them down and build them up.
3. Faulty logic, again. They listen to Dr. Phil and Dr. Oprah and believe they are witnessing scientifically valid therapy.
4. They do no real research. If they did, they would find the faults with number 2 and 3 quickly. If they did the research, they would find sites like this one. Instead, they listen to ed-cons and program parents.
5. Faulty logic, yet again. If they do any research at all, they choose to ignore the warnings about these programs and choose to believe that the naysayers are all disgruntled teenagers who are lying. They ignore the very real logic that if there is any doubt whatsoever, the program is not a valid candidate. They choose to ignore the negative press, blaming the press instead of evaluating the issues being reported.
6. They have failed at parenting and are now passing the buck. Giving up and passing the buck is just one more failing. They have probably tried everything and claim it did not work. There are dozens of books on parenting written by unqualified hacks that claim to reveal the 'secret' to good parenting. These books are filled with bad advice. They tried these things, half-heartedly and failed. They blame the book instead of themselves.
7. They say therapy failed, when in fact, they never heeded the therapist's instructions or only half-heartedly tried.
8. They believe they are doing the right thing for the teen, and that they have the right to do this. They view their kids as property. They falsely believe they can control another individual, and have a right to.
9. They have more money than brains. They buy a solution.
10. Basically, as all of the above suggest, they are gullible. They have fallen for a scam just like those poor saps who send money to Nigeria in the hopes of getting millions in return; like those people that buy into those get rich fast programs they sell on infomercials on TV.
I don't blame the parents. I think they are desperate and grasping at straws to 'save' their teenager. They are ripe to buy into any solution that can be sold to them. The people who sell these programs are the real criminals. They know exactly what they doing and how to get rich at it. Not only are they capable of selling these programs to desperate parents, but they sell the tough love concept to a non-thinking society, and to public officials that use the slogans to support their offices. They are cold, cynical, and sadistic.
The sad part is that the teenagers are the victims. First they are the victims of abusive and/or incompetent parents, then they are the victims of the programs. They have no rights, no recourse, no voice. Many are too young and naive to even understand how wrong the whole game is and they, like their parents, are gullible and come to believe that it is all their fault and the programs are right.
