I knew a kid...

[Paul St. John]

I knew all sorts of kids growing up..

I knew of kids who would wear all black and talk about death all the time.. I knew a few classified by many as suicidal.

I knew kids who did massive amounts of drugs....

I knew kids who got into fights all the time.. I m trying not be too specific here, but I have over like 20 people in mind....

I knew people who had no friends, and were always by themselves...

All these people had parents who stuck with them, and did not send them away.  They are successful today.. Very many of them are artists.. Some are not artists, but work in the art field.  One is a pro-fighter.  Some of these people's parents has been urged to send them here or there, but they didn t.

All these people, in the end, grew up, went into society, and turned what was unique about them, into a benefit.  I can only imagine if they were put into programs that told them that their identity is actually just an image, and then had that "image" systematically broken down.

I also know a lot of people who did go to programs, and for all of them, it is an issue. It's like a thing that never goes away.. a point in time stolen from a person's life, surrounded by people who actually are in fact, indeed brain-washed, and who would like nothing better then for you to join them.

Now, I am just trying to widen perspective here.  Of course, not every thing works out great just by letting things run their course. I also know of far more people then I would like who never seen their 30's.  Ironically, none of them were ever recommended for a program to the best of my knowledge.

Paul

[maruska]

I could not agree with you more!
When I look at the students of the University where I work..well half of them would probably qualify for a program:)...maybe because it is a Performig arts university:))  
When I look at my own children, how they matured and how our relationship is getting better day by day...they know they can trust me, because I never betrayed their trust. That is a strong foundation.

Parents should realize that being a parent is not walk in a park, it is the hardest job ever. Sometimes you would be desperate, sometimes you would feel you are losing your child , but do not believe anybody can do a better job then you!
And the reward is priceless...

[Paul St. John]

I could not agree with you more!
When I look at the students of the University where I work..well half of them would probably qualify for a program:)...maybe because it is a Performig arts university:))  
When I look at my own children, how they matured and how our relationship is getting better day by day...they know they can trust me, because I never betrayed their trust. That is a strong foundation.

Parents should realize that being a parent is not walk in a park, it is the hardest job ever. Sometimes you would be desperate, sometimes you would feel you are losing your child , but do not believe anybody can do a better job then you!
And the reward is priceless...

Now, that, in my opinion, is a beautiful fucking post!

[walkedthere]

Its all true.  There are lots of people who used drugs, ran around, did this or that, didn't get sent to "programs", and have turned out just fine.  There are folks who have gone to "programs" and can't seem to get past that.  And there are enough who did screw around when younger and haven't lived to see their 30th birthday.

There surely are many who get sent to a "program" because their parents don't want to be bothered with the harder side of parenting.  But not all.  For some, a new environment - and often a truly drug-free one - were critical to restoring opportunity to their life.  That, along with help in restoring their "vision".  Does it take 2 years? Rarely.  But it takes more than 2 weeks.

[Anne Bonney]

it really is.  Look at some of the great artists of the last couple of centuries.  What would have happened to their souls had they been locked up and mindfucked?

Parenting is hard!!!  Adolescence is hard!!!  Nobody get out unscathed.  :soapbox:


btw Maruska......I second Paul.  Beautiful post!!  :tup:

[Oz girl]

As I regularly drank underage and sampled pot and exctacy and also had the most obnoxious boyfriend in the country. I too would have qualified for a program. Aside from these things i was actually pretty nerdy. I didnt even grow up to be that interesting in that i am not some kind of bohemian artist. My point. Just about any kid is potentially a program kid because they dont knock anyone back for problems that are too mild.

[SUCK IT]

I knew a kid....
growing up who seemed normal enough. His parents found him hanging in his closet one afternoon, dead at 13.

I knew a kid....
started drinking and partying and ended up dying in  DUI car crash while in high school.

I knew a kid...
did great in school and college until his father found him OD'd on heroin just before graduation in their house, they had no idea their child even had a drug problem.

Perhaps these people would be alive today if their parents recognized the signs, however insignificant seeming, and got them the help they so desperately needed.

[Che Gookin]

As I regularly drank underage and sampled pot and exctacy and also had the most obnoxious boyfriend in the country. I too would have qualified for a program. Aside from these things i was actually pretty nerdy. I didnt even grow up to be that interesting in that i am not some kind of bohemian artist. My point. Just about any kid is potentially a program kid because they dont knock anyone back for problems that are too mild.

Oh you were a gangster weren't you?
 :roflmao:

[Pile of Dead Kids]

[Anne Bonney]

I knew a kid....
growing up who seemed normal enough. His parents found him hanging in his closet one afternoon, dead at 13.

I knew a kid....
started drinking and partying and ended up dying in  DUI car crash while in high school.

I knew a kid...
did great in school and college until his father found him OD'd on heroin just before graduation in their house, they had no idea their child even had a drug problem.

Perhaps these people would be alive today if their parents recognized the signs, however insignificant seeming, and got them the help they so desperately needed.

Because extremes are always good examples of the populace and there is no gray area.


 

[Anne Bonney]

I like this one....

[photo man]

- Crack whore barbie -  :rocker:  :rocker:  :rocker:  :rocker:  :rocker:

[SUCK IT]

Because extremes are always good examples of the populace and there is no gray area.


 

The argument of this thread is that somebody knew kids who were troubled teens, but they grew out of it without the intervention of treatment programs. I am stating that I personally knew of three troubled kids who did not just grow out of it on their own, so that kind of blows the whole leave kids alone and they'll be fine argument out of the water. I know troubled kids who went to treatment and they are doing great now too, and don't complain about it like the extremists here. Actually they are very thankful and attribute to changing their ways for the better.

[Anne Bonney]

I am stating that I personally knew of three troubled kids who did not just grow out of it on their own, so that kind of blows the whole leave kids alone and they'll be fine argument out of the water. I know troubled kids who went to treatment and they are doing great now too, and don't complain about it like the extremists here. Actually they are very thankful and attribute to changing their ways for the better.

The argument of this thread is that somebody knew kids who were troubled teens, but they grew out of it without the intervention of treatment programs. so that kind of blows the whole "send 'em off to re-education camp" and they'll be fine argument out of the water. I know troubled kids who went to treatment and they are dead from abuse/neglect in programs such as associated with Aspen Ed and the like, or just walking wounded, and can't function due to their broken psyches. Actually they are devastated by what was done to them and attribute to the bonds of trust between parent and child being irrevocably broken.

Wanna go again?

[SUCK IT]

I know troubled kids who went to treatment and they are dead from abuse/neglect in programs such as associated with Aspen Ed and the like

You really knew a kid who is now dead because a treatment program murdered them? I would find that interesting, it certainly would give you more credibility in this argument than trying to equate a program that existed 30 years to today's modern contemporary programs.

or just walking wounded, and can't function due to their broken psyches.

People might take you more seriously if you avoid such strange terms as walking wounded. What does that mean exactly? It sounds like self pitying victimization to me, which is not healthy for anybody. Can you not function from your broken psyche? It seems you function just fine enough with your postings here and of course your life of beaches and boating, fun & sun. This is kind of insulting to your fellow "survivors", don't you think? Or do you promote people engage in self victimization as a form of life strategy?

Actually they are devastated by what was done to them and attribute to the bonds of trust between parent and child being irrevocably broken.

How overly dramatic, many people have problems with their family bonds and they never were involved in treatment centers. Most of the parents sending a kid to treatment already have broken bonds of trust, and treatment helps bring many families back together. This exact quote is probably how parents feel when their kid is being troubled and why they seek help in the first place, funny how that works.