On 2005-06-16 16:07:00, Anonymous wrote:
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On 2005-06-16 15:51:00, Anonymous wrote:
"ginger i know its hard for you to understand but chris was so different as a child and will probably not like me posting this. He was what most people would call a computer geek writing programs at age 8, he went to a very spiritfilled church and didnt even have a girlfriend till he went away to prep school. he left a kid with short hair who went on all his church trips and was great friends with his pastor tj then i get this call from his prep school, i would have bet in a million years he would have never done drugs, there are no words for how shocked i was. In my day all of the information was pot was the gateway to the really hard stuff i have never tried drugs, smoked and i dont drink and i didnt in my teen years at christophers age i wanted to go on a missions trip in mexico and the only person i knew on drugs ruined his life totally. I wanted to protect chris so that he would be able to make his dreams come true and live a happy life. I was afraid that he would go down a path that could lead to death and i wanted to protect him and i wasnt the person to try and help him because i have zero understanding of why anyone would do drugs. As for it being considered normal teenage behavior that was not my reality none of my friends kids were going that route or at least they didnt say so. Yesterday chris saw batman and there isnt a day in his life i dont support him but i dont want him to make decisions that could ruin his life . We talk everyday and i have never turned my back on him andi have the right not to support what i think is wrong but in the end he will decide what becomes of his life."
Well, you picked a great place to send him. A place filled with kids with alcohol and drug problems and very little supervision. Good choice lady. He probably learned more about drugs there than he would have had you left him where he was. From my experience, kids will "experiment" with drugs like marijuana or alcohol or cigarets. Doesn't mean they are hardened criminals that need to be put in some place like Whitmore. Most kids that have functional families will get pretty much back on the right track. It's the very, very FEW that follow that goody-two-shows path in their teens.
Reality check, Mary. You seem to live in a steril bubble."
Yep, I totally agree Ginger.
What Mary (and many other parents) don't seem to understand is that putting their child in a "controlled environment" like Whitmore, WWASPS, CEDU, won't cure their child of adolescence. It will simply coerce them into "loving" the program as a means of survival and/or a condition of reclaiming their freedom and of course, their parent's love and respect.
Most teenagers can and do navigate safely through adolescence WITHOUT being locked up in a private, money-making institution.
That's a fact ... no matter what the ed cons, program referral agents or other parents tell you.
Just because you CAN afford to keep your child under lock and key doesn't make it right.
