More And More Teens Are Contemplating Suicide
It is very scary for a parent when their child says they are considering taking their own life. It is a situation that they can not treat lightly. It is always wise to seek medical help if you feel your child is serious about harming them self. This is a problem that you would much rather error on being too cautious than not cautious enough. It may require checking the defiant teen into a psychiatric hospital for a few days to determine if they are a serious threat to them self or anyone else.
There are some thoughts to consider when you are working through any type of suicidal tendency. When a child is checked into a psychiatric hospital they may learn new techniques to manipulate parents and create more expense and trauma for them. This can wear a parent down, and even work in the troubled teens favor. Parents will usually try to blame the suicidal problem on themselves. This can create an unhealthy situation where the child begins calling the shots and telling the parent what to do.
In summary there is no clear cut answer that fits every family's situation. The most important thing to remember is that it is nothing would be worse than having to bury your child. With that obvious thought in mind proceed with caution as you seek medical help. The professionals that evaluate your teen will be able to help you understand what the difference is between a real suicide attempt, and one that is done for manipulation purposes. Work closely with psychiatrist or psychologist and you should be able to come up with a plan to keep your child safe. It may be necessary to place your child in troubled teen boarding school to keep them safe until they are ready to move past this serious game they are playing with you.
No Motivation/Lack Of Interest
A troubled that lacks discipline will not only struggle at school but will also struggle when they enter the work force. Discipline especially self discipline is very important to the success of all youth. Lack of discipline is a problem for a regular teen but when coupled with the behaviors of a troubled teen the problem is magnified. A student lacking discipline will typically not complete assignments without constant monitoring and follow through by parents and teachers.
Trying to instill discipline in a teen may be next to impossible. The key is finding something that motivates the undisciplined youth. Some are motivated purely by praise, while others are motivated by monetary rewards. Of course you can not pay your child to do everything they need to do. It does not hurt to help them understand that in life if you want something you will need to work for it. With the end result being a job and responsibilities that accompany adulthood it is important to try everything possible to help motivate the undisciplined youth.
Lack of self control is a troublesome problem that brings with it additional problems not faced by teens without it. Lack of self control in a troubled teen girl is even more dangerous because of the risks she faces due to sexual lack of self control. The troubled teen girl who lacks self control will soon be labeled as easy causing her self esteem to drop. This behavior also increases the odds of her becoming pregnant or contracting STD's. In difficult social world that is built around high school a girl labeled easy may unjustly be kept out of a circle of unlabeled similarly behaving youth even though they may engaging in the same activities. Self control like self discipline is something that is important for any well adjusted adult to possess. Without this quality a teen will go into adulthood missing one of the key elements necessary to succeed.
Lack of motivation is something that will also keep a child from succeeding in life. The key is to find something that will motivate your teen. Everyone has different needs which make the answer of what motivates a teen different to every teen. If a parent can discover early what motivates a youth they will be able to use the motivation to help move along. Many parents have found that once they figure out what motivates their teen the teen changes. This makes it difficult for a parent but it is safe to say that everyone is motivated by something. If you have figured out what motivates your teen and they change their mind and are no longer interested you will have to start over.
Parents have had success taking things from teens that they are not required to provide as part of their parenting responsibilities. A parent for example is not required to provide an automobile, a cell phone, an I pod, a complete wardrobe etc. Most teens are motivated by physical comforts they have become accustomed to. Oddly enough some teens will be motivated by acceptance by their parents.