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Troubled Teen Assessments
When a teen begins on a downward spiral things can deteriorate rather quickly. It might be helpful to take an assessment of your troubled teen before things get too bad. Here are a few questions that can help as you try to determine the severity of your teen’s behavior.
Have your teens grades dropped? Is your teen more irritable than normal? Is your teen spending more and more time away from home? Has your teen found new friends? Has your teen started smoking or vaping? Is your teen using marijuana in their vape device? Are things missing in your household? Is your teen becoming defiant to any house rules? Is your teen looking at porn on their phone or computer? Do you have a feeling that things are not going well for your teen? Is your teen talking about suicide or comments like, “what is the use”? Is your teen spending more time in the Principles office? Is your teen in trouble with the law?
Not All Questions Are of Equal Importance
If you can answer yes to at least 5 of these questions your teen may be in need of help? All of the questions are not of equal weight in the troubled teen assessment. If your teen is exhibiting any signs of suicide you should seek some type of professional help immediately. Some of the other items on the list may not be as serious, especially when taken on their own. A teen may have new friends and be acting more irritable than usual, and not be in any type of trouble. This can make assessing your teens situation difficult to ascertain. You should get professional help if you are concerned.
What is Your Teen Really Doing?
Another factor in deciding what is going on with your defiant teen is the amount of time you are actually with them. Most parents work full time jobs, this takes them away from their teen the majority of the time. Given the limited amount of time you have to spend with them, you probably only have a partial picture of what they are really doing? Of course it’s not practical to have someone follow them, but there are ways to check into what’s happening in their lives. One great source is parents of your teens friends. It is good if you and other parents can create a network to fill in the blanks when your teen is away from home. If all of the parents of your teens friends work together this can accomplish a lot.
Teens At School
Parents that are involved in their teens curricular activities are much more likely to hear bits and pieces of what the teen is doing, at least at school. Some teachers will also have an idea of changes that might be happening in your teens life. Teachers can also notice if your child has changed friends. They may even be helpful enough to let you know if the new friends your teen is hanging with are positive or negative. Educators spend more time with your teen than you are able to, and can be a great source of information.