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Boot camps are designed after basic army training boot camp. Similar to military schools for boys, the purpose of a boot camp for troubled teens is to break down the struggling youth who attend and instill some discipline and attitude change within.
It is a last ditch attempt to scare your child straight. Boot camps, specialty boarding schools, therapists, military schools, group homes are all established to help troubled teens. If your child is out of control, he may be headed down a dead-end street in life: trouble with the law, a criminal record, an inability to get a good job, etc
Today, many parents find the idea of short-term alternative of military-style juvenile boot camps appealing. Before you send your child to a juvenile boot camp, ask yourself if this is truly the treatment your struggling teen needs.
There is more than one type of boot camp. Some are state-run substitutes for juvenile jail. Some are privately run "get tough" camps where the "guards" enforce strict rules, some of them simply there for no other reason than to challenge the student to follow the rules or break them, force physical exertion and generally shake up the child's perception of reality.
The purpose is to attempt to regain control of your teen's life before desperate measures are needed (like sending your teen to Boot Camp).
Boot Camps are often short-term; however, long-term boot camps have increased in popularity for their ability to help defiant adolescents improve their behavior at home and school.
These juvenile boot camps usually have a military type structure with a lot of screaming from big men with of marching and exercising. This appeals to a lot of parents with troubled teens because they have done a lot of screaming at their teen and it doesn't seem to work, so they think that someone bigger and meaner looking will force their teen to straighten up.
Whether a child is able to handle this type of environment is actually a question that must be considered before a parent puts a struggling teen in the midst of these intense drill instructors and within the environment that does not permit any outside contact for a prescribed period of time.
These types of programs are designed as a quick fix and may help a struggling teen with respect, obedience and appreciation. However, they are not a good long term option for teens that need help. Recidivism rates suggest that they are not a good solution for long term change
The most important thing that you can do as the parent is decide which type of program, facility, or organization is best suited to deal with the issues facing your teen.
Many parents know they have a troubled teen on there hands, as these warning signs will help tell. The question many parents have is "What do I do!" or "what are my options?
