In the summer of 1996, The Frontline Documentary The Lost Children of Rockdale County investigated what happens when teenagers did not have enough supervision from their parents at home. The documentary took a place in the town of Conyers that is located 15 miles East of Atlanta. In this town, the majority of these teenagers come from wealthy families of a middle class. They did not seem to suffer from economic problems because their parents spend most of their time away from home working. Since they did not have anyone who paid attention or controlled them, they took advantage of their freedom in attending more parties, drinking, or having sex at an early age. Many of these events occurred because they were looking for something to do on the…
Even as a young adult, one must have such relations in order to be guided on a path to success. Parents strive to search for the best ways to raise happy and healthy children and are often concerned if their children are using drugs. However, research backed by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) shows that parents play a critical role in preventing the use of drugs in children. When I was reading “Sonny’s Blues,” I wondered if Sonny’s life would be different if his family had still been watching him. I realized that Sonny lacked a loving family, and therefore turned to drugs. That is why I believe that children need to strong family support and thorough education at school to warn and prevent against harmful…
Couches parents openly admitted that their son had access to drugs and alcohol at an early age. “He was allowed to drive to his private school when he was 13. He often stayed by himself or with friends, largely unsupervised, at his family's second home,” said the Chicago Tribune.” Stated Luthar Barry, who has spent about 20 years studying and documenting the growth of dysfunction among affluent youth writes in the great debate, “It would be foolish to allow an absurd effort to minimize one teenager’s responsibility for a horrific tragedy to obscure growing evidence that we have a significant and growing crisis on our hands.” She claims that “The children of the affluent are becoming increasingly troubled, reckless, and self-destructive.”…
Having to deal with addicted parents is immensely challenging for teens. Aside from having to deal with school, friends, and other things, some teens also have to deal with addicted parents. It is an obstacle for them to balance their school and family lives because instead of receiving support from their parents, they actually have to depend on themselves. It is all up to them to tend to their own needs on what is supposed to be their parents duties and responsibilities. This make them to not trust their own parents and even other people. Self-isolation is also a problem of teens who come from dysfunctional families, because they do not rely and trust others. In other cases, some teens follow the footprints of their parents and engage in illegal…
With colossal amounts of information for young adults regarding issues that these individuals face in their everyday life, it is hard to comprehend why they are still making unwise choices. The poem, “Hash for Cash” (Gina Higgins) exceptionally portrays a young adult who is “stoned to the eyebrows” (Hash for Cash) because he or she has chosen to do drugs and irresponsible alcohol usage. These individuals may have heaps of excuses for why these individuals first got involved, but ultimately it was in their hands to refuse the urge of experimenting this new substance. The reason being that they knew about its consequences −that would later take is in command of the person’s life. Subsequently “studies seem a waste of time”(Hash for Cash) and alas for most of these individuals, “reality [becomes]…
What teenagers do have is the power to create status systems and symbols that not only frustrate adults, but also hinder learning and maturing. Ironically, parents, educators, and businesses are, unintentionally, major contributors to these outcomes. Put simply, while teenagers wield little economic and political power, they can control and evaluate one another. Teenagers do this through a series of accepted norms such as clothes and style, speech and language, including body language, music tastes, money, who and how often one dates and/or hooks up, and various accessory items such as one’s car or phone.…
In the article entitled, “A Generation Struggling: Rich Kids are Losing,” Dr. Brian Carr asserts that children of the wealthy Americans demonstrate problems adjusting to society as adults. First, Carr claims that it is more common to see worse crimes from the wealthy than from the poor. The author mentioned the lack of communication between parents and kids is one of the reasons why teenagers break laws and parent’s rules. In addition he points out that teenagers gets pressure from successful parents, and how strict they’re on grades. Moreover, he emphasizes that these kids will one day become our leader and that is a threat to our society. Finally, Carr concludes that we need to focus on who we are and not what we…
Gregston wrote an article titled “Pushing Back Against a Teen Culture of Entitlement”. Gregston has many years of experience dealing with adolescents and families. He is an author, speaker, and radio host. Along with this, he is the founder of a residential counseling center for troubled teens. The main purpose of the article is to bring awareness of teen culture entitlement. As for the thesis, the author indicates various ways of how a parent can put an end to the teen behavior. Based upon his claims, Gregston's main arguments is everyone is born selfish and narcissistic. Furthermore, he claims the parents have allowed their children to act upon the sense of entitlement with no means of consequences. In brief summarization, Stone organizes his article in a way for him to state his claim, present reasoning, and then follow up with a solution.…
Teenagers, though they have almost crossed the threshold into adulthood, are still immature and irresponsible. Ergo, they need to be treated accordingly. In 2002, forty-one percent of…
Nonetheless, in your article you have declared that teenagers do some foolish things. I truly understand that teenagers makes some thoughtless mistakes and can’t yet think straight however I can assure money takes a huge part in all of the problems the world faces till this very day with the cause of poverty and economically harassed parents who have to work late nights to pay for new school uniforms that eternally need replacing as teenagers mature and hit puberty, without teenagers realizing it can lead them to serious misconceptions and making bad decisions at the heat of the moment.…
As an American, it is notable that social status plays a vital role in why juveniles embark into the realm of substance abuse. When children aren’t accepted by their peers, they tend to lash out and try things to make their peers accept them, or hide in a corner and not seek any help because they want to be left alone (Siegel & Welsh, 2009). Social disorganization plays another vital role in why juveniles resort to substance abuse. Because the…
PARA. 1: There are approximately one in four children in the United States that is exposed to alcohol abuse or alcohol dependence in the family. While there are other children living in families in which there is illicit drug abuse. Evidence shows that children who have experiences with parents who have drug or alcohol problems tend to have behavioral problems or abuse either substance themselves. (Center for Substance Abuse Prevention, 2003) Children with an addicted parent are also at a higher-than-average risk for problems in school. Some effects that are caused by having parents like these are emotional disturbances such as depression, and anxiety. When children grow up in a home that is unstable, or where they witness their parents under the influence of alcohol or drugs it can scar a child and cause emotional damage as well (Sheahan, 2008). Children with an addicted parent or parents also have a high risk of dropping out of school early due to indirect drug exposure that causes effects on the ability to learn effectively. In some cases it causes learning disabilities. Additionally, children may develop mental health problems that cause them to lose interest in their education (Sheahan, 2008). In one study, 41% of addicted parents reported that at least one of their children repeated a grade in school, 19% were involved…
To have known so many people that have struggled with drug addiction in their teenage years it has become very apparent what a vital time in one’s life it is to know the dangers of abusing drugs as a teenager. Even though not all teens abuse drugs, it is an epidemic in the United States because more teens are turning to drugs to escape or use out of boredom. Take my younger brother for instance; he has struggled with drug addiction from the time he was a teenager into his early twenties. My brother Matthew started off smoking pot and drinking socially out of boredom. Then he found the drug crack cocaine to escape from reality as his world came crashing down around him. Once he found that drug he went overboard and started stealing electronics and pawning them for money to buy his drugs. From there he would also beg people for money and obtain it to get his fix. He would clean up for about a week at a time but would fall right back into it. He would blast his music in his room while he was high on drugs. He would also disappear for days at a time while on a drug binge. After stealing everything in my mother’s house my mother finally committed him to a drug rehabilitation center. The first one failed. The second one failed. Matthew just could not get off the drugs. He to this day struggles with drug addiction, and he is now twenty four. However Matthew is just one of many with stories like these. Let us look at how many others are a part of this vicious cycle known as drug abuse among teens.…
There is an evident link between juvenile drug use and delinquency. A 2008 study explored the connection between delinquency and the use of nonmedical prescription drugs in teens. As prescription drug abuse is on the rise in America its abuse has not left out a crucial group of people; adolescents. “The findings of this study indicate that nonmedical prescription drug use is significantly associated with self-reported delinquency as well as self-reported arrest” (Ford, 2008). The article discusses the sociological and psychological contributors to delinquency and drug use while focusing on the new trend of prescription drug use. The abuse of prescription drugs as well as other illicit drugs is usually triggered by social and psychological disorders that are only worsened by the drug use. “Delinquency and substance use are both based on a common set of risk factors, for example low self-control” (Ford, 2008).…
According to one study, poverty is the main cause of many problems teens encounter, including crime among adolescents: “Poverty is so strongly connected to nearly everything adults think is wrong with "kids today"—murder, violent crime, unintended pregnancy, AIDS, smoking, dropping out of school—that it dwarfs every other factor” (Males 1). Because the rates of poverty are constantly increasing, so are the rates of juvenile crime. Teens who were raised in poverty-filled families believe that they can take care of themselves. If they need something, they will do whatever is necessary to get it- which, in most cases, means that they will steal it. If they cannot afford to buy it, most of the time that does not mean they will not get it. Also, if they think that they need money, they will go to extreme measures to get it, including selling drugs and other illegal substances. Teens who experienced poverty as children will do anything necessary to have money and the things that they want because their parents did not have the means to get the things for them. Poverty and teen crime go…