Troubled Teen Boot Camps

Troubled teen boot camps used to be an option many parents were interested in. With children being hurt and even killed, they have pretty well faded away. The thought behind the boot camp was associated with an older generation viewing a military style program as a way to instill discipline in teens. In the 60’s and early 70’s the military used to take troubled teen even some with legal troubles. The judge would offer the military option instead of prison time. This is why some people from that generation look to the military when they are faced with a troubled defiant teen. The concept was good but something was lost in the translation. The problem could be the background of the teens that were placed in the boot camps. For the most part the children being placed in the troubled teen boot camps were spoiled brats that refused to do anything they were asked. This type of attitude does not work in most homes and definitely in the public school system. Teachers and school administration have little patience for children that have no respect

Legal Problems of Troubled Teen Boot Camps

The government has had to step in and regulate the methods of many teen boot camps. Everyone is in agreement that children should not be abused, but that is where the agreement ends with many people. Some are still of the old adage, ‘spare the rod spoil the child” mentality. The problem is that the typical troubled teen knows more about his rights than his parents do. In today’s society a child that feels he or she is being abused will call the authorities. This is not bad if the child is really being abused. If the parents are trying to reasonably discipline their child, sometimes the government intervention does more harm than good. The problem lies within the definition of ‘child abuse”. If 100 people were surveyed, there would probably be about 50 definitions of what it means. This is also a generation problem much like the thinking of the military being an answer for a troubled teen. Many states clearly specify what a boot camp can and can’t do, but there are schools that operate without proper licensure and those that are licensed as Christian Schools, or Christian Boot Camps. This simple change in title may remove the need for licensure, or diminish how much control the state really has over the entity.

State Run Troubled Teen Boot Camps

Some people may think that if the boot camp were state run is should be ok, but many of the problems with troubled teen boot camps originated in “state run” boot camps. One of the horrific scenes of drill sergeants kicking a boy on the ground were filmed at a state run boot camp. These camps were associated with the correctional system. The thinking behind the boot camp portion was similar to that explained above. If a child does not comply with any type of authority, they need to be forced to obey. The youth of today are bright and very strong willed. This makes a challenge for any type of change to take place. The type of help that seems to be the most effective treats teens with respect, dignity, and consistency. Nothing seems to drive a teen more crazy than getting two or three answers for the same question. If everyone working with the teen is on the same page, things seem to proceed fairly smoothly.