Cracked's "6 Shocking Realities of the Secret Troubled Teen Industry."

[laundry_queen]

21. I agree

if you think one of these places is a good way to solve your teen's 'behavioral' problems, then you shouldn't be allowed to raise kids.

It even makes me sadder to see this after watching a program here in Canada on the CBC the other night about a school for troubled kids that involved giving these kids the adrenaline rush they need (the premise is most troubled teens are hardwired to be addicted to danger and adrenaline). They took them on long, arduous but fun hiking trips, they did sports and a lot of fitness competitions, their classes were out in the mountains where they learned about heat and convection and cold etc. They learn that they can succeed and find great jobs doing what they love - one of their success stories was an extreme kayak-er guide who said he never knew he could choose that kind of career and thanks to the school, he's happy. One of the girls said now she was looking forward to doing things like skydiving and parasailing instead of stealing cars. It's not just physical stuff either - a therapist goes everywhere with them, so anytime a kid needs to talk or debrief, someone qualified is there. All the teens seemed thrilled to be in the program, but the sad part was there just wasn't enough funding for all the kids who needed it.

THAT is the kind of program that should be supported, not this bullshit 'tough love' stuff.