The pros and cons of boot camps for troubled teens

Many parents when faced with a troubled teen are at a loss with what to do with their children.  It can be a hard pill to swallow for a parent to realize that they need outside help in getting their troubled teen the necessary help they need to make them better members of society.  One such option to help straighten out troubled teens is boot camps.  These programs are styled after the military and are designed to bring back structure and discipline in disobedient and troubled teens.  This is usually brought about through strenuous physical activity and military discipline.  By emphasizing structure and discipline, troubled teens will hopefully be straightened out and given the confidence necessary to make positive changes in their lives.   

While the basic tenets of a boot camp for troubled teens are the same, there are many different variations to the root cause.  All of them will help a trouble teen understand the importance of discipline, respect, and authority.  These things will help a trouble teen become more acceptable to achieving success at school and having a strong relationship with his or her parents.  Some boot camps for troubled teens are state run though there are some that are privately run.  The state run ones are usually part of the juvenile detention system.  The length of time a trouble teen needs to stay at a boot camp can vary.  The long-term boot camps have an increased recognition for their capability to help defiant teens develop better behavior at homes and schools.

While everything you have read about boot camps so far sounds good, you need to realize that this method of helping troubled teens rarely produces long-lasting results.  The types of programs are designed as quick fixes and may help struggling teens to only a certain extent. However, they are not good long-term alternatives for troubled teens. As a matter of fact, the programs and activities at boot camps for troubled teens can turn a hillock of problem into a mountain of disaster.

These boot camp style programs are usually ineffective for teens who have developed bad habits over a long phase of time. Once the teens are out of the boot camps they return to their old behaviors with a vengeance. This is because there are no internal transformations through forced interferences. A major disadvantage of these boot camps is that there is no psychological involvement to deal with the fundamental emotional and behavioral problems of these troubled teens.