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| Helping Parents of Troubled Teens and Christian Boarding Schools |
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Abundant
Life Preparatory
The Typical ALP Family
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The typical parents of the ALP student love their children with all their hearts. Due to this deep love, the ALP parents are willing do anything for their children, even to sacrifice everything to save their child from the current downward spiral. Most of the ALP parents are Christians, people of faith, or at some point in their life they walked in the Christian faith. In choosing ALP as the boarding school for their troubled teen, the typical ALP parent believes that a perfect combination of strong academic support, discipline/structure, leadership training, therapy, and the teaching of Christian principles are the best approach to bring about a changed heart.
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Abundant Life Preparatory |
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Programs for both |
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Obviously, if parents are thinking about sending their child to a boarding school for troubled teens, a problem must exist. If there were no problems, they would not be considering an out-of-home placement (boarding school) for their child. Still, the question of “why” lingers. “Why us?”, “Why is this happening?” they cry. Many people surrounding these families ask the same question. Frequently, the “troubled teen” has developed his/her problems over a period of time and it will take some time to turn those situations around. The solution will require some change in both the teen and the parents. The typical ALP family has come to understand that if they want total family restoration, it will have to include the training of the entire family.
In many family situations, we find that one, or both, of the parents are “rescuers”. This means that at least one of the parents (soft parent) is taking on a great deal of the responsibility for the child’s poor choices. The child rarely feels the effect of their poor choice because the parent rescues them from the consequences of their actions. Hence, the child continues to make poor choices. The message the rescuing parent sends the child is, “I don’t like what you are doing but I will bail you out.” If the other parent is the “hard parent”, they will try to compensate for the rescuing parent by exerting harsh external control, only making the problem worse.
Here is the key problem . . . if the parents are not in one accord on everything, as it pertains to the family, the children, and the discipline, the child will find the way to create a chasm between the parents, thus allowing strife to enter the marriage and home. If the parents are not in one mind on all areas regarding “parenting”, then the child will most likely find a way to drive a wedge between them, dividing and provoking the parents to turn against one another. In the meantime, the child continues to push the envelope and act out of control. If one parent tends to be soft (inconsistent, and taking on the responsibility of the consequence) and the other parent is hard (holds a tough line and is harsh in regard to discipline), there will be conflict that will make trouble for the entire family. There needs to be a solution, which will necessitate change in both the parents and the child.
The typical ALP parent has chosen Abundant Life Preparatory as the right school because we offer a great combination of emotional and spiritual growth, therapy, athletics, and strong academics to restore the child to prosperity.
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TROUBLED
TEEN RESOURCES