Parenting Newsletter Aspen Education Group

In this issue:
Teen Dating Violence Increases During Recession: Talk to Your Teen

Mount Bachelor Academy Can Help Your Struggling Student Become a Successful Scholar

Talking to Your Teen About Prescription Drug Use

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Call (866) 845-1391 to learn more about Aspen's programs for children, teens, and young adults.

Learn more about the advantages of Aspen's boarding schools for teens.

Aspen Ranch is a licensed residential treatment center located in Loa, Utah. The Ranch's nationally renowned equine therapy program is just one part of an intensive therapeutic milieu that facilitates positive change in troubled teens. The strong work ethic inherent on the Ranch is fundamental to cultivating the characteristics of responsibility, discipline, respect and teamwork.

Copper Canyon Academy offers a warm, nurturing environment for girls ages 13-17 that are in need of a structured therapeutic environment. The Copper Canyon program promotes emotional and academic growth for every student and gives families the reassurance that there is a wonderful future ahead for their daughter.

Turn-About Ranch is a place where old-time values such as hard work, honesty, respect, teamwork, and accountability are the standard. Teens thrive in the unique environment of this spirited working cow-and-horse ranch. The objective of Turn-About Ranch is to provide a hard-hitting, high-impact therapeutic program that will remold and turn around the lives of rebellious teens.

Call (866) 845-1391 to learn more about Aspen's programs for children, teens, and young adults.

Teen Dating Violence Increases During Recession: Talk to Your Teen

A recent increase in teen dating violence has been linked directly to the economic downturn, according to a report by The Family Violence Prevention Fund and Liz Claiborne Inc.

Among teens whose families have experienced economic problems in the past year, nearly half reported that they have witnessed domestic violence between their parents. The majority of those teens (67 percent) have experienced verbal, physical or sexual abuse in their own relationships, according to the report. Those teens also reported a 50 percent higher rate of dating violence compared to teens who haven't witnessed domestic violence between their parents.

Teen Dating Violence

"Families in economic distress are themselves experiencing higher rates of violence, and teens in those same households are also experiencing much higher rates of dating violence in their own relationships," Kiersten Stewart of The Family Violence Prevention Fund told CBS' The Early Show.

In addition to higher rates of abuse, teens are increasingly being harassed by e-mail or text messaging. About half of the teens surveyed said they have been controlled, threatened or pressured to do things against their will.

An Investment in Teen Dating Violence Prevention

Dating violence affects nearly 1.5 million high school students nationwide annually, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. And it's not just high school students who are being affected. In a recent study by the Multi-Site Violence Prevention Project, half of all 6th graders reported they are dating, and about 40 percent of them reported being victims of dating violence.

To address this issue, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and Blue Shield of California Foundation are investing $18 million in 11 communities across the country to identify and evaluate ways to stop dating violence and abuse before it starts. The Start Strong: Building Healthy Teen Relationships program aims to promote healthy relationships among 11- to14-year-olds through in-class curriculum, policy change, work with mentors and communications strategies.

Learn more about the importance of talking to your teen about dating violence >>

Turn-About Ranch Gives Kids a Second Chance in the Great Outdoors

Living in the country enjoying fresh air and nature can have a healing effect on those who suffer from a variety of disorders. Turn-About Ranch, a working youth ranch in Utah, has been successfully using that technique to help troubled teenagers for years.

Many of the teens who come to the residential treatment center, located in Utah's most scenic area, live in large urban cities such as Los Angeles and New York City. They may have never climbed to the top of a mountain range and looked down on a vista hundreds of miles across. They may have never lived intimately in nature, or have had to care for animals.

Teens ages 13-17 who attend Turn-About Ranch have any one of a number of diagnoses, including substance abuse, adjustment and anxiety disorders, bipolar disorder, depression, Opposition Defiant Disorder, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, and issues around attachment or eating. They may be acting out with such negative behaviors as promiscuity, running away, rebellion, poor academic performance, isolation and conflicts with authority.

Calming Effect of Ranch Life

Turn-About Ranch offers an entirely different environment and atmosphere for these troubled teens. At the ranch, they can remain in school and earn academic credits as they undergo daily psychotherapy with a team of trained professionals.

Learn more about benefits of living and working on a ranch >>

Talking to Your Teen About Prescription Drug Use

About 40 percent of teens believe that prescription medications are safer to use than illegal drugs, according to the National Council on Patient Information and Education (NCPIE).

That means that your teen is more likely to have abused prescription drugs (such as Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder [ADHD] medication, pain relievers, acne medication, cough suppressants, anxiety medication and sedatives) than to have experimented with illegal drugs.

The place teens are most likely to access those drugs? Your medicine cabinet.

Because prescription drugs are easier to access, either at your house or the house of a friend, it is important to talk to your teen about the risks and proper use of prescription drugs.

September's National Alcohol and Drug Addiction Recovery Month, now in its 20th year, is the ideal time for you to begin an open dialogue and provide your teen with information about prescription drugs to lessen the chance that they will use the medications improperly.

Why You Should Be Concerned

Nearly one in five teens reports abusing prescription medications to get high, said NCPIE. About 20 percent of teens have "borrowed" or "loaned" prescription drugs to or from friends, according to a recent study in the Journal of Adolescent Health. That could result in dangerous interactions with other medications.

Find out if your child is just high-energy or has an attention disorder >>

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