Parenting Newsletter Aspen Education Group

In this issue:
Sober Alternatives to a Drug-Fueled Spring Break

Teen Dating Violence:
What You Should Know

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

Winter is a great time to enroll your teen in a wilderness program!

Phoenix Outdoor is a licensed wilderness-based substance abuse and chemical dependency treatment program for teenagers ages 13-17.

SUWS of the Carolinas is a therapeutic wilderness program that uses the outdoors as an alternative to conventional treatment environments, while engaging students using traditional therapeutic methods.

Wilderness Programs for Teens

Four Circles Recovery Center for older teens and young adults ages 18-28 is an innovative addictions, substance abuse and co-occuring mental health disorders treatment program that combines a traditional counseling setting with extensive wilderness experiences.

Adirondack Leadership Expeditions is a character development wilderness program that promotes personal growth through focused experiences. The forested, mountain setting removes urban distractions to allow students room to gain insight into their core values and accept responsibility for their choices.

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.

Sober Alternatives to a Drug-Fueled Spring Break

As spring approaches, many teenagers are busy making plans for spring break. Many will set out for Florida, Mexico and other exotic locations for a week of parties, underage drinking and drug use. But a week-long drug and alcohol binge isn’t the only option for teens looking to have fun and make memories while school is out.

Most teens who partake in spring break debauchery come home from a partying spree feeling tired, hung over and down on themselves for the poor choices they made. Some may even experience such negative consequences as alcohol poisoning, car accidents, sexual assault, injuries, fights or arrests.

Teen Girls on Computer

Spring break at a therapeutic boarding school, by contrast, involves activities and adventures designed to build confidence, develop new life skills and create lasting memories. Students have the chance to take a break from school and see the beauty of the world around them.

Having Fun Without Drugs or Alcohol

Oakley School, a therapeutic boarding school for teens ages 14 to 19 in Utah, offers a sober alternative to a drug- and alcohol-fueled spring break, as well as rigorous college-prep academics, intensive therapy, and enriching social and recreational activities year-round. At Oakley School, spring break is a time for teenagers to give back to others and have fun without drugs or alcohol.

During spring break this year, Oakley students will work in conjunction with the Bureau of Land Management to help build and maintain trails in the beautiful red rock parks of Moab, Utah. As part of their four-day expedition, the students will also swim, hike and learn about the stunning desert landscapes.

What to Do if Your Child Is a Bully

obody wants to admit that their teen is a bully. But if there are kids getting bullied at school, there are kids doing the bullying. And that child might just be yours.

A 2001 survey of students in grades 6 through 10 found that 13 percent had bullied other students. Bullying can include physically bullying (hitting or punching), verbal bullying (teasing or name-calling), emotional bullying (intimidation or social exclusion) and cyberbullying (insulting others via email, text or instant messaging).

Away from the observant eyes of their parents and surrounded by often influential peers at school, your kids may be bullying without you even knowing it. Your kids may act like angels at home but may not be quite so well-behaved on the schoolyard.

Signs That Your Child Is Bullying

If your child is getting into trouble at school for fighting or acts dominant or aggressive with other kids, you may have a bully on your hands. Kids who are bullying generally become easily frustrated if they don’t get their way, lack empathy for others and have a history of discipline problems.

Learn more about what you can do if you discover
your child is bullying>>

Teen Dating Violence: What You Should Know

You'd like to think that your teens will have a nice, fairytale romance for their first relationship -- that they'll be wooed with flowers, taken for walks in the park and treated with nothing but respect.

And while there's a very good chance that will be the scenario, you should be aware of the potential for teen dating violence – something one in three teens will experience in an intimate relationship.

Most parents don't want to think about this happening to their child. About 80 percent of parents believe teen dating violence is not an issue or don't know if it is an issue, according to a 2004 survey in Women's Health.

Unfortunately, the majority of parents are wrong. Here are some statistics you should know about teen dating violence, from Break the Cycle:

Nearly 1.5 million high school students experience physical abuse from a dating partner in a single year.
One in three teenage girls is a victim of physical, emotional or verbal abuse from someone they are dating – a figure that far exceeds victimization rates for other types of violence affecting youth.
One in 10 high school students has been hit, slapped or physically hurt by a boyfriend or girlfriend.
80 percent of girls who have been physically abused continue to date their abuser.
Only 33 percent of teens who are in an abusive relationship ever tell anyone about the abuse.

Who Is Victimized

It's important to understand that it's not just girls who are the victims of dating violence. Both males and females are victimized, no matter their race, income level or sexual preference. The main difference is in the way that boys and girls are abusive:

Girls are more likely to yell, threaten to hurt themselves, pinch, slap, scratch and kick.
Boys injure girls more severely and frequently.

Girls ages 16 to 24 are the population most vulnerable to dating violence, at a rate of almost triple the national average, according to the U.S. Department of Justice:

One-quarter of high school girls have been victims of physical or sexual abuse or date rape.
One in four girls in a relationship reports going further sexually than they wanted as a result of pressure.
Among female victims of intimate partner violence, a current or former boyfriend or girlfriend victimized 94 percent of those between the ages of 16 and 19.
Between 1993 and 1999, 22 percent of all homicides against females ages 16 to 19 were committed by an intimate partner.

Continue reading to find out how to recognize
the signs of dating violence >>

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