Anyone Have Experience with a Camp for Troubled Teens?

I have an adult friend who was sent to an intense bootcamp as a kid. He's 35 now. He was caught smoking pot in middle school (maybe high school?) and general serious mischief. He went with a group of super bad inner city kids on some trek from Texas to up north..they went camping along the way and had to work really hard. It was military style with a dose of wilderness survival. He later served in the Marines several tours right after 9-11 fighting in Afghanistan. He's still a trouble maker/rebel/artist type. He said his behavior never really improved much. But it was the most enriching experience of his life. He said it make his military service easier, and he became the only non-racist kid in his local school due to the friendships formed with the inner city kids. He looks back on it as one of the best things he ever did. While he was still a mischief maker, it transformed his attitude and outlook on life and improved his confidence in his own abilities. It also taught him to respect-or at least show respect to-superiors. So I'd say it did a lot of good.

A friend of mine sent her daughter to Provo Canyon School and she came back a different child.

To break down the years of incorrect learning, it's not "all" their fault to be honest right?, the place they go HAS to break them down to the bare bones then start rebuilding them with better skills and thought processes. So even if a place is "bad" they do have a reason for what they're doing.

The parents can't "stand" to see their babies mistreated. So they pull them out and tell them they're sorry for thinking that was a good thing to do. When actually the parents could really use going to that place too.

I hope you find a good placement for your child.

i wonder why utah is such a destination spot for camps for troubled teens?
my brother teaches at one of 'em during his summers, and i've accompanied him. there are some tough cookies there for sure, and the environment is extremely uncompromising. the kids themselves police each other and are responsible if one of them acts up, and they're harder on each other even than the tough camp counselors.
i can see circumstances where this sort of thing would be helpful, i guess. it would be a far last resort for me. i can't stand to think of my babies there. but then, they didn't give me much in the way of trouble either.
good luck!
khairete
S.

http://www.heartlightministries.org

I have not, but I would send my kid to this Christian camp if I had to.

It really depends on the type of camp it was and which camp it was. I'm sure there are good and bad ones out there.

My daughter was sent to Tranquility Bay in Jamaica. Which at the time we sent her had good reviews. We sent her when she was 15. At the time we were terrified about all the scary things she was doing. running away, drinking partying etc. she was 15. we had to pick her up in Iowa, Nebraska, Chicago etc. The place was recommended to us. We grabbed it like a lifeline. My daughter would tell you it was horrible but will also tell you it gave her a wake up call. Had we known what it was really like when parents were not there visiting we would never have sent her there. on the upside. they did school 6 days a week for 8 hours a day thru browning academy when we brought her home at 16 1/2 she took the test for her ged and flew through it. She has had ups and downs. She's 32 now. Is a registered nurse. still makes goofy choices that we don't understand.

Gamma G is right about the change needing to happen at home also. One of the things that was good about the program we sent my daughter to was that there were seminars the parents had to attend because if you want a change in your kid you have to change how you are acting / reacting. One of there sayings was If you always do what you have always done you will always get the outcome you have always gotten. Meaning if you don't change your kid won't. It was a huge wakeup call for us as well.

I had a friend attend Happy Hills farm as a teenager in Glen Rose, TX. She of course hated while there but has nothing but good things to say now and has stayed in touch with plenty of people. Its a good part of her life as she puts it.

A friend sent her daughter to a camp in Utah. Her problem was she was very spoiled and was not disciplined. My older daughter hung out with her for a while and says she would do anything she wanted, it was just a matter of how she was going to get there.

Anyway, from what I heard, they were very hard on her and it was a huge wake up, but she is a married SAH mommy of 3 now.