The Pressure in Teen Land - Essay Example

Pressure in Teen Land Statistics show that one in seven kids between the ages of 10 and 18 will run away at some point. There are million to 3 million runaway and homeless kids living on the streets in the United States as per the statistics provided by The National Runaway Switchboard. This is an organization that takes calls and helps kids who have run away or are thinking of running away. These numbers are staggering and offer real concern. It is an unflappable evidence of society's inability to develop adequate support for youth and troubled families. It can also be said that it is a desperate plea for attention and or help. It is critical that the number of teens who run away from home not be viewed entirely as an indicator of problem youth behavior. The critical reasons of running away are cited as having to deal with alcoholic parents, being victims of early unsuitable dating and illegal drug abuse. A teenager running away from home is a serious problem. Alcoholism among one or both the parents is a major cause of teen problems. According to the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence (NCADD), there are nearly 14 million Americans who are considered problem drinkers (including 8 million who have alcoholism) and 76 million people who are exposed to alcoholism in family settings. At least seven million American teens have alcoholic parents. Having a parent who is considered an alcoholic can constitute both physical and mental abuse to the teen. Parents who are alcoholic often say or do many times things that they don't mean or may not remember. Abusive irrational behaviors are not something a lot of teens know how to handle. Teens are in a phase of life where they deal with a lot of physical and emotional changes and having an alcoholic parent often compounds their negative feelings. Sometimes the abuse becomes violent as the degree of alcoholism increases. At some point the teenager reaches his or her limit of tolerance and running away now seems an appealing option. Professionals who work with runaway teens have long known that many of these young people leave home to escape abusive parents. Many mothers who are alcoholics usually end up with men who abuse their children either by molestation or beating. Research has shown that sexual abuse if often initiated by someone who is in close proximity to the child and is most of the time by someone whom the teen trusts. Many times the child may first try to talk to mom or dad about this situation but often the adults concerned are in denial or disbelief and they never listen. In a matter of time, this situation becomes unbearable and the child becomes another statistic by running away from home. Parents suffering from hangovers often end up even neglecting the basic survival needs of the children. The teens live in poor living environments that deteriorate with time. All this initiates the teen to run away as a form of escapism. Many teenagers are unsuspecting victims of early unsuitable dating. A part of growing up involves discovering yourself and having feelings or attachments to someone of the opposite sex. This natural urge starts at middle school and intensifies at high school level. Some teenagers who do not have strong parental guidance are always victims of early dating crisis. According to the Alan Guttmacher Institute (AGI, 2001), a small number of early teens are sexually active: two out of ten females, and three out of ten males. However, by the age of 18, 65-70% of teens report being sexually active. Females typically engage in sexual activity to express emotions related to love, while males tend to have sex for pleasure rather than emotional closeness. Many teens are misled by T.V shows that show that they can survive away from home when the actual reality is different. When they think of running away, it probably seems appealing that there is someone there who cares greatly for them. The prospect of no more rules, curfews, no fights and no one to answer to, seems like a good option. In reality, running away is anything but fun but they don't realize it. In many situations they decide to run away from home with an older mate who usually promises them the world and lures them with trinkets. They are led away mostly by men who often have a hidden agenda. In today's world of online dating and Internet chat rooms it is very easy to project any kind of virtual image that may hide the real person. These people use the teen's vulnerability to take advantage of them. But as statistics show only 45 percent of teens actually regain consciousness and return home. The other teens usually end up in difficult situations such as getting pregnant, being addicted to drugs and involved in prostitution and therefore cannot return home. When the partner is an equally inexperienced troubled teen, this pair of runaway teens is plagued by new problemslike not having any money,food to eat, a safe place to sleep, or anyone to look out for them and end up walking the path of crime to survival. Illegal drug abuse is another problem area for the teens. The number of teenage drug users is on the rise, while the drug-related deaths are also on the increase. The Runaway Teen is more vulnerable to drug abuse than teens that remain at home. The highest percentage for illicit drug use is in the age groups of 18-21. In 1998 1.4 million runaway teens between the ages of 18-25 tried the Club Drug Ecstasy, up from 960,000 users in 1995. This problem arises from the weak nature of teenagers. Sometimes kids and teens try drugs to fit in with a group of friends. They often times give in to peer pressure and think just doing it once is not wrong. Or it might be just curiosity of the unknown. The boredom of being left alone at home for long periods of time unattended may prompt them to do something. Or it may simply be the necessity to brag that they had done it. All this in time leads to a full-fledged addiction. Teens also end up using these illegal drugs because feeling "high" as it is called helps them lose touch with reality for a while. If a teen is agitated, sad or upset, a drug can temporarily make theperson feel better by losing touch with reality. This is only a temporary escape for a troubled teen though it seems a great alternative to his worldly turmoil. He gets hooked and when is not able to find the means to buy the drug from home often becomes the victim of the peddlers who entice them with a promise of supply and they are caught in a vicious circle of drug addiction that leaving home becomes inevitable. Looking at the statistics, a teenager running away from home is not only a serious concern but that it is widespread is a reason to address it immediately. The three main causes of this problem may be attributed to alcoholism among parents, illegal drug usage and unsuitable early dating. A strong parental support system is a good starting point to guide our young ones in the right direction. Leaving communication lines open is a great thing to do starting from a very young age. Loving them, exposing them to our experiences in the world, spending quality family time with them and most importantly listening to them is what we can do on our part for them. No topic should be taboo and smoking, sex, drugs, alcohol all should be addressed. Try not to leave them unattended for long periods of time. Involve them in some extracurricular activities after school when they are most vulnerable to fall into the wrong habits. At the same time if things seem to spiral out of control then seeking professional help is prudent and this encourages the teen to talk to somebody like a teacher or social worker. These are small lifestyle changes in the big scheme of things. The effects of these actions though, go a long way in redeeming the teen from the consequences of running away from home and becoming a statistic. Sources Dove, Laurie "When teens make wrong choices" iParenting.com Teenagers today, 20 Sep. 2005 "Running Away - Facts and Realities" About.com Teen Advice, 20 Sep. 2005 "How to assist troubled teens" i-troubledteens.com, 20 Sep. 2005 "Coping with an Alcoholic Parent" Nemours Foundation Teens Health Answers and Advice, 20Sep.2005 "Runaways" ThinkQuest, 20Sep. 2005 "Teenagers running away" Indian Child, 20Sep. 2005 National Runaway Switchboard, 1-800RUNAWAY, 20 Sep. 2005 Adolescents Alan Guttmacher Institute 20 Sep 2005 Read More