Vandalism in Joshua Tree

I just read an editorial in the Press-Telegram in Long Beach, California about vandalism in Joshua Tree National Park. Vandalism is a seemingly senseless crime that can take any number of forms from completely destroying property to simply writing a name on something; no matter the extent, the property owner feels violated and is often faced with expensive and time-consuming repairs (if possible). In the case of Joshua Tree National Park, we are all the victims since the park is a national treasure for us all to visit.

Vandalism, like most crimes that juveniles commit, is often done in a group setting. If your child is involved in vandalism you should be concerned about what else they may be doing. Vandalism often comes with a package of other behaviors like substance use, stealing or any number of other problem behaviors.

If a child is committing such acts, a few things come to mind immediately. First, it tells us that they were probably spending time with people that promote property destruction. It also reveals that they were unsupervised at the time or were supervised by someone that isn't promoting responsible behavior. It is often the case that the vandals were not concerned about facing any type of punishment either because they did not think they would be caught or because they have learned to expect a response from their parents and/or law enforcement that they do not find very concerning.

It is not within your power as a parent to determine how the legal process will respond, but you can address your own response, which could help avoid legal consequences in the future. If you are in this situation, it is crucial for you to do some investigation of the peer relationship and set some limits on those. You must also figure out the gaps in supervision and develop a strategy to monitor those times. Finally, you must consider how you respond to an offense when you catch it. This sounds like a lot of work, and it is, but a child that's vandalizing property may be getting into more significant trouble, or danger, or at least be on that path.

If you are aware that your child has damaged property, address it now before the problems become larger and more serious. If you are concerned about your child's friends or where they spend time, you should address that as well; hopefully, before they become a vandal.

Permissive Parenting and Substance Abuse

Permissive Parenting and Substance Abuse

As described in the last entry detailing statistics about youth substance abuse, there is plenty of data to support the concerns about the drug use and the effects it has on the youth in our country and on our broader communities.  There are multiple influences on the behavior of children so we must be careful not to blame parents for a youth's behavior, but we must not ignore the fact that the parents have more ability to change the child's behavior than others. We should also consider that families have more desire to see a change in the behavior than the child or the child's peers. Consequently, it makes sense to consider how a parent can help address the concerns.

There are many influences that can contribute to juvenile substance abuse and many parenting styles that parents may exhibit that have their own strengths and weaknesses. One parenting style that we often associate with juvenile substance use does have support from research and that is permissive parenting. Permissive parenting has been associated with impulsive behavior and a child that may become difficult to control, especially in the face of disappointment. They may develop aggressive behavior and discover drugs and alcohol as they get older.

Permissive parents can be described as having high warmth in their relationship with their child combined with low control. The element of warmth in a parent-child relationship is obviously extremely important and should be a goal for families. When this warmth interferes in the enforcement of reasonable rules and expectations, parents run the risk of becoming overly permissive and exhibiting the elements of permissive parents. There are many points to consider to assess whether or not you may be a permissive parent, but a general guideline to consider is whether your plans to administer discipline are thwarted by concerns about the child being angry, guilt or concerns over the well-being of the child.

If you fall into this category, it will be important for you to address your own concerns if you are to promote a change in your child's behavior. It will be important to identify your specific thoughts and concerns and  to assess whether or not they are helpful in your goals for your child.

Patrick Duffy, Psychologist Blog

The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention reports that in 2006 alone, law enforcement officers made an estimated 2.2 million arrests of people under the age of 18. The report also shows that juveniles accounted for 17% of all violent crimes and 26% of all property crimes in 2006. These numbers are staggering yet do not account for the youths who are exhibiting challenging behaviors that have not been arrested.

The data regarding juvenile substance abuse does little to ease concern. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, 28.3% of kids between the ages of 12 and 20 reported drinking in the month prior to the survey and 12.4% reported having driven under the influence within the previous year. The data does suggest a decline in marijuana use, but 24.6% of tenth-graders reported use in the past year while 31.7% of twelfth-graders reported use. While marijuana use has seen a recent decline, the use of cocaine has remained stable among children 12 and older. A more troubling finding is the decline in perceived harmfulness of hallucinogenic drugs and an increase in the abuse of prescription drugs.