How to Combat Teen Summer Behavior Problems
In adolescence, summer break is something to look forward to. There’s no school and they’re free to spend time with friends and focus on fun. Unfortunately, there are also some major issues that can arise as a result of all that free time. For many teens, when structure disappears, the real struggles show up.
With newfound freedom comes a newfound opportunity for adolescents and young adults to encounter negative influences. One of the major benefits of school is that it gives kids structure and keeps them on a schedule. When you remove that schedule and introduce more open time, there’s always a possibility that they fill it with something negative (especially if they have a history of questionable choices).
Summertime is when teens often find new habits, make new friends, and find themselves in different situations that introduce novel experiences. While these are good if they’re used positively, sometimes these new things can be negative and cause problems both for the individual and their parents. That’s why it’s incredibly important to stay in tune with your teenager and watch out for signs that they’re falling into negative patterns if they’ve had issues with drugs, alcohol, or substance abuse in the past.
While you may think you’ve turned a corner and these struggles are behind you and your teen, removing the structure and regular school schedule can cause problems to arise again. We’re looking into why this happens in the first place and providing some practical tips for keeping your teen away from negative influences.
When School's Out, Mental Health Can Take a Back Seat
Parents want to see the best in their children, so while it’s common to hope substance use issues won’t come back, the structure of school can mask a fragile situation. Once that regular schedule is taken away, relapse triggers may be more readily available, or at least harder to ignore, when teens are left to their own devices.
Just because students get the summer off, most parents still have to go to work. This lack of supervision leaves adolescents ample time to fall back into old habits. Having an entire day to do anything they want can even tempt teens trying to continue the healing progress they’ve already made. The chance that they’ll fall into old habits is too high to risk. That’s why it’s important for parents to stay tuned into their kids to ensure they are surrounding themselves with positive influences and putting their energy into healthy endeavors.
We know that developing a plan for the summer and sticking to it is difficult, especially if you’re not around to monitor your teen throughout the day. But while it can be difficult to tell if your child is going through issues, there are signs that can indicate they’re having a difficult time or no longer making progress.
What to Look Out for If Your Child Is in Recovery
Spotting a child struggling with daily life can be tough, especially if it has to do with drugs, alcohol, or both. Here are a few of the things to pay attention to if you’re worried your teen or young adult might be heading in the wrong direction.
Isolation and Extended Periods of Time Alone: Kids spending time by themselves lets them to stew over negative thoughts and leaves them vulnerable to indulging in poor habits to pass the time.
Shifts In Friend Groups: The people your child spends time with have a major impact on their daily activities. While making new friends and discovering new interests, if your adolescent is suddenly hanging out with a new group, make sure it’s not because these new friends are more open to experimenting with drugs or alcohol.
Staying Up All Night: This can be a sure sign of drug use. Not only do some addictive drugs keep people up longer, but teens know that they’re less likely to have supervision in the middle of the night.
Lying: Any breach in honesty can indicate that something dangerous is afoot in your child’s life.
Stealing/Shoplifting: Stealing can be a way to get money for drugs, but even if it there isn’t a connection to illegal substances, stealing alone is engaging in risky behavior.
Breaking Previously Set Boundaries/Failure to Thrive: If kids are pushing boundaries that they were previously okay with, it could be a sign something is going on. Testing you and trying to bend the rules is part of growing up, but for those with a history of substance abuse, it could spell trouble.
Ignoring Hygiene or Chores: Personal hygiene and regular chores are often a key part of a new routine, and being able to stick to it can be a sign they’re making progress. If they begin to blow off these responsibilities, there may be an underlying problem.
Emotional Withdrawal and Apathetic Behavior: This symptom can be difficult to spot, as all teens and young adults are hormonal and have their moments. But for those in recovery, look for true distress and behavior that’s separate from their normal routine.
It can be difficult to spot negative behavior in kids, but the longer a teen struggles, the more damage is caused. Ignoring these harmful patterns and impulsive behavior can make a tough situation even worse. That’s why it’s important to act right away. Speak to your client’s clinical team, so they can help create a plan.
How to Start the Summer Off Right
You can (and should!) approach parenting teens during summer from a positive perspective. Have your clinician and therapist help you come up with a plan to keep your kid on track with specific goals and objectives. And if you hit some bumps in the road, let the care team step back in to help guide the conversation so that boundaries can be reestablished, expectations discussed, and there will be professionals guiding the process to avoid shame or arguments.
Establishing Summer Structure for Teens (or How to Avoid a Relapse in the First Place)
If you’re going into the summer break, here’s how you can help teens and young adults maintain structure in the face of a new, looser schedule.
Go to Summer Camp: Of course, you’ll need to determine if this will be a positive experience for your particular teen, but giving them the opportunity to get busy with something new is a great way to keep them from drugs and alcohol.
Play a Sport: Joining a sports league is an excellent way to keep kids from negative situations. Organized sports help build camaraderie, teach discipline and teamwork, and offer a healthy outlet to release energy and frustration through exercise. Physical activity is also an excellent way to improve their mood and stave off negative thoughts and feelings.
Take On a New Hobby: Encouraging your older kids to find a new way to entertain themselves through a hobby or activity is a great way to distract them and help them get excited about something different. The hope is that by finding something they enjoy, they won’t have the time (or the desire) to slide back into negative habits.
Schedule More Family Activities: This isn’t always easy as busy parents with jobs and other obligations, but if you’re able to spend more time with your child, it’s highly effective in keeping them away from drugs and alcohol. While vacations are great, even simply making a meal together, playing a board or card game, or going on a hike can help kids realize that time away from drugs and alcohol is worthwhile.
Organizing Activities with Their Friends: By taking the initiative and making it easy for them to spend more quality time with friends that exert a positive influence, you make it easier for your kids to continue making good choices. This will also show that you appreciate the effort they’ve made to do the right thing.
We encourage you to make a plan for the summer so that your child can continue the progress they’ve made.
The Carpenter Shed Is Always Here to Help
Here at The Carpenter Shed, our passion is helping young men find a sense of purpose, meaning, and direction. If you have a teen in your life that could benefit from
life coaching or our other programs, contact us. We can work with you to point them in a positive direction and help them get back to being themselves. Addiction and substance abuse is dangerous, but we can help them acquire the tools needed to maintain their recovery for the rest of their lives. Contact admissions for information about our program.
