'terrible teens'

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Discovery Health channel recently premiered a new television show "My Teen's a Nightmare: I'm Moving Out." The premise of the show involves parents who are frustrated with their teens' behavior. So frustrated that they are willing to move out and allow expert counselors to come into their home and take over. The new show has appropriately been referred to as "Supernanny for Teens" but instead of coping with the 'terrible twos', the focus is on dealing with teenagers and their unruly behavior.

The behavior on the show was so shocking to me that I couldn't continue to watch the entire sixty minutes. The swearing, shouting, physical and verbal abuse, and general disrespect that these teens had for their parents was unbelievable. However, the teens weren't the only ones at fault. As parents, I can't imagine that they ever let their children and family get so out of control that such measures would need to be taken. Many of the teens had absolutely no boundaries or consequences for their actions, so it's no wonder the parents feel taken advantage of and not in control. I firmly believe that often times the parents are just as much to blame by not enforcing rules and setting guidelines for expected behavior from the beginning. As the saying goes, Give somebody an inch and they'll take a mile.