Most of us have a deep love for our children. We dream of the heights that they will attain while they are still small children. We inevitably believe that our children can somehow do better on the road of life than we could have ever achieved. We have dreams for our children and try to prepare them as best we can for the bumps in the road of life. We somehow forget the many stumbling blocks that we have encountered on our own journey through life. Life in our society can be a very humbling proposition. There are more drugs available to our children than ever before. The pressures to excel and achieve are at a higher level for our kids than we might imagine. All that you have to do is to attend a youth baseball game in order to establish the high priority we put on the achievements of our youth.

Some kids inherit mental problems from their parents and have no real chance of coping in todays' society. They may fall into a trend of enacting negative thoughts and habits that may not be in the norm for our society. Their mental capabilities may not allow them to function in a normal fashion. The more that these kids struggle to find their niche in life the deeper they fall into mental oblivion. Psychiatric help and counseling is sometimes required to aid these individuals. The use of psychiatric drugs and tools can help to alleviate these problems. Chemical imbalances can usually be corrected through the use of proper therapy. Depression along with many mental imbalances can be minimized through the use of psychiatric aids.

Teenagers are undergoing a metamorphosis. Changing from childhood into adulthood can be a recipe for disaster. Kids are faced with changing into a form in which they have no life experience. Kids are influenced by their parents and peers in both negative and positive fashions. Any upheaval in the family can result in negative responses and confusion on the part of the teenager. The bad acts of family members, friends or strangers can send teenagers lives spiraling into chaos.

Peer pressure can influence the actions of teenagers. Following the lead of peer groups which indulge in the practice of alcohol and drug abuse can lead to serious trouble. Getting hooked on drugs or alcohol can lead to many problems. Health problems lead the list. Drug and alcohol overdoses have killed many teenagers. The effects of these substances can lead to a reduced mental capacity. The need to feed these habits can lead to other problems. Theft by these teenagers in order to feed their habit can be felt by the immediate family and by everyone the teen comes in contact with. Usually the result of these practices by teens leads to their lives spirally out of control. It is difficult to overcome these addictions. Neither drug or alcohol recovery programs or the mightiest efforts of family and friends can have positive results in many cases. Even though the experience of life threatening situations such as drug overdoses and comas can be serious to family and friends the teen is most often drawn back into this disabling circle like a moth to a flame.

School work suffers and sometimes cessation of school activities is the end result of drug and alcohol abuse. Teens sometimes acquire police records as juveniles that carry over into adulthood. The lure of drugs and alcohol is too much of a temptation to resist. While their peers are graduating from school and preparing for college the troubled teen is stuck in a quagmire of negative realities. The use of drugs can mentally disable a teen. The need to take the drug overpowers any reason for conquering it and returning to a normal life. Repetitive reinforcement by drug and alcohol abuse sets a precedent for lifes future activities. Teens cannot see the reality of recovery and many remain in a drug induced haze with all of its unpleasant problems for many years. Religious tutoring and admissions to religious based schools are sometimes of little encouragement and help.

Maturity can sometimes bring the problems to an end or at least mitigate their effects. Teenagers go through rough waters which involve both physical and emotional changes. Negative influences can detrimentally affect a mental and emotional state which is at its best precarious for teenagers. Teens are the future of the world and our best hope for a better tomorrow. They are more affected by distractions than at any time period in history. Bad videos, bad role models and bad life experiences which involve the use of drugs and alcohol can contribute to the breakdown in the lives of our children. They need all of the help that we can give to them whether it be in the form of mental health or other recovery programs which are designed to improve their chances for success in the future.