Five Tips to Help Keep Your Teen Out of Jail

Society, today, is not quite what it used to be. Today’s youth has gone from bad to worse in terms of behavior. Teens today get arrested for criminal charges such as drug possession or substance abuse, illegal possession of firearms, rape, assault, murder, destruction of private property, theft – you name it. People often wonder why this is so, but once we take a closer look at what we are doing as these kids’ parents, we realize that we can have our share of shortcomings in the matter. So, as a parent, it is one of your responsibilities to make sure that you keep your teen away from an unfortunate jail time. Your teen is what shows how good of a parent you are, after all.

Know the Signs of a Troubled Teen

The very first thing that you must do is to assess whether your child is a troubled teen or not. Common signs of troubled teens include failure to comply with set rules and regulation, sudden drop in grades, unexplained financing, change in sleeping habits, and so on. These, done in excess, can mean that your teen may be up to questionable and maybe illegal things in his life and is in need of attention. For example, if your teen seems to be spending more money than what you provide, it can mean that he is doing business with illegal substances for profit. It could also mean that he’s stealing things and selling them for cash. Through assessment, you may be able to prevent a particularly nasty event in your teen’s life and keep him away from criminal charges.

Check with the School

If you see one of the signs mentioned earlier, you will want to keep an eye on your teen. The problem here is that teens are usually very secretive. They are not fond of sharing what goes on with their lives and often keep things to themselves or to their friends. Fortunately, there are other ways to check up on him. Check in with your teen’s school and ask his teachers how he’s been doing. They will be able to give you an idea about his general attitude or behavior when outside of the boundaries of your home. If he’s not going to class, find out where he goes and put a stop to whatever he’s been doing if he’s caught up in illegal activities.

Use Software to Monitor His Phone

Smartphones are indeed a work of art. Not only do they give the users tons of functions and applications, but they also give parents a way to monitor their teens’ text messages, emails, call logs, and so on. This is done with the help of certain monitoring software which you can install on your teen’s smartphone. The best thing about the program is that it can even pinpoint the location of your child in real time. This type of software will give you an idea what your teen has been up to, and it is perfectly legal if you provided the phone yourself and inform your teen about the tracking software installed.

Stand Your Ground

Teens today are being raised by soft parents. Some parents do not want to punish their children for misbehaving, but it is one of the responsibilities that you need to practice if you want to become a good parent. In some cases, you will need to ground your teen for causing trouble, and you must be firm on your decision. Some teens today are being spoiled so badly that they do whatever they want without regard to the consequences of the law. So stand your ground to prevent your teen from turning into a delinquent.

Communication

Overall, the best way to make sure that your teen doesn’t end up behind bars is to find a way to effectively communicate with him. There are tons of seminars and programs that can help you reach out to your teen and straighten him up. It all boils down to how much you care for your child. If everything’s too late and your teen has already been arrested for a criminal offense, you will still have the option to bail your teen out of jail. That is, if the criminal offense associated with him is not very severe. This can be the best course of action for you, as a parent, to protect your teen’s wellbeing until the appointed time when he needs to appear in court.