Risky behaviours

Parenting is a challenging job and support can be useful at different stages as your child grows up, especially if your child has not been going to school, has seriously misbehaved at school or is getting into trouble with the police.  In these cases you may be contacted by your local Youth Offending Team (YOT) or Local Education Authority (LEA) to assess what help you need, including a possible Parenting Order. 

What is a Parenting Order?

This is a Court Order which is designed to give you support and guidance.  It aims to help you prevent your child from offending and/or antisocial behaviour and/or help you get them to attend school every day, and/or address issues of behaviour at school after...

Feliz had been in an abusive and violent relationship. She had two children aged three and sixteen. She came to us regarding concerns about her eldest, Sharon.

Sharon had been running away for days at a time and these periods of time were on the increase. Sharon was being bullied at school and was at risk of exclusion because of non-attendance. Feliz was also concerned about the people she was hanging round with and her relationship with an older man. Feliz found it hard to talk to her daughter, she would not listen or tell her mother what was happening in her life.

Feliz was an extremely hard-working business woman and juggling the demands of parenting, a violent relationship and work. Feliz had no family in the UK and this increased her feelings of isolation.

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At Family Lives we hear from parents who are concerned about their teenagers lying to and stealing from them, other family members and friends.

This is easier to control and understand when it’s young children, but by the time your children reach their teens, you expect them to know better.

The reasons behind why they are stealing could be down to wanting the latest game or mobile, and not wanting to save up and wait for it, but it’s also about pushing the boundaries your have set for them.

Why do teenagers steal?

To fit in. Peer pressure is behind a lot of the behaviour seen in teenagers, and wanting the latest mobile, computer game or new clothes, can drive them to use any means to get what they want.

For attention....

Arguments are to be expected as part of family life, and these can definitely start to happen more often, once your child enters their teenage years.

Sometimes disagreements will turn into blazing rows, with your teenager insulting you or swearing. This can be hurtful and disappointing, leaving you asking yourself questions like ‘why has it got to this level?’ or ‘What have I done wrong?’

Whilst it is understandable that they may sometimes get very angry and need to let their frustration out, it is not acceptable for them to become aggressive and it is never OK for them to physically hurt you.

If these heated arguments are leading to violence, then you need to face the issues behind all the anger. It may be hard to admit that there is a problem, but if your...