Parenting Strategies: The Risky Teen Years

ASAP hosted our first bilingual community event on February 12th with Diana Clark, JD, MA “Parenting Strategies; The Risky Teenage Years” to help provide information for parents, students, teachers, counselors and community members on what is considered normal teenage behavior versus risky teenage behavior.

Diana Clark is considered an expert in the field of parenting and substance use disorders and is the author of several workshops and a book entitled “Addiction Recovery: A Family's Journey” and an audio book “What Love Looks Like”. As a community, we were very fortunate to have her speak to us on a snowy night that could have kept her (or many here) away. Attendees listened with intent interest to better understand this period of enormous growth that under the best of circumstances can leave both teens and parents confused and frustrated.

Diana touched on key points that are very important to building resiliency in teens; establishing boundaries and healthy, non-threatening ways to address concerns and the opportunity to earn trust and sometimes make mistakes. One key strategy that Diana highlighted is to stay connected to teens in a meaningful way. Show them that you genuinely care about their activities.This gives parents the chance to earn their trust, and allows for easier communication during the more challenging times.

ASAP, thanks to NCTV and Larry LeCain, has recorded the program. Click here to view the English version or here to view the Spanish. We also have printed information in English and Spanish for anyone who would like a copy. ASAP is very grateful to Patricia Harding who made it possible for us to offer this event in Spanish. Patricia translated all of the information and was our on site translator. We were very pleased with number of Spanish speaking parents who attended.