[Livia]

Originally Posted by Vicky.

I used to drink at 14. I dont think its fair to blame the parents for this tbh...short of actually nailing my windows shut (which would probably be illegal or something) there was nothing they could do to keep me in the house during that very rough period of my life. I went totally off the rails in my teens for private reasons that I wont say on here. My parents desperately tried to control my behaviour but if they grounded me I would just climb out a window, or go out straight from school...if they tried picking me up from school to avoid me going AWOL I would skip the last lesson to avoid them...etc etc

Parents cant always control what their teens do.

Luckily I got the help I needed quite quickly and was back to normal after a few months. But during those months, nothing my parents did would have made any difference to my behaviour.

You say that your parents tried desperately to control you behaviour... and that you got the help you needed and was back to normal after a few months. I'm guessing your parents were instrumental in getting you that help. I'm sure lots of kids go off the rails, but you have to agree that in many cases parents don't give a monkey's where their teenagers are or what they're doing. When something bad happens to them, or when they do something bad, it's always someone else's fault. I know that at 14 you think you're very sophisticated and grown up, but you're not, you're a child. If their parents aren't responsible for them, who is?