Teen Bad Behaviors and How to Help?

[Pom]

No, Mr. P and I have not been hiding a secret teen.
 We've got cats, so I have no idea how to help here. I imagined some of you ladies might have been through tough days with teens, so asking for a friend...really.


A friend was venting and asked what to do about a teen that is self-destructing:

-secretly drinking at school and bragging about it on social media

-taking and sending nude selfies

-having male friend(s) over before school starts and (drinking?) riding to school with them rather than taking the bus like it was believed.

-failing FIVE Classes. School has always been an issue maybe? It sounds like many rounds of summer school.



This is a female that is very demure, seemingly sweet and quiet. She has never known her father. She has a learning disability and has been tutored and has special help at school. She will be 18 very soon. No steady boyfriend.


Recently, someone turned this girl in for having a knife at school. There was no knife found, but it is believed that this happened due to a jealously/love triangle type thing.


My only advice was get her on BC (a shot or method that requires no responsibility) ASAP.

Counseling? I don't want to cop out on giving advice, but this is way beyond my scope of experiences.



What else do you do in this situation?

[mrsukyankee]

Therapy. Definitely therapy. And the book Positive Discipline for Teenagers - it'll help explain some things and ways of dealing with these behaviours.

[mryrcn]

^^^^ This!

[Gato]

If she can afford it, if I were her I'd do both individual counseling for the girl and family counseling for both of them.

I would be sorely tempted to take away her smartphone and replace it with a burner. IDK if that's good advice, though.