Are Boot Camps Safe for Your Child?
Posted By: Elisabeth Wilkins, EP Editor
Category: Aggression, Boot Camps, Defiant Children, News, O.D.D., Power Struggles, Problem-solving Skills, Summer Vacation, Teens
Comments: 20
Has anyone out there ever sent their teen to a boot camp, and if so, was it a good experience for your child? I’ve heard good and bad things over the years, myself. My friend’s son had a great experience at wilderness camp, and really turned his life around. Another friend’s teen-age son also had an incredible experience at a similar type of camp, but in his case the life-changing part only lasted about 2 weeks, according to my friend, when he reverted to his old ways once home. So far I haven’t personally known anyone who has been injured or hurt at camp, but I’m curious to hear if any of you have.
In fact, if you follow the news on boot camps, you’ve probably heard that teen therapeutic camps have been in the spotlight this past year for what the government has called a “risk of abuse, injury or death.” These seem to have occurred mainly at private, unaccredited camps–of which there are many all over the country.
During the congressional hearing, parents and GAO investigators detailed abuses that their children went through at certain (usually unaccredited) camps, including being made to eat their own vomit and to sleep in feces and urine. There are at least ten cases where children actually died due to negligence on the part of the camp they attended, and that number is growing.
While many of these publicly- funded camps are regulated in their individual states, often private camps are not. A good resource to use to check the credibility of boot camps is The National Association of Therapeutic Schools and Programs, www.natsap.org. Their website includes information on different programs, referring professionals, and program directories.
Has anyone out there sent their teen or pre-teen to bootcamp, wilderness camp or something similar? Please let us know how it went, and cast your vote–would you recommend this to other parents, provided the camp was a good one?
20 Responses
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May 14th, 2008 at 7:51 am
Actually, many of the programs that had deaths and serious abuse problems *were* NATSAP members, including the one in which Paul Lewis’ son died. How did he die? He was sent to the program because he was suicidally depressed. He threatened to commit suicide. The program thought he was faking and ignored him. He hung himself. The program had *no* plan for dealing with suicides and Ryan’s threats were *not* evaluated by professional staff.
There is *no* evidence that these programs help *anyone*– and lots of risk. Anecdote is not evidence. If your child has a particular problem, find professionals who deal with *that problem* not with a one-size-fits-all punitive program that says it can treat Asperger’s with the same approach it uses on addiction.
And if a program will not let you talk to your child, makes your child “earn” the privilege of talking with you, or tells you to ignore your child’s complaints of abuse– run the other direction. If you are told to automatically ignore complaints, how would you know if they are true? Any program that sees all teens with mental health problems as “liars” and “manipulators” doesn’t empathize with teens and therefore will not be effective in treating them and will be dangerous, as real health complaints will be ignored.
May 14th, 2008 at 9:35 am
Maia, Thanks for that important clarification about unaccredited vs. accredited camps. Parents need to know the risks that may be involved when they send their kids to these boot camps. (Admittedly, the places my friends’ children attended were the “wilderness experience” type of camps, which focused on building positive problem-solving skills, not on punishing the kids for misbehaving.) And by the way, I agree with you completely–finding a professional who deals with the specific problem your child has is the best way to get them the help they need. Thanks for weighing in.
May 14th, 2008 at 11:52 am
Does EP know of any camps that have been beneficial for kids with ADHD/ODD?
May 14th, 2008 at 2:58 pm
You’re welcome… the thing is, many wilderness programs take a punitive approach even when they tell parents that they don’t. And they still have the same problem of unqualified staff (many do not even have high school degrees) and believing kids are “liars” and “manipulators.” One of the other people who testified at the hearings had her daughter die at the Catherine Freer wilderness program– which has a wonderful reputation and is a NATSAP member but despite knowing that the girl was taking medications that could elevate body temperature and had taken methamphetamine (which does the same), they still took her into the desert and ignored her when she began showing signs of dehydration and heat stroke.
This industry desperately needs regulation and parents need to know that there is no evidence that the programs are safer for their children than not sending them.
May 14th, 2008 at 5:27 pm
We sent our 15 year old to the Marine Military Academy last summer for a month of camp. It is a college prep school with a summer camp compenent. It is very strict - modeled after the Marines. I didn’t hear about or observe any inappropriate treatment of the kids. They are held accountable for their actions, and rewarded for acheivement. It did start to instill some good habits of respect, orderliness, self-discipline. However one month wasn’t long enough. After a few days he was back to his old bad habits. A year of military school would probably be much more effective (which we are considering).
May 15th, 2008 at 11:58 am
Prompted by his counselor, we sent our son to a program, where he was soon attacked by 3 other boys. He required facial reconstruction surgery and could have died from the brutal attack. We sued that program and won. After recovering, our son still needed intense counseling help, so we looked long and hard and found the Heartlight Residential Center for Troubled Teens, located in East Texas. What a difference. Talk about a transformation! We are so delighted with their program and staff. I can’t say enough about Heartlight. So, the moral of the story is this…thoroughly check out the program and talk to other parents who have put their child in that program before you send your child there.
May 16th, 2008 at 8:50 am
Hi Everyone. In emailing with Maia after she posted her comment, I found out that she’s also the author of a book about teen boot camps called, “Help at Any Cost: How the Troubled Teen Industry Cons Parents and Hurts Kids.” She’s also written the following articles about boot camps that you may want to check out:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/01/28/AR2006012800062_pf.html
http://www.motherjones.com/news/update/2008/05/when-is-tough-love-torture.html
http://www.reason.com/news/show/117088.html
May 18th, 2008 at 10:04 pm
I would like to recommend martial arts to all parents. Some schools have Summer programs and most will teach year round. There are schools that specialize in behavior issues like ADD, ADHD, OCD, ODD, etc that can help give parents some tools to working with these issues. Martial arts can also improve your child’s self-confidence, self-discipline and self-esteem without having to throw them into a military situation. Make sure you throughly check out ANY program that you want your child to participate in - do your homework.
May 21st, 2008 at 6:23 am
I sent my 12 year old son to a Christian weekend boot camp. It was an incredible experience for him and for the whole family. His changes actually lasted for about a year and a half. He even gave me a list of 50 reasons why he loved me for mother’s day, which was one month after, and sending him to bootcamp was #4. That next season of baseball, many parents commented on what a polite young man and what a team player he was. I wish the results lasted longer, but it was worth it.
May 21st, 2008 at 7:16 am
After many months of investigations into different theraputic camps for our angry and depressed son we finally chose one. There were many things that they lied to us about. One thing was that it was not suppose to be a religion based program - the entire group running the place, besides being one big family, was Morman and pushed their beliefs on the kids. They also took in wards of the state and my son witnessed many acts of abuse on those children. I trusted these people with my son and I feel that it has put a scar on his heart that may never be healed. The only thing good that came out of it when my husband drove out to Utah to rescue him was how much he appreciated being home but now he has a phobia of leaving home and he is almost 18. He is fine and helpful at home but I had to pull him out of school and get a GED.
May 22nd, 2008 at 1:17 am
I sent my 14 1/2 yr old daughter to Redcliff Ascent in Utah. I thought the program was great and she learned a lot of
survival skills and her self-esteem went way up. She was there for 3 months and graduated from the program. Unfortunately it was not long enough for all the learning to stick. I had to send her to another
troubled teen program for another 14 months for her to finally get it. My only fault with the program was the high cost.
May 24th, 2008 at 10:57 pm
We sent our 14 year old son to turnabout ranch in Utah. We did a lot of research but still were anxious. There is nothing similar in Canada, and most professionals and friends recommended against it. But he was going deeper into drugs, was violent and unapproachable. All the progreams in Canada are “voluntary”. In the belief that they can only help him if he wants to be helped. If we continued down that path, he would probably be dead now, since he clearly didn’t want any help. The turnabout program included well qualified caring staff. It was tough but he gained a lot from it. He got off drugs, gained self esteem, overall health improved immensely. The only downside was lack of followup after the program. The improvements in personality did not last more than a few days. But he has never gone back to the hard drugs, and we have had more success in working through the issues with him. He is now 17 and going through a 2 month day program with AADAC for which he has volunteered, becuase he finally realizes this is not the life he wants. I would definely do it again, and recommend it to others.
May 24th, 2008 at 11:49 pm
We sent our 14 year old to a Wilderness therapy camp in Oregon about 1 year ago and it the best thing we could have done. He was only gone for about 3 weeks but it forced him and our whole family to face some realities of our family dynamics that were affecting him to the point of self destructive and delinquent behaviors. We did this upon the recommendation of our family therapist. It was a heartwrenching choice to make as a parent but here we are 1 year later and he is a whole new kid with a whole new attitude. He did not experience any negative physical or mental treatment at the camp just some serious soul searching and
realignent of his values and place in the world. It was his wake up call. Had we not made that choice I can only imagine we would have been on a path of drug use, poor grades and who knows what else.
May 30th, 2008 at 10:16 pm
I’m so scared. I hired an educational consultant to find a place for my 16 yr old son. He was getting deeper n deeper into negative peers. We trusted this lady and now have sent my son to a 12 mo “therapuetic camp”. We are allowed no contact with him for 60 days. He somehow kept his cell phone and has contacted us about abuse toward him. The couselers are cruel. And yelled at him for crying. I don’t know what to do. Please someone help me. He’s only been there 4 days. He beggs to come home– am I over-reacting. Also the admin guy said that sometimes w/ defiant kids they are not allowed to sleep w/ the other boys for the 1st nite. Well because he flipped us off while we were leaving they gave him a week in a pup tent.
June 2nd, 2008 at 10:38 am
Dear SueBlurb: From what you are telling us, we would recommend that if you believe your son is being abused, you should remove him from that program.
June 8th, 2008 at 9:53 am
I considered sending my out of control son to a camp 2 years ago. He ended up going to live with his father and in the meantime I read the book “Help at Any Cost: How the Troubled Teen Industry Cons Parents and Hurts Kids.”
I was mortified and embarassed that I ever considered sending my child to such an awful environment.
We have alot of issues and currently he is not at home since he ran away from his fathers house. Even with him having run away I still feel relieved that I never sent my child to an environment of emotional and physical abuse.
I contacted my local congressional and senate representatives to push for federal oversight of these programs. It is a shame that these programs are robbing middle class families not only of their money but also of their childs heart and soul.
June 9th, 2008 at 1:02 pm
We sent our then 18 year old to wilderness therapy in Utah. He was there for 77 days and had a remarkable transformation. This was a high quality program with incredible conselors and staff. These programs can make a difference, but you must do your research.
June 17th, 2008 at 9:33 pm
I sent my son to a wilderness therapy camp in Utah, and he is now attending a therapeutic program in Montana. He is 17 years old. I am still unsure how much it is helping him. I can tell you that if we hadn’t sent him, he could have been dead by now. He was on a very dangerous path. He is an addict. This past week, a friend lost her son due to a drug overdose. So….I guess I am glad that I sent my son. I have been using this time, while he is learning to be sober, learning to be a more effective parent. I just ordered the Total Transformation, am having very high quality therapy with a christian therapist, and praying for my son, as well as every family and child going through what we are going through. It is hell! I think that you have to really research the programs out there. There are really good ones that have caring, qualified staff. Sometimes you have to trust that someone can help your child better than you can. However, you must use this time, while your child is away, to set criteria in your home so that when they do come home, you will be prepared to handle them.
June 24th, 2008 at 8:09 am
WE sent my daughter to Turn About Ranch in Utah, In fact Iam on my way to pick her up as she graduates from the program. I did some research and felt we had to do something drastic to get her attention. She was flunking school, defiant and surrounding herself with the wrong influences. At our arrival it was much worse then I expected. Very rustic and basic. For the cost I guess I was expecting more of a dude ranch setting. Her initial session with her therapist resulted in him telling me she would be very difficult to transform. Over the weeks she slowly responded to their strict but consequencial program. Their methods cause the teens to evaluate and go within themselves to take a serious look at where the choices they make can take their life. Her letters began improving and at mid-term visit she was the beautiful wonderful daughter I had once had. I could not believe the difference. She now is goal oriented and is proud of her accomplishments and choices. She is anxious to do great in school. She is thankful to me for sending her. She is appreciative and respectful of adults and authority figures, as she understands now we are all guideing her in a positive direction for her. She has learn hard work pays off and that fun is a result, and not the only thing in life. Iam confident that she will continue to use the skills she learned at the ranch to stay on tract and have a great life. I wish all parents could send their teens there. The cost was very expensive but the results saved my daughter a life of misery, and that is priceless.
July 2nd, 2008 at 8:15 am
I was given an opportunity to leave my son with a wonderful family who would have put him in order really quickly and in a good environment however; if I look at the big picture it really wouldn’t have helped. I saw that even if he made great changes it still wouldn’t have been with his own family. It is not easy work to change the way we deal with the kids but it is possible and so worth the efforts.
I will say our relationship with our son is so much more than I ever thought possible. One slow step at a time works wonders!!!