Your teen has been going on a downward spiral and has recently escalated to the point where they’ve broken the law and gotten into trouble. You’re at your wits end and are running out of ideas on how you can help your teenager be the person you know they are capable of becoming. Take the time to consider the benefits of sending your troubled teen away from home for a period after run ins with the law.

Distance From Bad Influences

Chances are that your teenager is not acting alone in their troublesome behavior. They likely have friends that pressure them into making bad decisions. Getting them away from these negative influences will go a long way into helping them get back on the right path. In addition to separating your teen from these bad influences with physical miles, it is also important to sever all ties, specifically social media. This may mean taking away, or implementing parental locks on their phone, tablet, and computer. Your teen won’t be able to move past their mistakes if they are still in contact with these negative influences.

Distance From A Bad Reputation

Another benefit to getting your teenager away from home after a run in with the law, is to escape a bad reputation. Rumors spread like wildfire and if your teen did something regretful, chances are the entire school knows, giving your child a bad reputation. Bad reputations are hard to escape because once people think of you a certain way, it’s hard to act otherwise. Meaning that if everyone expects your teen to be bad, then that’s exactly how they’ll act. By helping your teen escape a bad reputation you are allowing others time to forget what happened and giving your child an opportunity to learn and grow from their past mistakes.

Time to Reflect and Change

Once your teenager is in a safe and healthy environment they will be able to take the time they need to reflect on their mistakes and make a change for the better. By allowing them to get away from home, you are giving them the gift of a clean slate. Being surrounded by people who don’t know of their faults will give your teen an opportunity to become someone different, someone better.

Distance From You

This may not be the case for every family, but sometimes it is beneficial for you to send your teen away because you need some outside help. Whether you decide to send your teen to a residential treatment center, boarding school, or simply to live with family, sometimes it’s better to seek help from those who are not as emotionally involved to help your teenager. The distance apart will give you both time to cool off and provide your teen with the safe, healing environment that they need.

Sending your teen away is not an easy choice to make, knowing that there are a number of benefits that accompany this separation will help make your decision easier.