VCparents

What is Ventura County Parents Resource?

A safe place for Ventura parents to seek local information and help in dealing with their teens.

A launching point that will link parents to county and private resources, articles, counselors, group meetings, schools and parent forum.

"Until now, there has been no one place for parents to go to find information and local help. This website gives Ventura parents a safe place to launch their search for information and eventually, solutions."

The moment someone tells you they think your teen may be getting involved with alcohol, marijuana, drugs or bad behavior it's difficult not to panic. This is when your parental courage, creativity and patience will be tested and there is no room for panic.

This website will help you stay calm and cool, it will help you focus and it will help you think through your options before you act. There are many local resources available to parents and teens, some are provided by the county and some are offered by private practitioners and businesses. This site gives you a safe place to begin your search.

Safe is the key word. Parents need to feel that whoever is providing them guidance is doing it to help, not just for commercial motives. There are many good people who can help you in your search for answers, unfortunately there are also many websites that will lead you down a path of wasted time and wasted dollars.

This website is 100% non-profit. We will not accept advertising, donations or any funds from anyone with the sole purpose of making sure Ventura parents can feel protected as they navigate these pages. IMPORTANT NOTE: once you have left this site by clicking on a link, your safety net is gone, be cautious and verify all claims made by anyone or any service you consider using.

While hormones, the struggle for independence, peer pressure, and an emerging identity wreak havoc in the soul of our teens, parents are faced with the task of maintaining a sense of connection, doling out a certain amount of autonomy and continuing to monitor behavior. It's difficult.

Use this website to learn everything you can about adolescent behavior, become so well armed with information that you can overcome the challenges ahead.

How To Use this Site

To arm yourself with the tools needed to handle teen challenges you need to take an organized approach. Awareness, Acceptance and Action is a good way to focus your energy.

Awareness - to deal successfully with a problem you must know the nature of the problem. Take the warning signs test to evaluate for yourself the challenge ahead.

Acceptance - get past the natural emotional reaction to the problem and accept the situation for what it is. Only then can you calmly talk to your teen and educate yourself on the causes and possible solutions. Read "How to Talk to Your Teen."

Action - use every resource you can to determine what the best course is for you and your teen and then do something. Do not let analysis paralysis keep you from taking action. Don't be rash but don't be so fearful of making a mistake that you do nothing.

Watch the Video "Access and Excess" it will show you the grim realities our teens face every weekend.
Take the evaluation tests, they will help you see the extent of the challenge your family faces and will also show you that your situation is not unique and is solvable.
Read as many of the linked articles as you can. Knowledge is power.
Call as many county and private providers as you can, each one will give you some new piece of knowledge and perspective.

There are 3 questions that must be answered to know if this site will be worthwhile.

Why is this site here? To give Ventura parents a safe place to make their home base in their search for understanding and answers.
Why would a parent come to this site? When you "google" troubled teens, you get tens of thousands of hits, it's overwhelming. Parents need one place to go to keep their task manageable.
Once they are here, why would a parent stay? The wealth of information to be found seems never ending. There are thousands of articles, books and studies you can link to through this site; once here you'll find yourself coming back whenever new questions come up.


	A Word of Caution

	Many well meaning parents have been unfortunately led down the wrong path while trying to help their teens. There are great people and great web sites to assist you in your search for solutions but there are also predators who will take advantage of your desperation and try to separate you from your money with promises they can't keep. Please be cautious! There are horror stories that we do not want repeated. For example, loving parents have been talked into sending their teens out of the country to "schools" with the promise of sending them back just like they were before the problems started. Maybe some of these places have helped, but many have been shut down due to mistreatment. It is unfortunate, but we must be skeptical. We must verify and re-verify assertions before ever deciding to send our kids to strangers. Use local providers whenever possible, ask local providers for referrals they personally vouch for and use the Parents Forum on this website to ask for help in deciding were to turn for help.