SoberCoachingYourTeen

Real Help for Parents of Teens in Recovery

Sober Coaching really works!

stop wasting your time on what doesn't.

From the book, Sober Coaching Your Toxic Teen
an interactive guide

››› Go to FAQ

››› Buy the Book/Amazon

››› Buy Now from Google Checkout 



You are their first line of defense.
Learn to be their Sober Coach.

Help MeOn this Page

Parental Bulletin
Introduction
Getting Started
Preventiona Mode/Crisis Mode
Sober Coaching Free Downloads




Parental Bulletin

April 25, 2008 Are Boot Camps Safe?

Check out this view from MSN investigates. (this is off site)

March 14. 08 Parents say daughter's death one mistake, professinals say a pattern:

Samantha Spady, 19, where she posted photos of herself drinking with captions such as "I was drunk" and "Drunkass me". Just before her death from a blood alcohol level of .43 percent, she posted "I'm also going to get extremely wasted this weekend."  Please go to this site to read this tragic story and how the parents are still in denial! Click here.

Feb. 08 NEW: Download. Parents Bill of Rights

Download, print and frame so that you always remember. Do what is right for the whole family and it will be right for your children.

Addiction: Why Can't They Just Stop?

This companion book to the HBO documentary of the same name sheds light on the hidden American epidemic of addiction.

Blending compelling personal narratives with statistics and expert opinion, all gleaned from over two years of research and reporting, Addiction: Why Can't They Just Stop? offers a comprehensive and provocative look at the impact of chemical dependency on addicts, their loved ones, society, and the economy. Read More at JTO

CRITICAL THINKING: Five students at Oswego High School in Chicago, Ill.,  died in what investigators say was an alcohol-related crash. Several  students said they wanted to discourage fellow students from drinking  and driving during homecoming weekend, and wore shirts to school  emblazoned "Class .08" the Friday before -- a double meaning of the  class of 2008 and a reminder that .08 percent is the legal alcohol
  limit for drivers. School officials told the students to remove their  shirts; all did but one. "I decided I wasn't going to back down," said  Katie Kusnierz, 17, since their classmates' deaths "really impacted  us." Kusnierz was thus suspended -- on the grounds that the shirt's  message "could be" interpreted as promoting drinking. (Chicago Tribune)  ...Of course, the school administrators "could be" idiots. 

This is an article by http://www.thisistrue.com  

*** For Bulletin Archives Click here ***

Do you need incentive to purchase this book?

If you are experiencing a drug crisis with your young person, we know you need this book. 


Introduction


Never be called a parent enabler again

Experience freedom

You came here because you want to be a good parent and need help dealing with one of two situations. You either suspect your teen is abusing drugs or you know they are a teenage addict. You think s/he might be abusing alcohol and drugs or may be addicted to them. You want your teenager to stop using because you understand the horrible consequences of drug abuse but drug treatment isn't always the best first choice. Unfortunately, your troubled teen does not seem to understand the dire consequences of their actions, or if your drug abusing teen does, won’t stop abusing drugs. 

You definitely want to know that the actions you take are effective. Although there are no guarantees in this serious business, there are certain actions a parent can take that will help steer the young person in the right direction. You have been a Life Coach to your youngster for many years. Now it is time to change the focus and become a Sober Coach.

The information on this site is an overview of the book by Shelly Marshall, best selling addiction author and her brother, Dr. Michael J Marshall, professor and clinician in private practice.

Sober Coaching the Toxic Teen, 

An interactive guide for teaching parents and primary caregivers how to manage a drug crisis

You can order this book through Amazon or go directly to the Day By Day Kiosk where you can order in bulk for discounts of 10 to 40%. 

Getting started:

  • Decide if you are in Prevention Mode or Crisis Mode based on the questions below.
  • Go to your corresponding page for information on actions you can be taking and helpful links.
  • Once you are through the crisis and your young person is seeking professional help, you must begin the process of becoming a sober coach for your child.
  • Download the worksheets you see below and begin using them.
  • Buy the book, Sober Coaching Your Toxic Teen   for  an interactive and more detailed guide on how to walk through a drug crisis without enabling. Includes over 23 reproducible handouts and worksheets.
Peer Preference, NOT Peer Pressure

Final thought before you begin

it is extremely important that you understand how little influence you have on your adolescent's behavior once they walk out your door. No matter how diligent, involved, or "close" you are to your child, once they walk out the door it's a different ball park and you aren't the coach! Judith Harris's book, The Nurture Assumption, is the best explanation you will find on this issue. 

Despite what some authorities tell you, the latest "State of Our Nation's Youth" survey finds that most teens are not pressured to use drugs. It is just a convenient way for people to shift the blame to their friends. But think about it. Who are their friends? Your neighbor's kids, whose parents think the same thing, "My poor kids are being pressured to do drugs by the neighbors kids!" 

You can visit Focus on Adolescence for a full list of great articles exploring this important concept. The most critical factor for at-risk behavior in your child is the behavior of his or her friends, no matter what you have taught them at home. If your child's friends are using drugs or displaying self-destructive behaviors, then your child is doing the same. Know who your teen associates with and encourage healthy peer relationships.

|6.23.2007 | Don't enable your children, empower them | Buy Now from Google Checkout or Amazon.com

Prevention Mode?

By the time most parents know they need this, it's too late.

Are you looking for information and suspect there may be problems but nothing definite has happened? Your youngster is curious, you may be concerned about his new friends, he/she has begun middle school, and you want to do the right thing? Then you are probably looking for prevention type information. If your young person is not yet in trouble with alcohol and other drugs, then you are in Prevention Mode.

Click here for Help.

Crisis Mode?

They are not bullet proof, although they think they are.

If your child is abusing drugs and alcohol already, been arrested, kicked out of school, or even overdosed because of drugs and alcohol then you are in Crisis Mode. When the crisis has reached this point, you need to be much more aggressive in your stance against drugs and your diligence in learning all you can about the disease of addiction. The rules have changed. You are not in prevention mode any longer, you have entered Crisis Mode.

Click here for help

The Winning Hand

Is your child on drugs?

Remove all doubt and find out if your child is on drugs by answering these simple questions.

Download

Downloads

Free use

These worksheets are compliments of Shelly and Dr. Marshall for your personal use. They are excerpted from their book, Sober Coaching Your Toxic Teen.

Stages of Addiction

For parent and addict

Are you in the early, middle or chronic stages of addiction in reaction to your child? Find out.

Download


Benefits of Peer Preference

Make use of your child's choices

Get :"peer pressure" out of your mind. Kids want to be like their peers . So use "peer preference" to your advantage.

Download

Raising Teens

From MIT

Although this is not the Marshall's work, it is a good book for principles of raising teens in general. Find the Five Basics of Parenting Adolescents,  with a list of strategies for each.  Also featured is a list of Ten Tasks of Adolescence

Download

Downloads

Adobe PDF

You need an Adobe Reader to open all of our downloads. This program allows you to view and print all the worksheets. Download the Adobe Reader (free) .

Recovery Coach Pledge

The rules

It takes discipline and consistency to be a sober coach, especially when it is our children. Learn the dos and don'ts.

Download

Parents Bill of Rights

Your rights are as important as theirs

Remember that if your lose yourself in trying to help your child, you will lose the child too. Put the welfare of the whole family first  and the rest follows naturally.

Download