How To Help Kids Nowadays
I've been put in charge of handling Johnny, Linda's 21 year-old son. He hasn't been able to hang on to a job and has pretty much burned his bridges with his brothers and sisters. He lived with us up to a few months ago and it was a trying time. He has a tendency to lie and steal and seems to have no sense of courtesy towards others. I believe he is reasonably bright, but he behaves in ways that make you wonder if he's stupid. Linda and I have been renting him a room here in Ventura in order to get him out of the house, and he has had a couple of jobs for a few weeks at a time. Linda tries to help him find work - Johnny got a DUI soon after we bought him a truck and he never took care of the tickets or court appearances, so he has spent a considerable amount of time in jail and will have a hell of a time getting his license back. He smokes pot, has no ambition (except to con his family out of money), but when he does work he is a pretty good worker. I wonder if we shouldn't start a foreign exchange service for troubled kids. I'm not talking about international exchange, just getting them out of their environment and into a job that would teach them something. I know we would be willing to pay to relocate Johnny to a trustworthy place where he could have meaningful employment and a positive experience. Ultimately, it would be up to him. But the alternative, at this point, is welfare. I wonder how many other parents are having this problem?

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