Santa Claus is Real, Aliens Live Among Us and Pot is OK: Dispelling Myths for Parents of Troubled Teens

There are a number of dangerous myths that many parents believe and can have a detrimental impact on how they raise their children. It is essential to dispell these myths whenever possible so that parents can make the best choices possible. If you've held some of the common beliefs below, you may need to seriously reconsider some of the choices you have been making with your child.

Common Myths That Many People Believe

1 - Alcohol is not dangerous in moderation - Unfortunately, many people think that alcohol can only be harmful when consumed in excess. This is untrue, especially for teens. Because they are still developing, youths can have their health impacted tremendously be even moderate alcohol use.

2 - Marijuana has few negative side effects - Along with causing serious memory issues, marijuana can impact the social development of your child and their academic performance. Any of these results should be enough to convince you that youths shouldn't be smoking weed.

3 - Academic performance is not overly important - You may believe that your son or daughter's performance in school is not overly important as long as they graduate. This is not true however, as grades can have a huge impact on the future opportunities they will be able to take advantage of.

4 - Some violent behavior is normal - You may think that it is a normal part of growing up for adolescents to get in fights and engage in other violent behaviors but this couldn't be further from the truth. Violence is almost always indicative of serious issues.

5 - extracurricular activities aren't important for development - Many people are content as long as their child is doing well academically and are willing to ignore the importance of extracurricular activities. This is unfortunate as these activities are essential to the process of social development.