Parents in Crisis

Duration: 14

Year Published: 1988

Creator: National Film Board of Canada

Format: 16mm

Color: Color

Sound: sound

Description: Through a dramatic reenactment of a group session involving parents of delinquent teens, demonstrates that a family with a troubled child becomes a troubled family. Actors represent a therapist, a single Hispanic mother, parents of a "blended" family, and the parents of an intact nuclear family who are struggling with a misbehaving adolescent. Each parent relates a different story, describing communication failures, truancy, lying, stealing, substance abuse, and criminal behavior that in some cases has necessitated court appearances. Although the circumstances of the family breakdown vary, certain common parental reactions emerge through their personal stories: disbelief, embarrassment, guilt, anger, remorse, and finally generalized exasperation and powerlessness to make positive change. The program is open-ended, allowing the stories introduced by the characters to stimulate thought and discussion about a number of issues relevant to parents of troubled children. These include identifying the difference between normal rebellion and anti-social behavior, finding the fine line between setting limits and encouraging self-sufficiency in teens, providing guidance while encouraging teens to take responsibility for their behavior, and accepting that seeking professional help is not a sign of parental failure.

Complete Record: Through a dramatic reenactment of a group session involving parents of delinquent teens, demonstrates that a family with a troubled child becomes a troubled family. Actors represent a therapist, a single Hispanic mother, parents of a "blended" family, and the parents of an intact nuclear family who are struggling with a misbehaving adolescent. Each parent relates a different story, describing communication failures, truancy, lying, stealing, substance abuse, and criminal behavior that in some cases has necessitated court appearances. Although the circumstances of the family breakdown vary, certain common parental reactions emerge through their personal stories: disbelief, embarrassment, guilt, anger, remorse, and finally generalized exasperation and powerlessness to make positive change. The program is open-ended, allowing the stories introduced by the characters to stimulate thought and discussion about a number of issues relevant to parents of troubled children. These include identifying the difference between normal rebellion and anti-social behavior, finding the fine line between setting limits and encouraging self-sufficiency in teens, providing guidance while encouraging teens to take responsibility for their behavior, and accepting that seeking professional help is not a sign of parental failure., NOTE: Two (or more) records have been merged together to create this data.