Spring Break Confessions: Part 1

Spring Break Confessions: Part 1

Monday, April 7, 2008

filed under: tween & teen logic

Teens go for the fun, sun, and surf ... and many add massive amounts of drinking, drugs, and dangerous sex when they get there.

These spring break confessions are shocking testimonials from real teens for whom going away means going to scary extremes--getting drunk and high, hooking up with strangers--and, too often, ending up arrested, sexually assaulted, or clinging to life in the hospital.

Although stories like Natalee Holloway's make front page news, author, pediatrician and ML contributor Dr. Cara Natterson says most teens can't anticipate consequences because, "their frontal lobe, the C.E.O. of their brain, isn't fully developed yet," which is why so many teens still live like there's no tomorrow.

So, how can you keep your child safe? "The most important thing is to set limits," says Dr. Natterson. "If you know the situation will be wild, don't let him or her go. It is equally important to keep talking to your child. Bluntly tell him or her what worries you. Use short-term examples like: 'You won't to be able to play sports next week,' instead of talking about long-term addiction or eventual loss of brain-cells."

"While it is true that the chemistry of the teen brain, with its impulse-intensive responses, will often win out over your words of warning--your words are still valuable," says Dr. Natterson. "Every time you sit with your child and have that talk, it's another piece of hay on the haystack. Eventually the stack gets big enough that you are influencing your child's decisions." Ready to get started? Download our discussion guide: HTML or PDF.

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Coming tomorrow: Shocking teen confessions about spring break sex.

169 comments so far | Post a comment now >>

A lot of Springbreakers must think they are immortal.Excessive drinking and drugs are like a very bad sunburn;if they don’t kill you now they might 20 years from now in the prime of life.

- Deck

Posted 04/12/08 07:28 AM

I think Spring Break is very dangerous and do not think this is smart to see you young teenager meet up with a bunch of young kids that are out to act like uncontrolled animals and destroy property and some actually destroy themselves. What is the point? Alot of them end up dead because of uncontrolled actions from being so drunk they do not know what they are doing. Not safe.

- Anonymous

Posted 04/12/08 07:34 AM

THIS IS OUR FUTURE PEOPLE IN WORLD TODAY

- ED

Posted 04/12/08 08:09 AM

who gives a damn? kids will be kids i still get drunk and high at 23 and i make 80k a year so what are you guys really saying? if you get drunk and high you end up dead on a beach or in jail? big deal again there… it’s just jail… few hours to sober up nothing harmful about that? why does everyone all the sudden seem so shocked? like this is a new trend? get a clue people you have no control if you tell your child she can’t see her boyfriend is she going to stop? no she is just gonna lie to you about it… your not in control…

- Anonymous

Posted 04/12/08 08:11 AM

This is what our boys in Iraq are fighting to protect and risking their lives for. It’s a sad testimony that some 18 year old is dying in Iraq or Afghanistan to protect the way of life that produces these spoiled specimens of the American Way.

- sensei621

Posted 04/12/08 08:46 AM

Its going to happen anyway. No one can stop it so the best thing to do is to discuss it with your kids from an early age. Then, when they do it, hopefully, they will have some restraint and won’t become a sad statistic. Its survival of the fittest, just like everything else in life.

- John Palazzini, Woodland Hills CA

Posted 04/12/08 09:09 AM

no sensei621, they’re fighting for the rights of greedy corporations and corrupt politicians to continusouly screw people like you and me. This illegal and unconstitutional war has nothing to do with the preservation of democracy and if you think it does, you’re the most naiive person on the planet.

- John Palazzini, Woodland Hills CA

Posted 04/12/08 09:13 AM

One thing is very apparent about the interviewed teens…they are all 18 and 19. What is a parent to do? The laws protect children in every way, even those who are between 16 and 18. Kids have been empowered to a degree that has rendered parents incapable of directing their children. The “Gray Area” age, 16 to 18, frees children from parental authority, while enforcing parental liability for their freed children. Children can ignore their parents whle the parents are held accountable for their actions. Something is real wrong with our laws and our system.

- Gerry314

Posted 04/12/08 09:37 AM

the spring break towns make alot of money but sell their soul in doing so….they could and should clean up their act..i bet they do not allow their kids to be a pert of it…they know better…no degrading, embarassing or dangerous behaviors for their kids.

- anonymous

Posted 04/12/08 09:48 AM

I live in Panama City, Fl and what amazes me about Spring Break is how many kids that are here under the age of 18. Who in their right mind lets a 17 year old go to Spring Break! This year was not so bad we had one raped and one who at the old age of 21 will spend a long time in prison because he choose to drive drunk and kill 2 people. Trust us we don’t want it but its a huge income for the county here. I can write pages and pages on the kids who have came through the jail and how proud mom and dad would be to see there baby so drunk they can not stand up. Or they have had their butts kicked and don’t remember. I will say its only a small percentage but as a parent 1 is far to many for me. The slogan here is Come on Vacation Leave on Probation Come back on violation Stay for duration Spring Break is what it is SEX DRUGS and ALCOHOL a huge Party so Party on and we will continue to take your money, and watch some move from College to Prison. But you had fun so like the guy said earlier Jail is no big deal. I call you Spring Breakers job security. These are not bad kids they are kids who are not yet ready to handle what the Party can bring to them. Please take this advise be careful on Spring Break you can ruin your life and not even know you have done so until the next morning.

- ANONYMOUS

Posted 04/12/08 09:56 AM

I am struck by the number of young people on this site that have no shame for this behavior. Perhaps it is because the comments are anonymous, but… Good god people don’t you have enough self respect to realize that, even if you insist on doing it, the behavior is inappropriate. If you want to do it fine. But please stop insisting that breaking the law and putting yourselves and others in harms way should be okay with us. You don’t have a right to abuse yourselves and each other just because you can. This argument make you sound like…well, kids. Try taking some responsibility for your behavior by acknowledging that it is wrong in your parents eyes, and you are doing it anyway. Please stop trying to convince us that a 16 year old drunk out of her mind having unprotected sex with multiple stranger is a safe and healthy thing to do. At least attempt to make a better argument. Please. The fact that you have done it is not a good reason to let my daughter do it. Try a less self centered approach. That being said. Parents don’t send your kids if you don’t want them to behave this way with out supervision. Yes it can happen at home, but not to this extend and for this length of time, and it is more likely that your child will engage in this behavior if you are not around to catch it.

- Anonymous

Posted 04/12/08 10:03 AM

I do not understand the shock over the choices and actions of these young people. They are sent to universities for at least 4 years where they are indoctrinated with the worldview that there is no real truth, people are just here by chance, people are the cause of all planetary harm and worse than animals, and that all values are just relative like personal preferences. When combined also with an environment that tells them they are much wiser than they actually are at this age, the results are very predictable. These results are the very natural result of these ideas. If these ideas are really true, then these results should be celebrated by all parents and professors as they are the normal behaviors resulting from this nihilistic worldview. To expect responsible noble behavior from people who are taught there is no such thing is the real insanity. There are answers here. All worldviews and ideas are not equal and all do not lead to noble choices and actions.

- Chad

Posted 04/12/08 10:19 AM

“Although stories like Natalee Holloway’s make front page news, author, pediatrician and ML contributor Dr. Cara Natterson says most teens can’t anticipate consequences because, “their frontal lobe, the C.E.O. of their brain, isn’t fully developed yet,” which is why so many teens still live like there’s no tomorrow.” Where’s this study? IF A TEEN CAN OPEN A PICKLE JAR THEY CAN EVALUATE A DECISION AND MAKE THE RIGHT CHOICE, IT’S NOT BECAUSE THEIR BRAIN HASEN’T FULLY DEVELOPED, IT’S BECAUSE THEIR PARENTS HAVEN’T FED THEM THE KNOWLEDGE THEY NEED. I just want to say that it’s because parents don’t teach their children responsibility. If you tell your kids they are not allowed to do something they want to do it more. I’m 22 years old and have had alot of fun in my time as a teen in highschool and college. I have taken things to large extremes but never have I done a drug beyond pot because my parents and friends parents had the sense to understand I’m going to be exposed ot it and they have no control and they let me know what to expect from their experiances as a teen and being in such a peer driven situation. They gave me the knowledge I needed to make informed decisions. Not telling me it’s bad so I want to try it more even though they definitly did not approve of it, alot of these kids don’t know what they are getting themselves into and don’t know what responsibilities they have to protect themselves, friends, and the public around them. Alot of this is social responsibility. I don’t think drugs and alcohol are bad, people just need to learn how to use it properly. Of course their are always going to be extremist which leads to substance abuse, which leaves them sitting in the gutter broke wondering what happened with there lives. My parents explained how the short term and long term effects will effect my life and my knowledge grew as I got older so I can make informed decisions for myself which I reached this point when I was only 16. Lets parent the children like your supposed to, TEACH THE KIDS DON’T RESTRICT THEM just because you know it’s a dangerous situation means they need to experiance it even more than not. It’s a learning experiance, until you see it first hand you have no idea

- Joe

Posted 04/12/08 10:23 AM

if the towns in the spring break areas didn’t want this activity they would spend more time cracking down on the ‘adults’ and businesses which are supplying the alcohol and drugs to the ‘underage’ but by saying 18 is adult and allowing it to continue, simply arresting and pressing charges against the ‘underage’ it is really an income generating system for the area, police and hospitals. Knowing that this goes on throughout spring break (about 5 weeks long due to ‘staggered’ breaks—- so that all the colleges are not there at once) is simply legitimizing the process.

- reveneal

Posted 04/12/08 10:45 AM

SPEAK TO US ON CHILDREN “YOUR CHILDREN ARE NOT YOUR CHILDREN, THEY ARE THE SONS & THE DAUGHTERS OF LIFES LONGING FOR IT’S SELF. THEY COME THRU YOU BUT THEY ARE NOT FROM YOU, AND THOUGH THEY ARE WITH YOU ,THEY BELONG NOT TO YOU. YOU MAY GIVE THEM YOUR LOVE BUT NOT YOUR THOUGHTS, THEY HAVE THER OWN THOUGHTS. YOU MAY HOUSE THEIR BODIES BUT NOT THEIR SOULS, FOR THEIR SOULS DWELL IN A PLACE OF TOMORROW,WHICH YOU CAN NOT VISIT NOT EVEN IN YOUR DREAMS. YOU CAN TRY TO BE LIKE THEM BUT YOU CAN NOT MAKE THEM JUST LIKE YOU. FOR LIFE GOES NOT BACKWARDS NOR TARRIES WITH YESTERDAY. YOU ARE THE BOWS FROM WHICH YOUR CHILDREN AS LIVING ARROWS ARE SET FORTH. THE ARCHER SES THE MARK UPON THE PATH OF THE INFINITE, AND HE BENDS YOU WITH HIS MIGHT THAT HIS ARROWS MAY GO SWIFT & FAR. LET YOUR BENDING IN THE ARCHERS HAND BE FOR GLADNESS; FOR EVEN AS HE LOVES THE ARROW THAT FLIES, HE TO LOVES THE BOW THAT IS STABLE.” FROM THE PROPHET BY KIHLIL GIBRAN

- M.A,

Posted 04/12/08 10:54 AM

Okay look, im 21 right now and my jr and sr years in high school i went to south padre for spring break… i live about an hour away, here in deep south texas.. i really think its wrong that this video is making it seem like its soooooo bad HERE!! its everywhere.. and just because some stupid kids are doing stupid sh*t doesn’t mean everyone is… i’ll admit we drank and may have done other things but 4 years ago it wasn’t about doing heroin or exstacy ((however you spell that)) for 5 days straight… and there was freakin TABC at almost every damn corner on the strip.. i mean we got pulled over at noon on our way back to our condo from whataburger for crying out loud… those little kids need to realize they arent untouchable.. and they will in due time, we all do.. but south padre during spring break is not neccesarilly the freakin druggie place to be.. thats just stupid and incredibly upsetting to me… it happens everywhere!!

- Monica Ann*

Posted 04/12/08 11:05 AM

While I do think kids need freedom to stretch their wings so to speak, Spring Break is NOT the place to do it. I used to be right there with all the kids, drinking, doing the drugs, etc. It actually ended up doing more harm than good. It led to more drugs, more drinking, and more careless sex. I have luckily matured now and have been able to give all that up. I just got back from Panama City Beach. My grandparents own a timeshare there that just happens to fall during spring break. I was happy to go, but i knew it was going to be crazy. What I saw there shocked even me. 14 year olds drinking, 13,14,15 year olds smoking pot on the beach, a 16 year old girl having sex with a 22 yo right on the beach while people walked by. It was disgusting. And You have to think for what? To think this kind of behavior is fun is just disturbing. since when do you have to drink to have fun? Hopefully these kids will not be hurt and they will get it out of their system. But what if they don’t I fear many of them will turn into alcoholics. All I can say is God protect them, for they know not what they do.

- johnboy

Posted 04/12/08 11:33 AM

i’m 19 and i can tell all those who are blaming “the parents” to shove it. it’s your kids that are probably the most screwed up out of all. kids are going to do what they want to. if they want to experiment they will, if they don’t, they won’t. even the most intellegent, well behaved kid is going to try something if they want to, no matter how well they were raised. truthfully, it’s the “good” kids that go crazy when they get the chance

- S.

Posted 04/12/08 11:33 AM

oh P.S. sending your kids to college can be just as bad as spring break. there are even more parties and it lasts for 4 years instead of just a week, so just get over it, and hope your kid knows what’s best for him or herself

- S.

Posted 04/12/08 11:42 AM

Spring break is a right of passage. They’re all adults, so stop calling them kids. Unless they’re your children. The only way a parent can potentially stop them is to talk to them and not finance the trip. If the young adults have a job, good luck stopping them. This is really a law enforcement issue.

- DAVE

Posted 04/12/08 11:58 AM