Since February 2004, youth offending teams have been able to apply for parenting orders, which can require the parents of young offenders to attend parenting courses. Freddine Parris is team leader at Strengthening Families on one such course in Tower Hamlets. "Being a parent can be stressful and embarrassing. So it's sometimes easier for the parents to give in to the young person, but they don't realise they are setting a dangerous pattern," she says.
Family Ties
Parents of difficult young people are referred to the project by the youth offending team and the youth inclusion support panel, with a view to changing the young person's behaviour through better parenting. The adolescent is also worked with to amplify the effect. In an area where most families are of Bangladeshi origin, getting parents to understand their children's adopted culture is a major challenge, says Parris: "The biggest shift I've seen is about drugs, when parents share their experience of their children's drug taking. It's crucial to get them to accept what is going on."
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