Anybody watching 'Brat Camp'?
 

Six or seven juvenile delinquents vs six or seven "counselors" hiking and camping in Oregon wilderness, on ABC Wed. nights.

Very interesting how tough love, strict rules, and physical effort combine to change the kids.

Re: Anybody watching 'Brat Camp'?
 

You mean, actually BEING A PARENT works? Damn, who woulda thought?

I always wonder how parents let their kids get this bad. :(

Instead of whooping him at home when being difficult, many parents will just cave in and buy them whatever they want just to shut them up.....

If a child is out of control, you sometimes run out of options - even if you are a great parent. Some of these kids have been through traumatic events and some just aren't as well equipped as others to be able to deal with that trauma. I think the therapeutic wilderness programs can be very effective and really help to rebuild confidence in a kid who has hit rock bottom.

I am! I am not sure what I think about this show yet-- it is interesting but I think for me I will understand it better once the kids have completed the camp and I see their changes and if it truly worked or not!!

I've been watching with great interest since I worked on adolescent psych units for many years. I think the wilderness programs can be great for some kids, although I know some kids whose parents sent them to such programs and it did no good at all.
I agree with DZHBrown 100%.

This is more than tough love and discipline. There is also compassion when necessary, empathy when necessary, and highly trained staff to deal with different situations and temperaments. It's also breaking down who they are and rebuilding them in a more healthy way.

Dee

I'm watching for the same reason...along with the fact that we have an outdoor adventure program here at my school (but it doesn't deal with troubled kids....). So far I've been impressed with how well the counselors are handling these kids. This past week when the young lady was sobbing over the death of her father (can't remember her name) and the counselor checked in with her, then gave her space. Very good move. I've done that hundreds of times in my old job. Same with Isaiah and the Fire Tender (whatever his name is)....good move giving him the responsibility of tending the fire and not letting him get out of the responsibility. Done that many times myself too.

Even though it's just started, I'm worried about the outcomes. If these kids go back home to a non-structured environment, they'll go right back to where they started.

PsychTau

Ditto...I'm also wondering if any of these parents plan to move after the kids come home/show concludes. I would think that, although they've made breakthoughs, some of these kids will fall back in with the same friends and behaviors that got them in trouble in the first place.

I agree about returning home. In many of these types of programs, there is also family therapy involved. I think that is a crucial part of it and I hope that the families do get involved in the treatment and aftercare of these kids.

This is not the first "Brat Camp"--- and definately NOT the best. I saw an earlier version that was taped by a UK camera crew about some British kids who were sent to a Brat Camp in Utah. That one let you really get to know both the parents and the kids. You started really rooting for the teens as they made strides. I'm finding I don't really care about any of the kids on the USA version.

Here's a followup link:
http://www.channel4.com/life/microsi...p04/index.html

I saw some of that, too. They had a follow-up post-program visit to one family, and three days after her return the girl/camper stayed out all night. When she returned they all cried, and promised not to do it again.

It would be interesting to see a follow-up a year or two later.

The State of GA has something similar, and six 'counselors' were recently fired and may be prosecuted after a kid with asmah (?) was handcuffed in a bad bent-over position, was refused his inhaler, and died.

Brat Camp Teen Still A TroubleMaker
 

I kinda hope he gets a little mercy, since he was trying to scrub off the damage.

There has to be a lot of pressure, being on TV every week.

I suppose the parents got free tuition, for agreeing to be on camera.

Really, I'm not a brat: TV star who crashed boat, claims she's not as bad as ABC says
By Casey Ross
Saturday, August 6, 2005 - Updated: 11:06 AM EST
``Brat Camp's'' Jada Chabot says running over a Foxboro family in her parents' speed boat has left her hiding out in shame - and she blames the reality show for miscasting her as an out-of-control teen.
_____``This is the biggest shock of my life,'' Chabot told the Herald in an interview outside her parents lakefront Wrentham home. ``I could have killed seven people. I feel so embarassed just walking around town.''
_____Chabot, a 16-year-old cast member on ABC's ``Brat Camp,'' is now facing four police charges, including operating a motor boat negligently, after she plowed into a family while towing her boyfriend around Lake Pearl.
_____One of the victims, Grafieli Moraes, 16, is still hospitalized with three broken ribs. ``The doctors don't know when she's coming home,'' the girl's father, Agenor Moraes, said. ``She's still shocked. She told me last night she has dreams of the boat hitting us. It's tough.''
_____Chabot, who finished filming ``Brat Camp'' in January, apologized repeatedly to the family yesterday and said she cried when she saw them on the TV news. ``My whole family cried,'' she said.
_____Chabot was highly critical of ABC and ``Brat Camp's'' producers, saying the show wrongly depicts her as whiny and self-indulged, manipulating her way through life. The show's plot is to follow nine ``brats'' as they battle through an intensive reform program called SageWalk in the Oregon wilderness.
_____``I never knew how they were going to edit and cut the show,'' Chabot said. ``I'm upset at the way they portray me as a brat and that I don't care about anyone but myself.''
_____ABC spokeswoman Alison Rou said the network would not comment last night. The show's producers, Shapiro/Grodner Productions, did not return a phone call.
_____Meanwhile, child advocates blasted the show and its premise, saying there is no magic formula for fixing troubled children, especially one that involves the prime time glare of reality TV.
_____``So much of this girl's life is being put out in the public for the world to see,'' said Andrea Watson of the Federation for Children with Special Needs. ``She has to live with this for the rest of her life.''
ABC's ``Brat Camp'' web site describes Chabot as a ``compulsive liar who . . . throws parties and experiments with sex, drugs and alcohol.''
_____Despite her harsh words for the show yesterday, Chabot said the experience has changed her outlook and that her TV persona could not be further from the person she is today.
_____``I've totally changed,'' she said. ``I don't do drugs. I don't throw parties. I respect my dad a lot more now.''
_____``I hope the (Moraes) family realizes this was just a freak accident and a huge mistake,'' she added. ``I am so sorry.''