September 1, 2010 – 10:10 am
Question: My 19 year old son is going away to college. Is there anything I can do to encourage him on the company he keeps and the choices he will be making?
Answer: This is a good question because when a loved one goes away he tends to either be a follower or a leader. I hope he is a leader. I always recommend you purchase two of our Reality Check Program DVD’s. Keep one and watch it yourself. You can then talk to your son about making choice with some serious consequences. Consequences that you probably never had to endure. Say something like this, “Be careful tonight, and remember what Mr. Lawton went through”. Never harp on your son. Remind him to watch the DVD with his new found friends. They will all think before they act. He is an adult, but will always be your son. Opening and keeping an open dialogue is the best thing you can do to help your young adult son.
Good luck and I applaud you for being pro-active.
The short answer is NO. Let me explain what the Reality Check Program is. It is REALITY coming from a man who was in prison for 11 straight years. I take the good parts of the old scared straight program and incorporate it in the Reality Check Program and the Reality Check Program DVD. I don’t yell, scream, get in a kids face or anything like that. What I do is Read More »
Question: Is prison abuse as wide spread as you write about? I rarely read 
stuff about it.
Answer: If you are referring to the latest stuff I have been putting on my blog, the short answer would be yes. I will explain.
I have been commenting on an article titled “inmate died in agony while pleading for help” What people don’t understand is, sadly this happens all the time. Read More »
Question: My 21 year old son was arrested on a possession charge – under 20 grams. He hasn’t been in trouble in over a year. He was on probation for possession of a gun and had minor traffic charges. What can I expect the court to do?
Answer: Since you said he WAS on probation, I have to assume he is not on any kind of supervision at all. Here’s the bigger picture, is your son “getting it”? It’s time to grow up. Minor charges such as traffic infractions, are a sign that your son still needs to grow up. The gun charge is a whole different story. Read More »
Question: My husband and I both work and we have three children ages 13, 10, and 6. I am worried that my 13 year old is a bad influence on the younger ones. Any suggestions?
Answer: There is no doubt in my mind that all families’ members influence one another. That goes for the parents as well. My concern is what are the issues with the 13 year old? Without knowing that, what I do in my program is show a picture of a father and a son in prison together. I let teens and young adults know that they have to make good choices regardless of the surrounding they are in, or influences around them.
I am a big supporter of families sticking together and finding things to do together. It is hard with both parents working but nobody said rising a family was going to be easy. It all has to do with being committed to your family as a whole. Make family a priority.
There are many things to do that don’t cost money. Like going to the beach, going to a park and having a picnic. You have to eat anyway. Go to church together, join one of their groups. They are fun and you get to meet people just like you.
The more you are around your kids the better it will be. Kids understand parent’s struggles. We tend to try and hide everything from kids but they see more than you realize. Be the good influence on your kids and straighten out the issues the 13 year old has and he won’t be a bad influence on the younger ones.
Look on my website at “Identifying at-risk teens”. Use it as a guide and be pro-active.
Good luck,
Larry Lawton
Question: My 19 year old son is going away to college. Is there anything I can do to encourage him on the company he keeps and the choices he will be making?
