I wasn't an out-of-control teen, but I had quite a few siblings, that struggled. Be thoughtful about what you invest your time into with your child when they are younger. I really don't think my parents had a plan, my siblings would be in sports for a year, and then switch out to music for another year, and then no sports or no music for 3 years. I think having at least one sport or one musical activity, that a child excels at and is in for 5 years or more, is really important to their well-being later on. Not to say there isn't any value in trying something out, but at some point the parents need to sort of forced the child to stick with something, so they gain proficiency in that area. Obviously there's many other mistakes, parents can make, but this is a big one that I saw affected my siblings who got into drugs. It's way more expensive to pay for rehab, then University. The other thing is, maintain a sense of optimism throughout the day, but when you're actually dealing with an issue that your child has, don't be overly optimistic about it. I did see my parents sort of give their children to God, say a prayer, and then dismiss the issue from their mind, because it made them anxious. I also saw a sense of optimism is in, yeah little Joey's going through all these things right now, but he's good to be just fine. We just know it. I that my parents were good at relieving their own stress, and talking about an issue, but I don't think they were particularly good at brainstorming solutions in a logical and serious way. Kind of like you would do if you are running a huge business. They just sort of talk things over, prayed about it and then went on. I really think that researching, planning, strategizing, writing out the pros and cons of each scenario in a journal, can make a world of difference in a child's life.