News, Advice, and Tips for Parenting Teenagers

There was a time when teens had rites of passage to help them make the transition from youth to adulthood. Different cultures offered different rituals and "requirements" that a teen had to complete to signify this passage. In contemporary Western cultures, many of these rites of passage have been lost.

Enter wilderness programs - these adventures in the wilderness put teens in a totally new environment, without their TVs, computers, and video games, where they can challenge themselves and discover a deeper meaning in their lives.

These wilderness programs, sometimes called outdoor education or wilderness therapy, are not like boot camps. Students learn primitive living skills - such as learning how to start the campfire without matches - and face any self-limiting beliefs as they take on the challenges of a wilderness expedition.

Any teen who struggles with their sense of identity in the world can greatly benefit from a wilderness experience. Programs such as

Aspen Achievement Academy

in beautiful Southern Utah use metaphors to help teens understand the progression to responsible adulthood. They start as mice, progress to buffalo, and finally to an eagle.