Worried mom of 16 yr old son
My 16 year old(soon to be 17)who has always been a well-behaved, nice young man until this past summer, has begun using marijuana and was arrested recently for possession. He has been hanging around with some 18-20 yr olds in addition to his high school friends. Of course, I don't like him being around the older guys, since his whole attitude and behavior has changed. But, no one can tell me how are you supposed to keep him away from the bad influences of these guys. He has given up his hobbies and shows no interest in school activities. There have been a few other incidents this summer(not involving the police, thank God)that I have tried to dicipline him about. I have tried talking to him, grounding, taking away his cell phone, and generally taking away privileges. He has walked out of the house twice when we have gotten into arguments and stayed out all night. Now his English teacher called and said that he comes to class unprepared and told me she is worried about him, too, since he has always been a good student. He doesn't seem to care about anything, even when I told him that since he has shown irresponsible behavior by being disrespectful to me, and using marijuana that I will not let him take his drivers test in a few weeks. His dad has had no contact for 10 years with any of our children. His 2 older brothers are doing well and have never given me a problem. I feel like I have failed as a mom. Is there anything that I can do to get through to him before it gets even worse? How can I get him to stop hanging out with the older ones?