Tips for Parents: Preventing Your Teen from Joining a Gang.

Parents are the most powerful influence in preventing gang membership, drug use and other risky behaviors in their teens. By being involved in your teen’s life and staying alert to signs and symptoms of risky behavior you can help your teen seek out positive relationships and stay away from gangs and drugs.

Specific ways to help are:

• Talk to your teen about high risk behavior like involvement with gangs and drugs.
  Let your child know that you don’t want to see him or her hurt or arrested. Explain to your child that he or she should NOT:
• Use illicit drugs under any circumstances, and to do so will result in serious consequences.
• Associate with gang members.
• Attend parties or social events sponsored by gangs.
• Use hand signs, symbols or language that is meaningful to gangs.
• Intentionally wear clothing, including specific colors, which may have meaning to gangs in your area.
• Monitor your teen.
  Know who your teen’s friends are and make a point to meet their parents. Know where your teen is and what he/she is doing during unsupervised time. Set clear rules about what teens’ are allowed to do, where they are allowed to go and who they are allowed to go with. If your teen has a cell phone, have him/her check in periodically with you.
• Identify risk factors for delinquent behavior, violence and gang involvement for your teen.  The following risk factors have been found to predict delinquent behavior like violence and gang membership. The more risk factors in a youth’s background the more likely he/she is to engage in these types of behaviors. However, getting teens involved in after school activities, such as sports and volunteer opportunities, is an excellent way to reduce the likelihood of them falling into negative behaviors.
• Individual factors: early delinquency (especially violence, very early marijuana use and other drug use), as well as early dating and sexual activity.
• Family factors: other gang-involved family members, non-two-parent family structure and poverty.
• School factors: low achievement, commitment and aspirations; absenteeism; negative labeling by teachers; and lack of a sense of safety in school.
• Peer factors: associations with delinquent or aggressive peers.
• Community factors: poverty, drug availability, lack of structured activities, gang presence, lack of a sense of safety and attachment.
• Recognize warning signs indicating your teen may already be involved with a gang.
  Parents should familiarize themselves with local gang symbols and look for multiple signs to indicate possible gang involvement because some of these indicators alone, such as clothes or musical preferences, are also common among youth not involved in gangs.
• Has unexplained cash or goods, such as clothing or jewelry.
• Carries a weapon.
• Has been in trouble with the police.
• Exhibits negative changes in behavior such as: withdrawing from family; declining school attendance, performance or behavior; staying out late without reason; displaying an unusual desire for secrecy; exhibiting signs of drug use; breaking rules consistently; and speaking in gang-style slang, especially when certain letters of words are substituted (like "flue" for blue, in Blood slang).
• They “hang out” with kids who are obviously in gangs.
• Shows an unusual interest in one or two particular colors of clothing or a particular logo.
• Has an unusual interest in gangster-influenced music, videos, movies or Web sites.
• Uses unusual hand signals to communicate with friends.
• Has specific drawings or gang symbols on school books, clothes, walls or tattoos.
• Comes home with unexplained physical injuries (fighting-related bruises, injuries to hand/knuckles).³
• If you suspect that your teen is involved with a gang - ACT QUICKLY.
  As with drug use, parents are encouraged to seek help early. Many of the same strategies for intervening with drug use apply. For additional assistance, parents can also consider contacting school personnel, local law enforcement, faith leaders and community organizations.