Something said in one of those comments struck me as so true.  Oncer the police step in and take action against the parent, what hope is there of a normally functioning family.  Some kids are too clever for their own good.  Maybe they should have bought in a divorce law for parents who have come to the end of their tether with out of control teens.  I bet the kds would walk over hot coals to come back into the fold after a week or so!!! That isnt the regularly bashed ones, I mean the sort of scenario that blog is dealing with.