These young kid today just do not get it.  I know a women  who has a 15 year old daughter, her mother lets her smoke, she wears what I would call trampy clothes (her brother dresses like what they call a gangster) and she even let her get her tounge peirced sometime last year (she was 14) and we all know why these young boy and girls are getting their tounges done. I can not stand it when she is out side due to the fact that every other word out of her mouth is that famous four letter F word that they all like to say. I do not see this young girl taking the right path in life and what is worst is that when she has a child of her own (which may be sooner then later) that child will be raised the same.  These parents that let these kids get away with what they are getting away with should be ashamed and they themselves should be charged with endangering the welfare of a child. It is so sad, unless something changes we are only going to see more of these children in the news.

what a week first a young man is being judged before the facts are out Now we are getting a real look at what these girls are up to. We have a society of young people that do not have any morals at all they think it's ok to show everything they have . ( and these days they have a lot!) When will the people as well as the law catch up to what is going on? Do you really believe that they should not be held accountable? We need to open our eyes and see that these so called kids are alot more mature than we think. I don't care what people say just because the girl is 14, 15 does not give them a free ride . Do I feel sorry for them No do the need professional help you bet. Then they wonder why these girls attract older boys. I bet they have been having sex with there boyfriends too. Are those boys going to get into trouble? We really need to get a handle on this . Just think these kids are our future God help us

This is definitely a tough subject.  To respond to your comment about your acquaintance, Jordan-EL, let me ask a question.  Do you think if this 15 year old's mother did not let her do all those things, would it stop these things from happening?  Would she not smoke, swear, or dress "trampy"?  The girl you just described sounds like me (except I'm now 25)  My parents raised me to be the best person I could be.  Our household was secure, stable, nuclear(as in nuclear family w/ husband, wife, 2.5 kids).  They didn't allow swearing, drugs, dressing suggestively, etc.

I could have been valedictorian.  I could have gone to an Ivy League school.  To this day, no matter what job I work I'm always a top performer.  When I was 15 though,  I felt too pressured to make the "right" decisions.  I didn't want to be what everyone wanted me to be.  I wanted to follow my own path, and so despite my parent's rules, and the exceptional job they did raising me, I got into drugs, partying, sex, etc... not because of my environment but because that was a choice that I wanted to make at that point in my life, and no one was going to stop me from doing what I wanted to do.  If my parents told me no, I did it anyway, and in reality by the time our kids are this age, they're smart.  And you can't raise them in a bubble.  They will find some way to do what they want to do.  They're not doing drugs because they're parents didn't raise them right.  They're doing it because being high is fun.  Sex is fun.  

The only way to change that is to change what they WANT to do.  Drugs are appealing.  Being high is fun.  I speak from experience.   The consequences of being high are not.  I've done ecstasy, LSD, mushrooms, marijuana, even cough medicine, and probably a few I don't remember anymore.  And it was all very fun.  But I lost a lot.  Opportunities, money, health.  I didn't see that back then.  When my daughters are old enough, I will tell them about all of it.  How I was taken advantage of, and raped, while I was high.  How I wound up sleeping in my car sometimes, even on the coldest of nights, because I didn't want to go home high, but had nowhere else to go.  How I now have HPV, and will always be at risk for cervical cancer because I had unprotected sex.  And how, now that I have seen what consequences my actions have had, how much I will struggle to make the most of my life for my children's sake.

My suggestion to parents is this:  Don't try to raise your children in a bubble.  Never lie, my parents lied to me about their past drug use, they denied it completely and it really broke the trust and fueled my rebellion, because I knew otherwise.  And if you do have children that are doing exceptionally in school and life, encourage them to reach out and help someone that may not be so sure of where they're going.  Jordan-EL, why don't you try inviting this girl over for dinner and just accepting her for who she is?  You might just spark a change. :-)

Corrine,  You gave great words of wisdom. You told my story I remember making those choices too. Hard lessons were learned. (some of them over and over) My big concern is were this is going to end up. I think these young people need to be accountable for their choices. Why punish the boy and not the girls? The lesson they will lean is it's ok to do what we want to whom ever we want until we are 18. Because the law protects them. The drug dealers had this all figured out. Under 16 your a drug runner you get arrested nothing or very little will happen. Goes for shootings too. I think if our young people  are willing to make adult choices they should be held accountable. Then maybe they will think twice about their next action and think about the end result

before we are quick to judge and condemn , i would like to see all the EVIDENCE FIRST, before i can make a proper evaluatrion of the situation.