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I'd like to say well done for exposing Tranquility Bay Kevin Farrell, Scotland

I took my son to a WWASPS program. I believe with all of my heart that the program saved his life. No, he did not like it. Yes, I may be a poor parent. But my son is alive today and pursuing wholesome dreams and doing well. The results are what matter.
Don Meares, USA

My son was enrolled in the programs in Samoa and Mexico, both now closed. To put it simply, it saved his life. It did not "fix" him, it did not "cure" him, but it gave him a safe place to be while he matured.
Dick Hanscom, USA

I'd like to say well done for exposing Tranquility Bay, it is a horrific place and people need to know about it.
Kevin Farrell, Scotland

It would be more appropriate for parents to recognise that the environment teens are growing up in is different from when they were teens, and work with their children and the wider community to make that environment a safer place. I wouldn't dare suggest this is an easy task and I don't envy parents having to deal with such a problem, but blaming the teenager for this environment is not the answer.
Simon Paterson, New Zealand

What a shocking state of affairs. How can we treat our children this way?
Kevin Jeffries, Northern Ireland

I think this is a fantastic idea and should be state-funded and run by ex-military Stephen Lockwood, West Yorkshire

I have a child at a WWASPS school. We took him ourselves. I want to tell you how difficult it was for us to make the decision until we realised that HE made the decision. He was destroying his life, not listening to reason and we found no program, therapists, out-patient clinics, psychiatrists or psychologists were able to help. He needed intervention immediately.
Susan Bryn, USA

Very disturbing. It is clear that while their behaviour may become more "acceptable", the children lose out on being children.
Kelvin Walker, UK

Dependent children, even unruly ones, deserve basic civil liberties. The parents choose to have children, and when they cannot control them, they should not simply be able to lock them up.
John, New York

Teenagers need love and support, not hardline discipline Kieran Simkin, Brighton

My daughter is at a facility under the same program. The children, and they are children, are in a safe environment without the distractions and insulting behaviour of their peers. They are being academically educated and they are taught to understand that there are consequences for everything that they do, positive or negative. Is the process uncomfortable? Absolutely! Does it work? Most definitely.
A, Ohio

I think this is a fantastic idea and should be state-funded and run by ex-military. I spent from the age of 13-30 with the Cadets, then Territorial Army and regular army. The discipline and tough regime taught me how to respect those in authority and other people's property.
Stephen Lockwood, West Yorkshire

The only reason these kids are behaving badly is because of the environment in which they are raised. This is bad parenting plain and simple.
Jon , Driffield

Every child has their problems... but there are far better ways of helping them than this Sam, Worcester

It is a sign of a bad parent if they must send their children to places like Tranquility Bay. It is the local authorities who should decide if a kid needs to go to a correctional institution, not the parents.
Mabon Dane, Haverhill

Teenagers need love and support, not hardline discipline.
Kieran Simkin, Brighton

I simply cannot believe that parents who truly love their children would send them to an institution like this. I know if my parents had ever taken such measures I would never have talked to them again and it would have spelt the end of any kind of relationship between us. Every child has their problems, admittedly some more than others, but there are far better ways of helping them than this.
Sam, Worcester

Adolescence is not equal to binge drinking, smoking pot and sleeping around. Yes, we all try a cigarette, most try drugs and we all drink from time to time. But a great many of us are responsible and sensible, and the vices mentioned above are by no means exclusive to teenagers. Perhaps though, if adults were to stop telling themselves that teenagers behaving like this was normal, the said teenagers might not have an excuse to go and screw up their lives.
Sam (aged 16), London