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General Do you think teen gambling can lead to other bad behaviors?

June

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200
I read an article that stated just that. As for myself, I am not sure that gambling as a teen would lead to other bad behaviors unless the people that you were surrounding yourself with are bad seeds. What do you think?
 

lordcole

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302
I think that time and again, research has proven that teenage gambling isn't healthy because that is the age in which most people are beginning to discover themselves. My worry would be the lack of guidance or mentorship, at this stage.
 

SjOnFire

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198
I don't know if it would lead to other bad behaviors or not but it seems like it could tempt teenagers into something to feed the habit. Maybe it could lead to stealing if they would loose money and want to get it back so their parents don't find out they are gambling.
 

June

Member
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200
Yes, I agree that if the gambling addiction got bad enough, they might seek out alternative ways to fund their addiction. I would hope that the parents of these teens have instilled the best values possible so that might mitigate the problems therein.
 

lordcole

Member
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302
I don't know if it would lead to other bad behaviors or not but it seems like it could tempt teenagers into something to feed the habit. Maybe it could lead to stealing if they would loose money and want to get it back so their parents don't find out they are gambling.
You bring out a good point here. I only took up gambling when I was able to pay my own bills, so it was easy to take a break if gambling wasn't being profitable. A teenager who's constantly losing, may end up using unscrupulous ways to feed the habit.
 

SjOnFire

Member
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198
Yes, I agree that if the gambling addiction got bad enough, they might seek out alternative ways to fund their addiction. I would hope that the parents of these teens have instilled the best values possible so that might mitigate the problems therein.

No matter how many values a parent instills in their teen. they will still act the way they want. If a teen is going through a rebellious stage and takes up gambling it usually doesn't have anything to do with what their parents taught them.
 

zephyr 12

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241
The author of the article assumes that gambling is a bad behaviour from the get go when he or she states "OTHER" bad behaviours in the title.

Gambling, in and of itself, is not a bad behaviour. HOW you gamble is either good or bad. It doesn't matter if you're 17 or 71, it's either a productive and fun pastime or it's not.
 

SjOnFire

Member
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198
The author of the article assumes that gambling is a bad behaviour from the get go when he or she states "OTHER" bad behaviours in the title.

Gambling, in and of itself, is not a bad behaviour. HOW you gamble is either good or bad. It doesn't matter if you're 17 or 71, it's either a productive and fun pastime or it's not.

This is so true zephyr 12. Gambling is not a bad behavior when done responsibly and the article really did make it seem like it was. Society has put a stigma on gambling and made it seem like it was a bad behavior. I guess like drinking alcohol, everything is ok in moderation.
 

zephyr 12

Member
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241
Alcohol..........It doesn't have the stigma gambling does yet it has killed and ruined many more lives than gambling ever will.

Selective stigmas that make no sense.
 

June

Member
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200
No matter how many values a parent instills in their teen. they will still act the way they want. If a teen is going through a rebellious stage and takes up gambling it usually doesn't have anything to do with what their parents taught them.

I don't know how you were raised but I was afraid of my parents. My teen years were me trying to get around my parents and them beating the crap out of me. Therefore, I really didn't do anything that could be considered "bad" until I left home.
 

SjOnFire

Member
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198
I don't know how you were raised but I was afraid of my parents. My teen years were me trying to get around my parents and them beating the crap out of me. Therefore, I really didn't do anything that could be considered "bad" until I left home.

And here you are on a gambling website talking about gambling!

Teenagers are going to rebel, if you didn't then you are one of the few. Even the Preacher's kids get out and do things that their parent's don't know about. If you think that you can control everything that your teenagers do, you are not that intelligent.

I don't know how you were raised either but if you were afraid of your parents then I feel sorry for you. One should not be afraid of their parents, we should respect them but not be afraid of them. And I was raised to respect my parents and my parents instilled values in me and also taught me that people that look down on others for gambling responsibly or drinking responsibly are uptight a-holes who have nothing better to do then find faults in others.

Teenagers will be teenagers and that's life. Either you don't have children, or you are blind.
 

lordcole

Member
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302
No matter how many values a parent instills in their teen. they will still act the way they want. If a teen is going through a rebellious stage and takes up gambling it usually doesn't have anything to do with what their parents taught them.
@SjOnFire, this is a very subjective topic, that no one ought to generalize. Not all teens will act the way they want. I was raised with very strict parents who told you what was right, but never tried too much to stop from doing these 'bad' things. I remember very many instances where I made a fool of myself, and learned the hard way.

The point here is not people giving up gambling completely, but starting it after your teens because this is the age where we like to experiment and without proper mentorship, we could end up being miserable. If I may ask, when did you start gambling? Secondly, would you let your children participate in gambling in their teens, without caring to tell them the risks involved? Would you always give money without asking them to account for it?

All in all, and like @zephyr 12 says, I agree that gambling has demonized for a long time and that analogy to alcohol, brings out the harsh reality. The truth of the matter is that irresponsible and responsible gambling are two sides of the same coin, whichever way we choose to look at it.
 
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