Why are kids dying in wilderness programs?

I saw Brat Camp (re-run).



I searched for wilderness programs and I found out that kids are dying out there in massive numbers. So many in fact that I - should I end up having a kid in trouble - never would choose a wilderness therapy program. I don't know what is worse. Having your child dying in the wilderness or having them dying from drugs.



Even the wilderness used in US version of Brat Camp is closed because a boy died out there in 2009.



Why are the wilderness programs so deadly? Is it because they are for-profit or is it just an unsafe method?Why are kids dying in wilderness programs?
Because they are very hard on kids, what you could do though is send your kid to Utah, noone dies there, it's just a bunch of Mormons who help your kid get over there problem
The wilderness programs are very harsh physically and in an attempt to be touch on the kids to teach them character, etc. the leaders will ignore complaints of feeling sick or not coping. It's seen as whining and the kids are pushed even harder making them sicker. With no proper care and harsh physical activity it has caused some kids to die.

I would never recommend to anyone to send their kid to one of these camps. For one they don't work. You don't solve lifelong emotional problems by walking out in the woods and getting yelled at and pushed around. Second in my opinion it's inhumane treatment that can cause more harm than good.

I'm 32 and I was sent to a program like that when I was 14 and it was a horrible experience that just made me scared, nervous and resentful. I'm glad these places are being shut down.Why are kids dying in wilderness programs?
The fact that troubled teens are enrolled has a lot to do with it. These kids can't (won't) conform with society. They feel that the world owes them and they don't have to do a thing to get it. They have a history of dishonesty and lies that end up being their own downfall.



The difference between Brat Camp and summer camp is, summer camp is attended by normal kids who don't have discipline issues, whereas this is the sole purpose with Brat Camp.



In a regular summer camp, if a kid complains of a stomach ache or other malady, the counselors believe them and excuse them from inclusion in the day's activities.



In Brat Camp, because of the defiant history of the kids, the leaders automatically suspect that the kid is making up an illness to get out of doing something. It's a natural assumption on the part of the leader - all because the kids at Brat Camp can't be trusted. (If they could be trusted, they wouldn't be there.)



Thus, if a medical problem exists, it goes undiagnosed. When you hear a list of symptoms from a confirmed liar, you have no reason to believe him.



Aesop wrote a story about a similar experience called, "The Boy Who Cried Wolf".



(See why honesty is always the best policy?)