Vietnamese Parents Advised on Troubled Youths

Rocked by recent reports of gangs, teen pregnancy and alienation among Vietnamese-American youth, about 30 parents came to Westminster High School Tuesday night for advice on how to handle their troubled young people.

“I don’t want to say that it’s hopeless, but the situation is alarming,” said Chi Duy Do, a counselor with Vietnamese Community of Orange County Inc., a nonprofit social services agency.

Citing the 15-year-old Vietnamese-American honors student whose newborn baby drowned recently in a high school toilet, reports of violent feuds among gangs of teen-age girls and increasing drug abuse, Do said the Vietnamese community must begin facing up to its youth problem.

“We have to ask our children why they prefer to spend more time in prison than in the warmth of their families’ home,” Do said, speaking in Vietnamese.

The forum was one of the first all-Vietnamese programs for Westminster High parents. Speakers explained how to recognize cigarette burns and cuts that could signify gang involvement, how to spot drug abuse and which Orange County agencies can provide parents with Vietnamese-language help.

“They need our love and support,” said counselor Tran Linh. “Pool them into the family. Don’t let them run with bad company.”

Among the problems that Do and other speakers said contribute to teen estrangement are loneliness, lack of basic education in Vietnam in preparation for American schooling and language deficiencies. Attributing some of the problems to “a new American-style materialism that their parents cannot satisfy,” speakers also said that many parents’ long work hours prevented them from spending enough time with their children.

“If we only think of getting rich, then we will lose our children,” said Linh Tran. “They will become uncontrollable and they will turn around and wreck our wealth.”