The national charity Family Lives say more parents than ever are calling their helpline seeking advice about their children's behaviour - find out more
Family Lives is a national charity providing help and support in all aspects of family life.
Between July 2010 and June 2011, 27% of calls made to their helpline were from parents seeking advice regarding their children's behaviour.
In addition, 42.9% of calls about behaviour related to children aged 13-15 years.
Despite these figures. Family Lives say there are still an alarming number of parents who don't seek help because of the stigma attached to it.
How Karl turned his life around
As a young teenager in Croydon, Karl Balogun was excluded from school and sent to a Pupil Referral Unit, where he got into a bad crowd and was mixed up in drugs, gangs and violence. He hung around with people who committed theft, carried knives and fought with other gangs.
The kids at the Pupil Referral Unit were such a big part of his life that he just went along with what they did. But when he realised his younger sister was getting into trouble, it gave him the strength to make a break. He managed to get back into mainstream school when he was 15.
He found it hard to stay on track, partly because he had already been to three secondary schools and any sign of trouble meant that he could be sent straight back to the Pupil Referral Unit. Other pupils would constantly try and provoke him, but he shut himself away from them and went on to take his GCSEs.
Karl later became a youth worker and attended a course to help him understand and manage conflict at Leap. The course spurred him on to set up his own project with troubled kids.
Karl now runs six-week courses in primary schools to help prevent kids being excluded and falling in with the wrong crowd. He shares his knowledge, and gives them hope that there are other opportunities in life.
For further help
Family Lives provides help and support in all aspects of family life - click here to visit their website. Call the Parentline free on 0808 800 2222.
Leap is a UK specialist in youth and conflict - click here to visit their website.