A PROJECT to support parents of troublesome teenagers is being expanded.

The Parent Link Project was set up just over a year ago in Ryedale to work directly with families of young people who have been involved in crime or anti-social behaviour, or who are judged to be in danger of becoming involved.

It is funded by Safer Ryedale, the district's community safety partnership, and run by co-ordinator Clare Glass through the North Yorkshire Youth Offending Team.

She works one-to-one with families giving advice and practical help on managing conflict.

So far, she has worked with 30 families and taken 190 client sessions, offering them six-week parenting programmes and workshops with other families to discuss issues such as drug abuse.

The demand for her services has been so high that Safer Ryedale has increased its funding to extend her hours each week.

She said: "It's been a learning curve for everyone involved, including me.

"Often, schools are the first to alert me to a problem with youngsters who cannot concentrate in class and become disruptive.

"When I work with their parents, we look at everything from their diet to whether they do chores at home."

Cutting out fizzy drinks, cakes and cheap sweets has made a big difference to a lot of youngsters.

"I've recommended increasing the obvious healthy foods, especially eating more fresh food and less ready meals, and this can turn around behaviour very quickly," she said.

Another technique that encourages parents to view their children more positively is using a list of praising words.

Ms Glass said: "I draw up a list of words with the family that will help build self-esteem for the youngsters, it might be something as simple as "good try" or 'well done", but this improves relationships in the home pretty quickly."

Ana Richards, co-ordinator for Safer Ryedale, is delighted with the success of the project.

"There is no doubt Clare's work has helped turn round behaviour among teenagers who were on the edge of becoming seriously disruptive and improved their life and that of their families and in the classroom," she said.