A teenager runs away from home for all sort of different reason be it greed, insecurity, mental breakdown or in some case excitement. There could be a different story of every runaway kid, some feel unwanted at home and decide to leave, or some leave because of mental pressure, relationship problems and other issues.
However, the situation is a nightmare for every parent dealing with, some of the parents start blaming themselves while others fall into panic mode. Reports estimate that a child runs away from home every five minutes in the UK that is around 100,000 children every year.
Drugs, alcohol addiction, violence, abuse, bullying, relationship difficulties, loneliness or family breakdown are considered to be the main reason in most of the serious runaway cases. Children often run away on the spur of the moment, without any planning. They probably haven’t figured out where they will go, sleep, how they will manage their living and who will support them.
Hence, some of the children end up on the streets where high risks are involved including sexual exploitation, drugs, abuse or violence. Such problems can be worse than those they were facing at home. Meanwhile, the freaked-out parents get angry, and under the stressful situation, they often get confused on how to react and what to do.
Here are some of the steps parents or relatives must take in order to ensure the safety of the child and find them out ASAP when child run away:
a. Spread the news It often gets embarrassing for parents to talk about such situation but spreading the news can increase the chances of finding a kid or getting clues about the runaway. Try and contact everyone your child might know and enlist their help. Moreover, contact the nearby police station for the help, report child missing complaint and do not leave your phone unattended.
b. Check home for the missing item and visit their favorite spots The parents must check the child room for the missing stuff. Some child who leaves home without any planning won’t take anything with them while others pack their bags and run away with all their valuable belongings. Thoroughly checking the room will provide the parent with an idea about the scenario, the one who runs away without their belongings have higher chances of visiting some nearby areas and can be found easily while in the other case one needs to take some strict actions.
In most of the cases, children run to some familiar places that feel secure and relatable. They might have gone to close friend, family or have visited their favorite spot to spend a little alone time. Moreover, the parents must look for the social media account of their kid to get the idea about whom they contacted and what could be the possible places for them to hide.
If your kid decides to come back home, keep calm provide them with some space, listen to them. It is essential to have a conversation in order to understand what situation, behavior or reason forced them to take such harsh decision. Don’t scold your kid because this may result in another runaway.
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