If your child is a teen runaway, there is a problem. Before you jump to
the conclusion that they are just a bad kid, determine what really
pushed them in this direction. As a parent, there is nothing more
fearful then knowing that your child is out there, facing whatever scum
walks the earth and that you can not protect them. But, before you can
get them to stay home with you, you need to work with them to determine
why they left in the first place.
To do this, you need to do
several things. First, stop accusing and leave the anger at the door.
You need to have a frank but fair conversation with them. Determine why
they left. Do not yell at them, punish them or demand answers. Calmly
determine why they left, they must tell you here.
Tell them why
being a runaway teen is dangerous. Explain why this is not something
that is okay and that you will not allow it. Make sure they know that
you are open to helping them to work through problems they have at
school, with their peers or with you so they can avoid being a runaway
teen.
Get them help. Physically, they need to be examined.
Emotionally they need to work with a child therapist to determine what
they need to resolve with you or their problems to keep them at home,
safe. In fact, the biggest benefit they will need is working with you
side by side to determine what the solution is.
A teen runaway is
a call for help. In some form, they can no longer handle what is in
their lives threatening them. They are looking for a way to run, to
hide or to start over because something is pushing them to do that. You
do not have to be a bad parent to face a runaway teen. In fact, most
will deal with this. Yet, what you need to be is an open parent that
will welcome your teen runaway back into your home and work on repairing
problems so that they will stay at home with you.
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