Preventions and Solutions for Runaways

According to the National Runaway Switchboard, one out of every seven children will run away before the age of 18. 

Most runaways will return home between 48 hours and 2 weeks of leaving home; however, some runaways choose to stay on the streets.

A number of runaways are actually "throwaways," which means that their guardians have kicked them out of the house, encouraged them to leave, or made it impossible for them to stay in their home.

prevention and solutions

Many runaways feel as if they are unheard, powerless, or unimportant in the home.  These feelings can be prevented by:

• Fostering communication that is open and honest, 
• Keeping the home environment safe and secure 
• Ensuring that the child's school is dealing with conflict 
• Respond to a child's emotional needs 
• Therapy  can be extremely helpful in facilitating communication within troubled families

before you runaway consider these things

If things are so bad that you feel like your only option is to run, please take a minute to stop, think, and ask yourself these questions.

• If you are being abused, call 911. They have the resources to help you get out of this situation.

• Is running away really going to solve your problems? What will happen if you decide to return home?

• What are you running to? Will you really be in a better place?

• How much money do you have?  How long do you think it will last once you're on your own?

• How will you support yourself?  What job skills do you really have? Do you have experience? If you have a job, is it enough to support a home, food, clothes, and other necessities for the long term?

REFERENCES:

• Operational comitte (2014). Teen Runaway Resources. retrieved on 11 march 2015. From http://bandbacktogether.com/runaway-resources/
• Tracy J (2015). Parenting Skills: Problems and solutions with Runaway teenagers