Parents must know: this is the reason their child runs away from home

Try to remember when you were a child, did you ever want to run away from home? Or have you even actually done it? Cases of children and adolescents running away from home are actually quite common. However, you must first know why children and teenagers tend to run away when they have problems. Here's the full review.

Why should you run away from home?

Fighting between parents and children can lead to children running away from home because they are in a rebellious phase. However, fear of being punished or scolded for making certain mistakes can also trigger children to run away. This is because children believe that there is no solution to the problem that can be achieved other than running away.

Don't confuse a child who runs away as not loving you or ungrateful. This is not necessarily true, you know. Usually, being desperate to run away from home is a signal given to your child that he needs your help or attention as a parent.

In other cases, children run away from home as "weapons" to get what they want. For example, if the child asks cellphone new but parents haven't granted it. Children also think that running away from home will make their parents anxious and eventually they can negotiate with them to buy it cellphone.

There are various reasons for children and adolescents to run away

These are the reasons that children and teenagers may have in mind when they decide to run away from home.

1. Feeling unsafe at home

The child may feel that the situation at home is so scary that the only option is to run away. For example, if a child becomes a victim of child abuse. Be it verbal, physical, psychological, or sexual abuse. It's not that he ran away from home because he wanted to rebel, he was actually trying to save himself.

2. Problems in school or social environment

If the child is being bullied at school but there is no one available to help him, the child may choose to run away. That way, children can play truant without having to be forced to school by their parents.

Or the child is actually involved in certain problems but he does not have the courage to bear the consequences or punishment. So, he chose to run from home rather than having to accept the consequences.

3. Feeling disrespected

One of the cases of running away from home that is quite often encountered is that children feel jealous of their siblings. In the child's mind, he feels less valued and thinks that his parents love his brother or sister more.

In addition, children can feel disrespected because their parents punish them very hard for their mistakes. In other cases, children who feel they are not getting enough attention from their parents may also “test” their parents' affection by running away.

4. Want to get something from parents

Be careful if your child often threatens to run away from the house. He is likely to use your worry as a weapon to manipulate your parents and get what they want.

5. Pregnant outside of marriage

Teenage pregnancy is often the reason young women choose to run away from home. Because he was afraid of being punished, scolded, or even thrown out of the house, he decided to run away. This is of course very worrying because the health conditions of pregnant women are more vulnerable.

6. Addiction to alcohol or drugs

If your child stays at home, he may not feel free to abuse alcohol and drugs. So, either because of pressure from the environment or encouragement from themselves, the child decides to run away from home. He will be more free to fulfill his thirst for an unhealthy lifestyle if he is away from home.

7. Trapped or coerced by others

In this era of social media, there have been many cases where children and teenagers are tricked by bad people to leave their homes. Children caught in the tricks of criminals may become victims of child trafficking. Children can also run away so they can be with their partner who is not approved by their parents.