A child who runs away usually has left home to escape or avoid an unpleasant environment. Most motives in teenagers for running away range from escaping recurrent abusive experiences at home to

self improvement where they hope to change or stop whatever negative activity they are doing or about to do ( Conner par. 3). If, as a parent, you are unaware of your child’s friends and who they have close relations and contact with on a regular basis, than the likeliness of your child running away is mounting. An ever-present distance between child and parent is one of the many warning signs in troubled and potential runaways ( Conner par. 7). In addition to unfamiliarity in a child’s network of friends, abusive, irrational and emotional behavior are also key indicators. In this day and age as a parent one may think it impossible to know everyone your child hangs out with or comes in contact with. Indeed, it is somewhat improbable however merely showing interest in your young teens friends and activities should surely prevent or better prepare your child for any bad social encounters. However, Statistics such as 1.5 million US youth runaway or are sent away from home yearly, send a shiver down my spine. Or that sixty-eight percent of those teens are between the ages of fifteen and seventeen. Even worse, thirty-five percent of those teens are repeat runaways, which in that case the very probability of them ever staying off the streets is slim to none. (Litchman par. 1) Not all blame can be pointed towards young teens and their social cliques. Abusive home environments are also to blame for runaways. Whether it be both parents or a family member that the child does

Some topics in this essay:
Teenage Runaways, Plan Amber, Minnott KCTS, America Public, Kathy Schwartz, Amber Center, abusive home, Children NCMEC, missing exploited children, distance child parent, center missing exploited, rising epidemic, distance child, child parent, exploited children, missing exploited, cities nationwide, amber center, percent teens, child runs,