Other reasons teens run away
Not all kids who leave home are pushed out, nor do they
necessarily leave due to abuse or neglect. Some teens run
away for more minor reasons such as the desire to follow a
friend who has already run away. Some leave because they
fear fallout from a poor test grade or a bad report card. Others
may run because they have experienced an argument or
misunderstanding at home.
When these events occur, some teens may feel trapped.
While most adults have developed the skills necessary to
deal with problems as they arise, many teens have not. They
may feel extraordinarily confused, scared, or overwhelmed
Neglected teens will
sometimes run away
to gain the attention
of their parents.
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by what feel like large problems. Running away, therefore,
can be a teen’s attempt at either solving or escaping
their problems.
Teens may also run away to get attention. For neglected
teens who grow up in households where they feel overlooked
or pushed aside, sometimes running away becomes a
means to grab their parents’ or other authority figures’ attention.
Artenstein refers to these kids as “unlikely runaways”
and says they “run away following a minor family
argument, or simply for adventure.”13 When teens leave
under these circumstances, they usually return home
within a few days and rarely end up making a habit of running
away. Regardless of their reasons for leaving, these
kids are still putting themselves in danger by trying to live
on their own.
The hazards teen runaways face on the streets every day
are extreme. Learning what these dangers are is essential
to understanding just how desperate these teens feel. They
are willing to put their very lives in jeopardy in order to
avoid returning to a home life that they see as far more
problematic. Though life on the street is more often than
not more perilous than their home life, many of these teens
convince themselves that they are better off on their own