My teenaage son, 16 1/2 has "moved" out. I say moved out because in his mind he's done living with us, and 4 sisters. he feels like he doesn't belong and should live somewhere else. He is still going to scholl on his own, not sure if he has gotten a job. We haven't heard form him in over a week, Our concern is should we force him home, list him as a runaway(he will just leave again), can we be charged with neglect if we do nothing?
Parent 2 Parent Forum | Troubled Teen Blog
supporting families with troubled teen issues
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Hello concerned parent,
I am the mother of a habitual runaway. As parents of a runway we have faced these very same issues. The fact of the matter is he is going to do what he wants to do, but you as the parent must do your part. I don't say this to discourage you or offend, but we are responsible to provide structure and discipline for our kids. It is than up to them how they will respond. Especially when there are other children in the how we must send the message that these are the rules and you must honor them. You are legally liable for your son until he is 18 years of age, so my advice would be report him as a runaway and bring him home. If you would like prayer for this we have a web based ministry the website is lexyslost.com. It is free and confidential. Please email a prayer partner anytime for prayer, resources and support. Also your son can visit the website if he would like to email a teenager that has struggled with these issues.God Bless,
TaraPosted 1 year ago # -
Im a teen myself so I know how he would probably feel. If he ran away because he doesn't want to live there. Talk to him and ask him how you can change things in the home to make him feel comfortable. Don't force him to come back because he's only gonna run away again. As hard as you try you can't make him do anything. If he isn't going to live with you make sure he's at least with a friend or somewhere safe.
Posted 11 months ago # -
Wow, so sorry to hear about your son. I hope he comes home soon and am sure he's a great teen behind his anger. We have a wilderness camp therapy program for troubled teens if you want to learn more. We have such a success it really inspires us to reach out to parents and families like yours. http://www.pacificquest.org/ is our website if you want to learn more.
My best.Posted 10 months ago # -
mashia
MemberI have a 16 year old son too, he has the same problem with yours, but he is still under our control. Because he often comes out without telling us, so we have to set parental control to track him. On one hand to keep him safe, on the other hand to make sure we can know where he is whenever we want to know. But he doesn't know, this is the most important. I think it is a good idea for all mums.
Posted 10 months ago # -
Notgivingup
MemberHi, as a teen that moved out early(16), and a parent at 19 (our daughter) who is in university and totally has her head on straight (so far) and now I am 37 with a delinquent who has runaway continuously 2 years ago and has been in big trouble (and is now still at home) I only want to offer support. You cannot "force" him to do anything...as much as you want to, you can't. The only thing that you can do is show that you are there for him and try to increase your 'influence' on him. Our son is 15 and now has a criminal record, we are letting 'natural consequences' take their course. (Court, probation, criminal record) We took our life back. We cannot control what happens outside our home, only what happens in....our son has (finally) chosen to abide our rules. If he doesn't that is a choice he is making in his life and we will not tolerate anymore nonsense. However, we can never give up as parents, our kids are good kids and will always be ours. Never Give Up! Explore every option
Posted 9 months ago # -
Sorry to hear about your dilemma. You are in a kinda a bad spot, as others have already said, and as you are experiencing it. Some questions I have are like: What state are you in? Is your son employed? Is he still going to school? Does he have criminal record?
Depending on the answers to some of these questions may give you some choices. As a former program director for a wilderness program I have walked with many families through very similar circumstances. If you want to talk about some possible choices you may have drop me a line, maybe I can help. cliff@cliffstockton.comPosted 7 months ago #
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