Why are teenagers running away?

A number of challenges are facing homes today, including a lack of communication between parents and their children, resulting in teenagers running away from home.
This view was expressed by Youth Development Specialist, Cleon Athill, who said at this stage of their development, children have difficulty speaking to their parents and likewise,
some parents have difficulty understanding their children.
“A lot of our teenagers have problems communicating with their parents. It is a time when they are coming into their own and parents sometimes don’t understand how to negotiate that. Other family problems and other problems like abuse and broken homes where mothers and fathers aren’t getting along are affecting the
children. So, when things aren’t going well at home they find comfort outside,” she opined.
Athill said right now, families need all the support they can get so that they can in turn support their teenagers. And, she said that the government needs to do more to address the problem  of runaway teens.
“The government has responsibility for citizenry development and that includes youth development, family development…somebody has to take responsibility in a systematic way and that also means government…it doesn’t mean that civil society doesn’t have a place,” she said.
Her comments come in the wake of news that a 13-year-old girl who ran away from home on July 27, and was found four days later on July 31, has again been reported missing by her family this week.
Alisha Lyken of Potters was last seen on Wednesday August 22, 2018 at her home about 4:30 p.m. She is said to be brown in complexion, about 5ft-7ins in height and slimly built.
Anyone with information is asked to get in touch with the Criminal Investigations Department at 462-3913 or 462-3914, or family members at 728-7056.
Ever so often, the police have to appeal to the public for help to find runaway teens, particularly girls and, even though it is a crime to harbour anyone under the age of 16, there have been no consequences for those found breaking the law in recent times.