2007 05: Why children run away

The Star online. News. Opinion. Saturday May 19, 2007

SOCIETY has to be more receptive to this problem of runaway children as the number of teen runaways has of late increased markedly and, notably, more girls than boys are involved.

Runaway children are not lost or abducted but are children who go missing voluntarily. They leave their home on their own accord thinking that they can lead a better life but little do they realise that they will end up worse of.

Many end up living in squalid conditions with some surviving through begging, stealing, drug dealing and prostitution.

Evidently, the country has yet to come to a stage where we see thousands disappearing from home as it happens in some poor and even rich countries. This, nonetheless, should not be considered a trivial matter.

Parents should be taken to task when dejected children leave their homes. Studies have shown that many teens flee their homes because of the home environment itself.

They suffer from pressure and stress at home and have a tendency to leave their homes impulsively. They may have been exposed to family conflict, poverty, physical, sexual or psychological abuse. Broken families – involving divorce, separation, new marriages –have also driven many teenagers to run away.

DR M.A. NAIR,
Bandar Muadzam Shah, Pahang.