Geocaching Cures Runaway Kid

Earlier this summer, Eric 13 ran away from home. He went to Toronto, spent his savings in four days, and then caught a Greyhound bus back to his family's residence. Eric I suppose the whole experience was a real eye-opener for the boy, but it was definitely a wake up call for his Dad.

Eric is not alone

According to the National Runaway Switchboard, over two million young people run away from home each year. This organization takes calls and helps kids who have run away, or who are thinking of running away, (one in seven kids between the ages of 10 and 18 will run away from home at some point). Right now, even as you read this, there are 1 to 3 million runaway and or homeless kids living on the streets in the United States. This discussion on WonderCafe is full of heart wrenching stories from parents who feel responsible.

Why do kids run away from home?

There are many reasons kids run away from home, but the most common include, abuse (violence in the family), separating parents (and divorce), or the arrival of a new stepparent, a death in the family, and or the birth of a new baby. Sometimes the financial worries of the parents can impact the child, as can alcohol abuse, or drug abuse. A teenager with problems at school, including excessive peer pressure, or poor academic performance will sometimes chose to run away from that situation.

Choices become more and more limited

When runaways are interviewed by professional counselors most will admit that leaving home was a desperate last option - they simply ran out of choices. Every child has issues, but most evolve ways to overcome their problems. Kids who think that running away is the answer, may not know how to solve tough problems, or they don't have any adults in their life they can trust to help them. Sometimes a really big problem can make it seem like running away from home is the only choice.

Unfortunately, the problems kids hope to escape by running away are replaced by other problems, namely the reality of life on the streets.

Geocaching unites families