When children go missing, parents are often tormented with guilt. Even if a child is snatched by a stranger in broad daylight, parents blame themselves because they couldn’t prevent the unimaginable.
For parents of runaways, self-accusation and guilt can be compounded. Was there something we should have noticed in our child? Were there warning signs?
Adolescence is synonymous with emotional turbulence. How do we differentiate healthy rebellion from potentially serious issues?
No one has the answers. We certainly don’t. All we can do is pay attention, keep the lines of communication open and tell our kids we love them — if they’ll let us. In time, things usually settle down. Life goes on, as a family.
Every runaway has his or her own reasons for taking flight. Some of us ran away 40 years ago, maybe for a day or two, just to feel a new wind in our faces. But we always found our way home.
A girl in our community is missing. We’ve seen such an outpouring of love and concern, and we hope all this reaches her. By the time you read this, we hope she is back home.
Copyright © 2014 by the Intermountain Jewish News
