Lots of children and teens decide to run away from home at some point. Sometimes this happens after a tense exchange about curfew or a screaming match about how “you’ll never understand me!” After a night apart, everyone might cool down and realize that they overreacted.
Other times, however, people are forced to leave home for their own safety. When one teen realized that her mother wouldn’t do anything to protect her, she knew it was time to start living somewhere else. But unfortunately, her problems weren’t magically solved when she moved out. Below, you’ll find the full story that she shared on Reddit, as well as some of the replies concerned readers left her.
This teen finally reached her breaking point and decided to move out of her mother's house
But now, her mom is demanding that she return because her chores need to be done
Later, the author shared a brief update on her situation
Readers were extremely concerned about the author, and many shared supportive messages
Then, the author shared a more detailed update on her situation
Teens don’t simply run away from home for no reason
According to the Child Crime Prevention & Safety Center, of more than 20,500 missing children reports, a whopping 90% involve children who are considered “endangered runaways.” And nearly half of minors who run away from home report that they’ve experienced a conflict with their parent or guardian.
Three-quarters of minors who run away are girls, and 80% of them report that they’ve experienced trauma in their home. In fact, mistreatment at home is one of the most common reasons cited for why a teen or child decided to leave home.
50% of teens who have run away from home even noted that their parents either told them to leave or did not care if they left. And over two-thirds of teens say that it was a spur-of-the-moment decision to leave home.
While it’s not safe for every teen to stay at home with their parents, it is crucial that they have somewhere safe to go. So in the United States, children and teens can reach out to 1-800-RUNAWAY to receive support and assistance.
This organization provides free services such as safe rides home, help with legal documents, resource referrals, mediation services, and more. Teens can also find safe housing through Youth.gov if they need to be moved into a youth home, transitional living program, or foster home if it’s not safe to return to their parents.
While it’s ideal for children and teens to be at home with their parents, that arrangement only works if they are actually safe, loved, and taken care of.
Everyone deserves to live in a place where they feel safe
Sadly, research from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that over 55% of teens in the United States have experienced mistreatment from a parent or another adult in the home in the past year. Over 11% said that they were even mistreated physically.
The mother in this story certainly did not do enough to support or protect her daughter, but as many readers pointed out, the brother in this situation is a huge problem too.
By filming his minor sister changing clothes and distributing that video to others (all without her consent, of course), he could be charged with a federal crime. This can lead to fines of thousands of dollars, as well as federal imprisonment for up to one year.
The fact that the author is a minor, however, would make the charges substantially worse. Obviously, this is a massive violation of the author’s privacy, along with being illegal and immoral.
Many people believe that you should stand by your family members no matter what. But when they’ve done nothing but harm you and take a toll on your mental health, running away and going no contact might just be the only option left.
We would love to hear your thoughts on this situation in the comments below, pandas. How would you have reacted if you were in the author’s shoes? Then, if you’re interested in reading another article from Bored Panda featuring similar family drama, look no further than right here.
Readers were relieved to hear that the author was receiving support, and many wished her luck for the future
