I saw a staggering report on the news of a nationwide bust of teen and CHILD SLAVERY AND PROSTITUTION. Defining characteristics and reasons for a youth to run away varies but reports are that runaways represent a full range of backgrounds. This includes all ethnicities, single and two-parent households and all socio-economic brackets from privileged and middle class to homeless families.

I had NO idea this problem was so large in this country! We’re talking over 2 million children and teens a year! I understand now why some parents of missing children ‘hope’ their child is at least still alive and, at worse, in some slavery/prostitution situation! It’s a fricking ‘way of life’… it’s own demographic!

Knowing where your child is at all times does seem to be a tall order especially if they have determined they want to run away but I beseech parents to give it all you’ve got and to pre-emptively strike against these outcomes with the emotional love tether of the parent/child bond. This tether, if weak now, can be strengthened with an ongoing, STRONG verbal and non-verbal communication program of BALANCED praise, discipline, affection and attentiveness. Twenty percent of teens running away or being asked to leave the home is OUTRAGEOUSLY weak, lazy parenting!

Some teens feel they simply must go because of abuse and/or neglect… That’s understandable but we simply MUST shore this problem up. We are the guardians of our future (our children), the direct descendants of God.

If there is a hell, do we really want to go there because we took our role so lightly?