How long in general is the period between the child running away from home and contacting Childline?
It is very difficult to give a definitive answer to this question. The reality is that it varies. The major trigger factor is when a child feels that their situation is getting out of control and they are frightened. This may occur when a child initially leaves home and realises what they have done and are frightened, hungry, and cold. Our night duty team receive many of these calls. Children will then call at other times when the situation they have been living in begins to disintegrate for them and they once again become scared and alone. Speed of response from the helping agencies is essential on these occasions as the window of opportunity for intervention is small. Childline has identified many reasons for children leaving home, what is the single most relevant cause, one that stands out above the others? Reasons for children leaving home are varied and there is no one defining cause apart from the fact that a child feels alone with their problem and unable to communicate with oth
