Teenagers Home for Christmas

It’s been quite a long hard year for us all here what with Teenboy’s post traumatic stress disorder and almost failing school, our arguments leading to me throwing him out only to take him back (on my terms) a day later, Teengirl’s friend’s suicide and her subversive bullying by a ‘concerned’ friend and his mother.
Teenboy getting his life back together and moving to University and Teengirl and I having to have too many talks on suicide, teen depression, the dangers of the internet, blogging (hers and mine) and self harming it’s been a year for the indepth, the honest and difficult.
But I’m so pleased to say we’ve come through it. It’s not quite perfect yet, in fact it never will be perfect it’ll just be family. But we’re all we’ve got and we’ve stood beside each other through it all.
I’ve cried with them and for them, I’ve shouted at them and for them and by God this year I’ve fought for them.
And we won. Well, at least we won for this year. Who knows what next year will bring us.
We’re closer and more honest with each other and both my teenagers know that I’ve got their backs no matter what. That I won’t ever let them down when it gets difficult.
And I reckon, from what I’ve learned this past year, that’s what teenagers want and need: to just know that no matter what their parents will be there for them with trust, a hug, a kiss and sometimes even with their fists up ready to get into the fight for them.
After the year we’ve had I am lucky to have both my teenagers at home with me for Christmas. There were a few times there it could’ve turned out so differently.
Right now there are teenagers and children all over the UK who aren’t home with their families because they’ve run away from home for so many different reasons.
These teenagers are sleeping rough in this rain and a few weeks ago the freezing cold. They’re out there on the streets vulnerable not just to the elements.
Did you know….

* It’s estimated that a child runs away from home or care every five minutes in the UK

* In a recent survey, one in 11 teenagers aged 14 to 16 admitted to having run away overnight at some stage in their life

* It’s impossible to know the true scale of the problem: two-thirds of runaways aren’t reported as missing to the police, and many are too vulnerable or scared to seek official help

* It’s estimated 2000 children will run away over Christmas

This is every parent’s big nightmare and it can happen to anyone – it’s nothing to do with family economics or where people live.
If you’d like some more information on why children and teenagers run away from home, or if you’d like to help in some small way please visit the Mumsnet website and read about the work the Railway Children charity do Mumsnet and Railway Children.
I’m a lucky mum my teenagers and I have managed to work through the problems we faced this year, not all mums and kids are as lucky.
I don’t think I’ve ever been so pleased to have my teenagers at home safe and sound this Christmas.

PS Babyboy is tucked up in bed as I write this, I have no worries with him just yet. Give it a another 10 years though and I’ll be going through all this teenage stuff all over again! I wonder how different it’ll be next time?!