Somehow I see a difference between blowing off school for an afternoon and "running away". I assume there is some kind of punishment for skipping class like lunch detention...or if they are first time offenders maybe just a warning.

Anonymous wrote:Two kids ran away from a Loudoun MS yesterday and police were looking for them all afternoon and into the night. They weren't abducted, they just skipped school in the middle of the day and were later found. They are punished, right? Whenever these things happen, the police blast it everywhere begging for help but then they never say what happens next. A lot of county resources were expended for these joyriders.

The kids didn't ask you to chase them down .

If you're going to force a kid to be somewhere for your own reasons, you don't get to make them pay for resisting it.

What happened to personal liberty and bodily autonomy?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What would you do, OP, if you were the parent?

Take all electronics indefinitely and put them in weekly therapy. New school next year.

It depends on the type of elopement, but for some kids, you won't see them again if you do that. You appear extremely ignorant about the reasons some kids elope, OP. A simple clueless school-skipping does not warrant changing schools or therapy. It needs taking away privileges temporarily and a stern talking-to. But some elopements are much more serious, and occur when the student is deeply troubled and uneasy at home. Being punitive in these conditions will only make things worse.

Don't lump everything into one category.

Anonymous wrote:What would you do, OP, if you were the parent?

Take all electronics indefinitely and put them in weekly therapy. New school next year.

Kids who elope are not punished.

What would you do, OP, if you were the parent?

Oh yes, all juveniles who run from home are caught, tied to a wrack and beaten with switches.

No, OP they are not "punished" go back to Medieval Times.

One would hope their parents will deal with it appropriately and deliver consequences at home.

Their parents will probably be punished by society at large for being judged for raising the kind of kids that would cause this, although their kids may skip school at some time without the same drama.

The kids will also be punished socially by never again being the kids allowed or invited to things.

Who would punish them? When kids go missing for whatever reason, the police will take it seriously, as they should.

So I think when you say “punished,” you mean charges brought against them / required restitution?

If so, not usually. The only time they would be charged is if they did something unlawful, like called 911 and claimed they were kidnapped.

Two kids ran away from a Loudoun MS yesterday and police were looking for them all afternoon and into the night. They weren't abducted, they just skipped school in the middle of the day and were later found. They are punished, right? Whenever these things happen, the police blast it everywhere begging for help but then they never say what happens next. A lot of county resources were expended for these joyriders.