Me and my parents can’t get along

[Guest]

I’m 16 and I’ll be 17 in less than a month. I live in Florida
my parents are pretty strict and I usually get to go out every other weekend. I’m tired of their rules and I’m so unhappy. There is no abuse but they don’t understand where I’m coming from. There are times where I want to just leave without their consent but I don’t wanna runaway. If I leave to go out with my friends can they call the cops ? Like if I leave but come back ? No more than 24 hours ? I’m tired of feeling trapped in this house. I just wanna know what my rights are.

[ccsmod5]

Hi,
Thanks for writing in today. It sounds like you’re feeling very restricted at home and it’s brave of you to reach out for help.
While we aren’t legal experts, we can speak in generalities. Because your parents are your legal guardians, they are within their rights to file a runaway report with the police if you leave home without consent. If the police are able to locate you, they would simply return you home. Generally speaking, this wouldn’t be a “crime” and it would not follow you on your record.
You mentioned that your parents don’t understand where you’re coming from. That must be really frustrating. You might consider reaching out to a therapist, guidance counselor, or even another adult you all know to facilitate a conversation between you all. We at the National Runaway Safeline also offer a conference call service and one of our trained liners would be more than happy to facilitate a conversation between you and your parents, as well.
If you’d like to talk about your situation specifically, please feel free to reach out to us at 1-800-RUNAWAY (1-800-786-2929). Our lines are open 24/7, so someone is always here to listen and help. Best of luck to you.