Why children run away from home? Cases spike in Kerala

KOZHIKODE: The number of children leaving home for trivial reasons is spiking in Kerala. Some years back, boys were the majority on the list and now girls have surpassed them. According to police, many girls have left their houses under the influence of social media while some others eloped with their boyfriends.

More than 100 children run away from their houses every year. Three lakh children went missing in India from 2020 to 2024. Of these, 36,000 are still missing. The National Human Rights Commission estimates that a child goes missing every eight minutes in the country. Meanwhile, police say that many of the missing children are likely to be involved in drug and prostitution rings.

Last week, two girls who went missing from Tanur were found in the suburbs of Mumbai.

Reasons:

• Disagreements with family members

• Study pressure, turbulent family atmosphere

• Social media relationships

• Excessive independence