Hello,

My 16 year old cousin has run away from home and come to me. I am 24 and living on my own. Since she has run away her parents have been making my life a living hell. Calling 10 times a day, calling me every name under the sun, spying on my apartment, calling me at work, spamming my Facebook. It's just been nonstop. My runaway cousin isn't making it any easier by skipping school and having her friends over when I go to work. I need some advice on how to deal with this situation. I have tried everything, even threatened to get the police involved but nothing is working. Plus, the police situation would really only help with my aunt and uncle harassing me constantly. I need advice also on how to deal with my cousin. I know her and her family need to go to counselling. How do I give her a push in the right direction and get her to go to school, keep in touch with her parents and eventually go home?

Any suggestions, advice, links... anything would be appreciated. I am at my wits end.

If she's not a bad kid, maybe you should sit down and talk to her tell, set some ground rules because school its way too important to miss out on. But if she's a little tougher to get through to show some tough love and show your not one to be played with

Hope that helps

I think that if you are not ready to parent her yourself, you need to get her back home immediately. Her parents need to be the ones to enforce the ground rules and set their boundaries to get your cousin back into line. Unfortunately, you are only going to provide more freedom and less direction, which is what your cousin wants but not what she needs at sixteen.

I would call the police and have them escort your cousin back to her home and let your Aunt and Uncle handle the responsibility as they apparently want to and should.

Skipping school and partying throughout the day will only contribute to bigger, long-standing issues, like for example teen pregnancy, dropping out of school, drugs. I would personally lose the animosity to your Aunt and Uncle, while they may not be right, I doubt your cousin is in the right. She is rebelling.

You could be charged with aiding a delinquent. Send her home.