Some people may feel a need to do something when their child rebels or leaves home. They feel that they cannot allow the young child to fend for himself. They believe that the child will get into trouble. He's already done one silly thing - he left home - so the parents may be concerned that he will do more silly things. They feel that they have to step in.

However, despite everything that you may feel, and despite everything that you may have been told by other people, there are other factors to consider.

• Guilt
• Reactions of others
• Reactions of other members of your family
• Your own self-esteem
• Your self-doubt about your abilities as a parent
• Your concerns about the reactions of your other children towards your parenting abilities
• Your concerns that other children will follow the precedent of the child who left
• They may feel guilty about the child leaving, even though it's not their fault
• They may feel that the child will do silly things
• They're worried about what others may think about the child having left
• They feel personally responsible for the child's leaving
• ...Or any of a number of other reasons