My son has recently been sneaking out at night . I have grounded him and taken his mobile

[Westland]

Recently he took the car at night. We are worried by this behaviour

[Erin-RO]

Hi @Westland has anything happened (changes, trauma or transitions) for your son that might account for the behaviours?

I'm sure some of our members have had similar experiences with their teens. I'll tag a few members for you   @Iqula @Sister @sunflowermom 

[sunflowermom]

Hi @Westland

I know how scary it feels when your teen is being defiant.  But more importantly when they are doing something reckless like taking the car at night without your permission.  I don't have any experience with that(just yet) but my daughter has done other sneaky dangerous things like taking the locks off the cabinet with a screwdriver to get into locked meds. Trust goes out the window and fear sets in.  Can you do your best to disable the car for night time?  Put one of those locks that just locks the steering wheel (the club) on it maybe? 

I think you did awesome by taking away cell phone when he breaks rules.  Its hard because of all the "crud" they throw our way when they get punished.  But stick to your rules and know that your not alone.  We are all in this "fight" to get our teens healthy and setting boundaries is definitely one of them.

Hopefully with some time you can sit down and talk with him and find out the root reason for his sneaking out and come to a compromise that you both can live with.

Good Luck!