Present day parents view their pre-adult children as a family "possession" and may thus look upon their "investment" in youth in much the same way that other means of economic security are fostered and nurtured. Pre-adults are placed in the untenable position of "meaning givers" without the possibility of full participation in the decision-making process. The relationship of the pre-adult to the entire set of family relationships is exemplified by the reaction of adults who attempt to hold on to such a possession by trying to buy back a runaway youth through emotional or material gifts.