When you’re taking care of someone else’s teen, are you responsible for keeping in touch with their parents? 

Every parent has a different approach to parenting. There are as many different ways to parent as there are parents in the world. And one of the hard parts about it is negotiating each other’s take on it. You don’t want to step on anyone’s toes, but you also sometimes have to make decisions independently and ask for forgiveness later. When your kid is hanging out with another kid, you probably feel some sort of responsibility for them. And you should. You’re the nearest responsible adult, so you’re on the hook if anything goes awry. But after a certain age, shouldn’t that responsibility diminish at least a little bit? 

Every child is different and takes maturity at a different pace. Some parents might trust their kids to go on errands by themselves at an early age, while others might take longer to come around. It’s all up to the dynamic between parent and child, and what level of trust is in play. And this can be a larger discussion, but it’s important to take it at its own pace. But this can get easily complicated when other parents start to get involved. Do they have a say over their whereabouts and in making sure they’re keeping up communication? Or is that up to the kids to do for themselves?