17 Year Old Son Left House

Re: 17 Year Old Son Left House

Thank you for contacting the National Runaway Switchboard. I’m sorry to hear that you’re having such a tough time with your son. It’s understandable that you have your concerns about being liable for your son’s actions, but you also want him to come back home based on your terms and not his. It sounds like a difficult situation because you want to teach him these life lessons but are still probably worried about him. Do you know where your son is staying right now? I know you mentioned speaking with his friend, have you spoken directly with your son lately? Are there any options you have thought that might help in this situation? Do you think there could be any kind of compromise made between the both of you? I’m not sure where you are writing from, but in most states the age of majority is 18 yrs old, which means your son would still technically be under your care. It’s really up to you to decide what you would like to do, but one option I wanted to mention could be making a runaway report. One reason this could be useful is because with a runaway report, if anything should happen, you wouldn’t be liable for your son’s actions, because you’re basically saying you haven’t given him permission to be wherever he may be. You would be able to make a runaway report with your local police or with the NCMEC (National Center for Missing and exploited Children) 1-800-843-5678. Now I don’t know if this is the route you want to go, but it’s just another option to look at. Also, if you wanted to give us a call here at 1-800-RUNAWAY we would be happy to talk to you a little more in-depth about the situation and possibly look at some other options that might be helpful. We are here 24 hours a day, so there is always someone here to listen. Good luck with everything and don’t hesitate to call if you need to.

I don't know if our situation qualifies as a runaway situation but I googled this topic and found this site so I thought I'd give it a shot.

17 son didn't like the fact that his new x-box 360 was taken away due to the fact that he cut class. We told him if it was so bad here he could leave at anytime. Well, he did. He's been gone about 2 weeks, attending school on and off and from what one of his friends has told us he's not going to come home until we give into his demands, i.e., I want my stuff back. I won't go into detail but we've basically created this issue by spoiling him, not teaching him any responsibility and not requiring anything of him. This year we wised up and saw that we weren't teaching him anything, his grades have been on the decline for the past year or so and we decided to change our approach hoping to correct what we've created.

So here's my question, what exposure do we have legally if we don't go get him and make him come home? We've taken the position that if he wants to come home it's on our terms not his and have even drafted a "contract" of new rules that apply should he choose to come back. Trust me, nothing crazy or extreme, pretty standard household stuff; 10:30 p.m curfew on school nights, 12:30 a.m. curfew on weekends, he must clean his room, clean his bathroom, get no grade lower than a c-, oh and take the garbage out. He will no longer run the show here, we're now incharge. Anyone have any thoughts on what exposure we have legally? Oh, one last thing, he's a senior in high school.

Thanks in advance

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