His parents have to travel for a family matter and asked if their son can stay with us. Same class as mine, both 15. We said probably yes. I travel for work some weeks, so on those days it will be my partner and two teenage boys. What did you agree with the other parents before saying yes? Money, rules, phones, what happens if he's unwell. I'd rather sort it now than in week two.
Three practical things I'd want in writing: a signed note letting you take him to a doctor and sign anything the school sends, the name of a relative in the city in case something goes wrong, and clarity on who pays for what. The rules part is harder. Either your house rules apply to him, which is cleaner, or his parents set his, which means two sets of rules for two boys in one room. I'd lean towards yours.
The signed medical note is the part people forget. When our grandson stays with us during his parents' travel, his mother leaves one with the insurance card stapled to it. We have needed it once, for a fever in the middle of the night, and the hospital asked for exactly that.
Mine is 5, so I can only speak as a parent who might one day be in the reverse situation. If my son were staying with another family, I would want to hear the house rules before he arrived, and I would want them applied to him exactly as to your son. Being treated as a guest for three weeks is harder on a teenager than being treated as family.
we had my niece for a fortnight last year. food and rules were fine. what i didn't expect was how much she missed her own small routines. she was quieter in the second week than the first. just something to watch for
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