Teen has left home without warning.

[CreechMum]

Hi all,

What do you do when your teenager leaves the family home without warning? He left the house on a sunny afternoon, nothing unusual there as it was a Sunday. He then sends me a text message saying he's staying at a friend's house and will be back in a few days.
It's been 4 days now. No replies to my text messages (I've kept my cool so he's not afraid to come back). The police will not help as he's turning 18 in a couple of weeks.
He hasn't gone to college since and at this rate he might not even turn up for his a-level exams.
I have no idea what to do next.

Least he has let you know he's OK,

Wow that must have been so stressful. When he has got back in contact properly I would explain to him that you where extremely worries and could have thought that he was dead. If an adult did this to other adults they were living with it's still problematic.
I have a 18 and 19 year old you go off galavanting all the time but they have to let me know where they are within reason. Or at least let me know when they will be back so I don't worry.

Let him know that if he doesn't do his exams this year he can always retake them next year. This worked with DS1 as he pulled his socks up finally and did enough work to pass.