Do I Need a Temporary Power of Attorney?

I doubt you need POA. You aren't entering into contracts on their behalf or doing legal work. You need authorization to seek and provide medical treatment, for which you can find an on line template and have the parents sign in front of a notary. Most town clerks will notarize for free for town residents, and sometimes the parents' local bank has a notary. The parents can probably just informally notify the schools and daycare providers that you'll be picking up.

Re needing wills as suggested below - yes, parents need wills and some sort of trust arrangement for minor children, but that's not because they're traveling out of the country. Every parent should have this so wishes and plans for children, property, assets are spelled out. Tragedy can strike anytime, overseas or at the end of the driveway.

Yes. You will need their insurance card(s) for the children, power of attorney to make medical decisions for them and written permission that is notarized that you will be caring for them on the specified dates.

If they are going out of the country? As morbid as it sounds? They should have wills drawn up and as well prior to leaving the country. This will ensure that should anything horrible happen, everyone knows their wishes. Unfortunately bad things happen in the world.

yes!! you need all of their medical information.

Current medications and dosage.
Food allergies, if any.
Allergies in general, if any.

The school(s) need to know their parents are gone for two weeks and they need to ensure you are on the list to pick up and call.

Medical power of attorney. Along with the original insurance cards as many places will not accept copies. You will need the name of their pediatrician and the number for the pediatrician.

This should be notarized.
IF they are going out of the country? Strongly suggest you keep copies of their passports, should anything happen to them while they are gone. Makes it easier to replace.

Since bad stuff happens, which I hope it doesn't, but still. They should ensure their wills are up-to-date. Make sure you know where all the important papers are if the stuff hits the fan.

Ensure a routine for the kids. Maybe they will be able to facetime with their parents while they are away? Make sure you keep their schedule and rules too. Grandma's house is fun! But during the school year? Homework still needs to be done! Work first, play later.

I agree with others below that the authorization to make medical/dental decisions is needed. Your daughter can also inform the pediatrician’s office of the situation so they’re aware.

Every time I take my son’s friends to Dallas, I make sure to have an authorization to seek medical care from their parents. I’ve worked in an emergency room where we couldn’t give a Tylenol to a teen who had a compound fracture because he was with friends and they didn’t have authorization to treat. He waited 3 hours while his parents drove to where he was. Made a lasting impression on me.

Have fun with your grands. Try to enjoy more and stress less. Make things as easy on yourself as possible and know this will be a great time!

You should have written permission (legal document, witnessed) that gives you the right to seek emergency medical treatment for the kids in case of an accident. My family lawyer gave me a fill-in-the-blank medical consent template when she did my will. If your daughter doesn't have a family lawyer that she knows, you could probably find something similar online. It's pretty generic. I just fill in the kids' names, a parent signs, the person getting the powers signs, and two witnesses. The sitter can take that form along with the kids' medical insurance cards to a doctor in case of an emergency. We've never needed it (knock on wood) but we always leave it with any sitter (parents or other) if we are gone overnight or longer - just in case.

ETA: I'm not saying that you need a copy of their will. I only threw that in there because it was the lawyer who did my will who wrote up the medical consent form for me, for free. If your daughter has a family lawyer, she might be able to easily get a medical consent form from that person - or, as mentioned by me and others, you can find one online.

Separately, every person (parent or not, travelling or not) should have a will, but that is a completely different topic.

Yes, as others have said, it's important to be legally granted the right to make emergency decisions in case of medical problems that may arise.

Something that your daughter and her husband might consider is a program called Emergency Assistance Plus (don't worry, I'm not selling it or linking to it - you can google it).

We all have it in our family. It is NOT health insurance, but it is travel aid in the event of a medical problem while the covered person or family is away from home. Our adult son has it because he often travels for work, and my husband has it for the same reason. I don't travel much but dd and I are covered through my husband's family plan anyway.

What it does is offer help in the event that the covered person is sick or injured away from home (it doesn't have to be foreign travel, just not in your regular commute; if you live in Dallas but had to travel to Seattle for a conference that was not routine, and got hurt there, the plan would help with that). Services include things like sending a rep to your hotel room to pack up your belongings and bring them to you or ship them home, and check you out of the hotel (in the event of a hospitalization), flying a family member to be by your side (in the event of a serious injury). They provide translation services (imagine being flown from your cruise ship to the nearest place with a hospital and trying to communicate your medical history in Turkish or Greek or Japanese - medical lingo can be difficult enough in English sometimes!). They'll arrange to return your rental car, or help you get back home. They'll help if you lose your passport. If persons are on a cruise, and one gets sick or hurt, they'll send someone to retrieve your belongings from your room. If you can't get home due to illness, they'll arrange for pet care. They'll help fly you to a better medical facility if you find yourself seriously ill or injured in a place where the care you need is not adequate. They'll help find lost luggage, and help replace lost prescription medications.

The only caveat is that, aside from 911 (or the emergency service in whatever country you're in) required for life-saving rescue, you must call and activate the Emergency Assistance Plus number prior to calling anyone else. That seems simple enough. And anyone with airline reward miles can get a discount on the Emergency Assistance plan. A family plan can be less than $200 a year. I think it's a pretty amazing program.

I just wanted to let you know about this service. As I said, I don't sell it or have any connection other than having peace of mind from having it in place.

I don’t think it is power of attorney you need. What you need is an authorization to get them any needed medical or dental care. I have one for 2 of my grandkids that I care for often. Medical providers have asked for and copied it before. I have one in my purse as well as copies of their insurance cards. In my case I take them to most medical appointments but in yours you may only need it for that trip.

I would call their school and doctor's offices and ask if you need a POA or just a letter of consent. You may need to have it signed by a notary, most banks have a notary and it's usually a free service to account holders.

I agree with Wild Woman about having a will from the parents.

It would probably be a good idea to have something in writing allowing you to seek emergency medical care if needed. When I was married and my husband and I traveled together leaving our kids with relatives and/or friends, I drew up letters for their caregivers to have that gave them permission to dismiss them from school or handle other urgent school matters, seek emergency medical care, or seek emergency dental care. I then emailed the signed letters to their schools, doctors' office and dentist so that those offices were aware that I had given permission. I also gave their caregivers the information for their doctor and dentist, insurance info, prescription info, etc. in writing. We were reachable by phone though so if anyone questioned the validity of the information, we could be reached to verify.

Given the length of time and that the parents may be unreachable, it would probably make sense to download a minor child temporary power of attorney form for your state (there are lots of free ones available online) and have it properly filled out and notarized.

YES! Medical power of attorney. If they get sick or injured, you will have no say in their care.

When I have left my children with anyone or they have traveled with anyone I give them a note saying that they have permission to have my minor child treated and a copy of my insurance card. I also list their allergies and any medications they take perscription or over the counter and doses. And if they are to be given at a certian time what time. I have never had them noterised but you can if you feel it nessasary.

You could, sure. It's unusual for such a short trip, but if one of the children has extreme medical needs or you are just very nervous, yes it is possible.

The parents still have primary authority, it's just paperwork that grants you more authority too.

You and at least one parent both must sign the paperwork.