Tweet
Here are a couple really great flyers about children staying home alone. They have checklists and things to consider and some really good info about the right age for your child to be left home alone. 
-
-
In your case I would ask a family member or neighbor to come and stay with your children as you will have no idea how long you will be gone and around here an ER visit is a guaranteed 4+ hours long. If they know your situation people are more than happy to help when called upon. You just have to ask.
I just left my 11 year old home alone for the first time last week. I went to the bank and the UPS store - both within 1 mile from home. Little steps.
Unfortunately it has opened up a can of worms as I still have errands to run several times a week and now he wants to stay home. I'm not ready for him to be home alone while I grocery shop for over an hour KWIM? (Although I will admit that I could probably shop a lot faster without him.) Sorry kid, not yet.Comment
-
You were right to take them. I started leaving my son home alone (locked in the house) for 15-20 minutes at age 12. It wasnt until he was 13 that I was leaving him for an hour at a time and I went up gradually in time from there. Now he is 15 (16 in Oct) and I leave him home all the time. He has proven himself to be very trustworthy and responcible so I never fell worried. He keeps the doors locked and I told him that if he wants to go to a friends house that he must call and let me know.
I think I read somewhere that at 12 years old they can be left but not while watching a younger sibling and not at night? I think it depends on the child to.
DebbieComment
-
I did almost the exact same thing. Started with VERY small trips, where I'd be running another child to a friends house close by, etc. and worked up from there. Maturity has a lot to do with it for me too, what I let DD do at age 12 and what I let DS do at age 12 are two different things!
I also think some states have actual laws about the age a child can be left alone so you might want to check into that.Comment
-
Our state age is 13. I think that is why it is in the rules that childcare from ages 6 weeks through age 13. Not saying people don't leave younger ones home but I'm sure if something happened there would be some consequences.Each day is a fresh start
Never look back on regrets
Live life to the fullest
We only get one shot at this!!
Comment
-
we have left my 11yr home alone many times and he does great! he knows how to dial 911 and has before when my husband had a seizure. so yes i think he would be totally fine! but my 8 yr old no way half the time she doesn't even know her address, i also wouldn't trust her in an emergency at all. i have seen her she panics.Comment
-
I just got back from Canada and they give babysitting certifications to those 12 and over. Seems a little young. There are many from Canada here. Do I have that right?Comment
-
Yes, that's right Micharl, it's 12 yo. It's a babysitting course they can take to learn all the basics of looking after themselves and other little ones while being left home alone, safety, calling 911 etc. By obtaining the certificate, it's still suggested that these kids are NOT left in charge of cooking anything, using a swimming pool or bathing smaller children etc. obvious things like that. It's more of a learning program vs a ticket to freedom!
The same rules apply in many ways that some have already mentioned. Parents need to be the judge of their own child. Not all 12 yo's can be left to care for others, nevermind themselves, alot has to do with the child! Any child under the age of 12-13 is not to be left alone overnight either, even if they have a babysitting certificate, and the general rule is kids 10-12 yo should only be left for 1-2 hours to start before the parent takes a longer journey away from the house.Comment
-
By 12 I would leave them alone for a few hours. I probably wouldn't do it in the middle of the night though.
I would leave a child as young as six home alone for very short times. But, I wouldn't DRIVE anywhere if my child was home alone... my fear that something will happen to me is bigger than the fear that something would happen to them, and then the kids would be alone for at least an hour.
WHen my child was sick, i'd leave her home alone while I got the other grade schoolers from school. (she was in 1st grade) But, the school was at the end of the block, and I could see both the house, and the school from the corner.Comment
-
I found this chart and thought it was interesting.
Some states give absolutely no recommendation or have any laws in place at all, others give a guideline of the age of 8 on up through to Illinois who's minimum age by law is ***14***
I can't imagine parents being restricted until every single child was darn near in HIGH SCHOOL!!!!!!!!!
Not to mention how screwed up is that thinking? At 14 apparently a child can hardly be trusted to stay at home for an hour sitting on the couch but at 15 they're allowed to obtain a permit and drive a car???!
I was coming home off the bus alone after school in the second grade, was a good two hours before my parents got home from work and I never had a problem handling the responsibility. I was also babysitting well before I was a teen. I fully intend to instill that same sense of responsibility and self structure/discipline in my own kids well before they're in their teens.
Far less responsibility and drastically lowered expectations are a huge part of what I think is wrong with a lot of the kids who are struggling in society today.Comment
Comment