How old before i can leave my kids on their own?

loopylass

I agree .....you have to let them grow up when they reach a certain age
my son is 17 nearly 18 his at college and works p/time so he can have a bit of money for himself
His always been a sensible boy and he is capable of housework,ironing unless he creeps around me lol and in an emergency he would know exactly what to do
My 13 year old is a lazy little monkey if i ask him to do something he will try and get away with not doing it he will leave clothes everywhere but his the most loving boy you could have
my 12 (nearly) daughter is too independent for her own good she makes tea,toast porridge in the microwave
my youngest he is 8(nearly) he gets the toast out of the toaster gets a chair to the fridge etc only because he wants to make it himself but im there to watch
when he gets his porridge out of the microwave he says mum wheres the oven gloves lol
They need to be independent when they leave school otherwise its going to be a huge shock to their system lol:rotfl:

Js_Other_Half

loopylass wrote:

I
my 12 (nearly) daughter is too independent for her own good she makes tea,toast porridge in the microwave
my youngest he is 8(nearly) he gets the toast out of the toaster gets a chair to the fridge etc only because he wants to make it himself but im there to watch
when he gets his porridge out of the microwave he says mum wheres the oven gloves lol

I remember cooking a main meal for a Brownie badge when I was 8 or 9 - boiled potatoes (peeled by myself), a chop (fried) and some veg - I seem to remember this involved more boiling...lol. There were several of us doing this a a Brownie leaders house.
I could also make a mean irish coffee completely unsupervised at this age - including swirling cream down the back of a spoon onto the coffee just after it was stirred.

I've worked with learning disabled kids whose parents panic about little things and mollycoddle them - the kids confidence increases dramatically when they are allowed/encouraged to make their own snacks, etc

I really do think we need to judge each child on an individual basis - my brother wouldn't have been trusted with sharp knives until much later...:p

TIGs

loopy_lass wrote:

QUOTE TIGS - Thanks for your help everyone

Can i just say i would NEVER put my kids at risk and this is only something i am considering at the moment.My sister only lives 2 minutes away so in case of an emergeny she would be there in minutes, we also have good neighbours who would help if they needed to.Plus if it came down to it i only work 15 minutes away and could come home if necessary.

QUOTE]

mmmm my opinion is I look after my kids, not my sister or my neighbours, nor my friends, ME, i do it. Until they are old enough. Now my daughter is 14 i leave her for 2 hrs every other tuesday between 7 and 9 while i meet a friend for coffee. I can be home within 5 mins max i still ring her after ive been out for the 1st hour.

This is as far as im prepared to go with her at the moment, altough she is very sensible and aware of things, i still think i would sacfifice my freedom etc for her safety. To the point of giving up work, which i did, and i shall return onc shes 16.

just my opinion, but i can do without going out, or working but i couldnt do without my child if anything happened.

loops

That is how i use to think and you're very lucky to be able to afford to do that, i'm sure all single parents would love to stay at home to be their for their kids 24/7 but every bodies situation is different.

i stayed at home with my kids till they both started school and got a little job being a mid day supervisor at their school once they both started full time. But i could then as me and my husband were still together. I now have a mortgae to pay which would be paid for the first year but after that i would have to pay it myself and you don't get a mortgage rebabte like you do rent or get household repairs done i have to pay them myself so my only option was to go to work.

My kids are happy spending time with their aunty or nana we're a close family and i look after my sisters girls if she needs me to.

IClaudius

These threads always provoke really intesne replies..which in the case of the subject matter is good!


I have twins who are 6 and a 13 year old and he is hands down more sensible and practical than my 18 year old babysitter (who to be honest is worse than a chocolate fireguard) :rolleyes:

I really think it comes down to the common sense and attitude of both the kids and the parent.

I know I feel happier with my babysitter sitting when my son is around. I feel I sohuld pay him for watching the babysitter :rotfl:

Kimberley

TIGs wrote:

That is how i use to think and you're very lucky to be able to afford to do that, i'm sure all single parents would love to stay at home to be their for their kids 24/7 but every bodies situation is different.

i stayed at home with my kids till they both started school and got a little job being a mid day supervisor at their school once they both started full time. But i could then as me and my husband were still together. I now have a mortgae to pay which would be paid for the first year but after that i would have to pay it myself and you don't get a mortgage rebabte like you do rent or get household repairs done i have to pay them myself so my only option was to go to work.

My kids are happy spending time with their aunty or nana we're a close family and i look after my sisters girls if she needs me to.

TIGS at least your showing your kids that it pays to work for your own money. I've finally got a job after so many years of trying, the kids can see i'm more happy going out to work.

My 13 year old earns her own pocket money by delivering free newspapers and my son will once he turns 13. I will not and never will give them pocket money, i believe they should earn their own once they are at the age to do do. This will help prepare them for their future working life, they will understand the importance of earning their own money, rather then ending up like me, being on benefit for years and only getting work when kids are older.

I want better for my kids.

Leaving kids with childminders/family will not harm them mentally, in fact they will grow to see how hard you work for them and will hopefully learn from you that working is better then being on benefit :beer:

Quackers

Poppy9 wrote:

As we on about age kids allowed to do things at what age do you let your children loose in the kitchen to cook.

My youngest daughter is 11. She can cook basic meals - pasta, noodles, beans on toast, toasties etc. She also prepares vegetables and makes a mean fruit salad. She makes milkshakes and smoothies too - although she wont actually drink the smoothies :rolleyes:

She is fantastic at baking. Its something she enjoys and she leaves me a list of ingredients she want for when i do the shopping!! On sunday she made shortbread. She makes chocolate cakes, fairy cakes, muffins etc. She doesn't have any help. She just wanders off into the kitchen and gets on with it. Occasionally she'll shout me if she isn't sure whether something is ready or not but thats it.

My eldest is 14 and not so confident in the kitchen but is getting there!

We have just this week devised a rota for cleaning around the house. Everyone in the house does one job a day as well as keeping their bedroom tidy. Because its new it seems to be working really well at the moment - I got home from work last night and one was emptying the washing machine and the other was mopping the kitchen floor. Perfect, dont you think? :rotfl:

Fingers crossed that it lasts

loopylass

I agree i encourage my children to do more and they like to help

My daughter was 10 when she was making cups of tea etc had done it several times
We went on holiday she insisted that she wanted to make a cuppa as she had done it before(her words) i let her she wasnt concentrating and poured boiling water over her hand
I grabbed her hand and ran cold water over it luckily we noticed there was a hospital about 5 mins away when we arrived so every day she had to have it dressed Thankfully no scars and her hand is fine
It was a long time before i let her do it again but i still panic
It is a worry but you have to teach them little things as a parent you know what they are capable of doing and encourage them all the way:D

Js_Other_Half wrote:

I remember cooking a main meal for a Brownie badge when I was 8 or 9 - boiled potatoes (peeled by myself), a chop (fried) and some veg - I seem to remember this involved more boiling...lol. There were several of us doing this a a Brownie leaders house.
I could also make a mean irish coffee completely unsupervised at this age - including swirling cream down the back of a spoon onto the coffee just after it was stirred.

I've worked with learning disabled kids whose parents panic about little things and mollycoddle them - the kids confidence increases dramatically when they are allowed/encouraged to make their own snacks, etc

I really do think we need to judge each child on an individual basis - my brother wouldn't have been trusted with sharp knives until much later...:p

Zoetoes

Did anyone watch Wife Swap on E4 last night?

The 9 year old daughter was apparently left to fend for herself whilst the parents were at the pub, cooking meals on the hob etc.

I was horrified.

madfrenchgirl

the first time my parents left me alone, i was 7...

they never expected me to cook or anything, my mom was organised enough. i was allowed to use the telly, the VCR (never had one before i was 9), the microwave...

now it depends on the kids themselves, my BF' sister is 13 and her parents would not leave her alone

jellyhead

it's strange thinking about it, but my 9 year old makes toast and makes cakes etc. with a lot of help. nothing more than that, not without supervision. but at 7 i would come home from sunday school and make the whole sunday lunch from scratch (well, the chicken was already dead and mum put it in the oven earlier but you know what i mean lol!) including making apple crumble. it's mostly chopping and boiling veg, and making pastry etc.

mum was busy with babies (a prem one was very ill) and i did the cooking because i wanted to, she was always there in the house with me though, she'd never have left me alone. i don't think my son has ever been near the cooker, i'm just so protective because he's so clumsy! speaking of clumsy at 9 i was left alone for some reason, with a crawling baby. i was making myself a sandwich and i put him down on the kitchen counter - of course he fell off and cut his head open, and i chopped the end of my thumb off when i turned to see what happened to the baby (only a muppet would use a butchers knife to cut cheese!). we have a hospital at the end of the road and i had neighbours next door who we were very close to who were on call, they knew i was babysitting but that doesn't really help if you have a child as stupid and clumsy as i was :rotfl: the baby was fine, left with a scar but no lasting damage. i think when making decisions it is all down to what the child is like, i was a dozy mare and not really suitable for being left in charge!