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

jellyhead

it is, but what's the alternative? most employers won't give a day's annual leave at the short notice we got for the teachers strike. taking a sickie would be very suspicious. it must be even harder when children are spread over primary and high and have different inset days, although i know lots of high school kids who are allowed home alone.

do tax credits make up the extra money at the end of the year? they ask you what your average childcare bill is when you apply i think, but not sure if when they finalise the award at the end of the year they also make sure they paid you the correct childcare amounts?

Spendless

jellyhead wrote:

it is, but what's the alternative? most employers won't give a day's annual leave at the short notice we got for the teachers strike. taking a sickie would be very suspicious. it must be even harder when children are spread over primary and high and have different inset days, although i know lots of high school kids who are allowed home alone.

do tax credits make up the extra money at the end of the year? they ask you what your average childcare bill is when you apply i think, but not sure if when they finalise the award at the end of the year they also make sure they paid you the correct childcare amounts?

Her alternative was to ask her MIL to step in. Her MIL lives other side of town and doesn't drive so it meant friend piling all 3 kids in car early to get the 2 older ones there and then drop baby off at nursery before starting work at 8. Friend has a job where she can change shifts and do night shifts if need be if family couldn't help so she is fortunate in that but otherwise she'd have been stuck.

Not totally sure about tax credits but when a holiday playscheme put their prices up 25% another friend who then got 70% paid wasn't pleased cos she only used them for 2 days in hols and she said something about it not being taken into account so she had to find the extra cash herself

TIGs

i've never had my tax credit paid for teacher training days when i applied for childcare they gave me 16 weeks (which is how many weeks the kids have off school through the year) at 3 days a week (the ammount of days i work) i don't get any extra if i need childcare for other days but to be honest i've never asked if i could either.

dottyanne

Same here - i have twin boys of 11 and a younger one of 10 - on good days they get on so well then the next minute after killing each other - the eldest twin (11) is very level headed but his brothers are typical young lads - the problem is that at their age they want responsibility - i dont like leaving them for more than an hour and its a pain sorting childcare out during the hols...

Fiona11

My DD is 11 and I have just started leaving her for very short periods on her own during the day. But my DS is 8 and I don't leave him with her. I don't think it is fair for her to be responsible for him if the situation arose.

She is really happy being on her own, she always has my mobile number and if I'm more than 30 minutes i always ring her.

lil_me

Old topic I know, but someone who lives near my sister has had her children taken into care as she left a 13 year old and 11 year old alone. They stated in court she put them at significant risk leaving 2 children of that age alone for 1 1/2 hours 3 nights per week. Oldest child had mentioned it at school so they reported it.

Spendless

lil_me wrote:

Old topic I know, but someone who lives near my sister has had her children taken into care as she left a 13 year old and 11 year old alone. They stated in court she put them at significant risk leaving 2 children of that age alone for 1 1/2 hours 3 nights per week. Oldest child had mentioned it at school so they reported it.

Purely for that reason or was there something else too , and what time was the leaving for 1.5 hours till?

lil_me

Purely for that reason, was 6-7.30 sometimes a little later, between her going to work and her partner coming home

jellyhead

really? isn't 13 old enough to babysit?

i waled to the shop last night with the baby, nearly 9pm. a girl from my son's class (just turned ten) was out in the street with her 4 year old sister. their mum was in the pub watching the football and hadn't returned. i assume they went to bed when she came home from the pub. great for a 4 year old on a school night :rolleyes:

lil_me

jellyhead wrote:

i waled to the shop last night with the baby, nearly 9pm. a girl from my son's class (just turned ten) was out in the street with her 4 year old sister. their mum was in the pub watching the football and hadn't returned. i assume they went to bed when she came home from the pub. great for a 4 year old on a school night :rolleyes:

:mad: Why do people like that have children

I don't think there is a legal 'limit'