Home Alone???

Coupon-mad

bella4uk wrote:

The section below is taken from The Childrens Law Centre website.

Baby Sitting

The law does not state an age at which young people can babysit.

You have to be at least old enough to work part-time (13 Yrs) before you can babysit (refer to section on part-time work).

Not getting at you at all bella4uk - this is an interesting post - but isn't the extract above daft? It contradicts itself!

I have read this thread and was going to point out, as bookworm already has done, that there is no minimum age in law at which a child can be left alone.

It's presumably because some 16-year-olds (with learning difficulties, for instance) could not be left alone and the law needs to be able to prove negligence in such cases.

But I think the OP can relax and just stay in touch by phone, it will be fine. My very mature 13 year old looks after his younger siblings on occasions (only for a couple of hours, in the daytime) and it's no problem. It is not negligent, nor is it against the law.

When I was 13 I used to babysit for a neighbour's baby and young child until midnight - my parents were just along the road and obviously I did not go outside or walk home alone. Just enjoyed the freedom!

black-saturn

Personally I wouldnt leave them at such a young age. You say your only 5 minutes away and grandparents 10 minutes but so much can happen in 5 minutes. What if a fire starts, someone breaks in, the list goes on. What if grandparents are out when the phone rings. So much could go wrong. Think you would be best to have the day off instead.

Quackers

black-saturn wrote:

Think you would be best to have the day off instead.

If you read the original post it is not just one day, it is one day a week throughout the summer hols.

Not really a viable option for someone to take 1 day a week off unpaid for 6 weeks?

As others have said it really is up to you as only you know your children well enough to make this decision.

We started by leaving ours whilst we nipped to the shops and will continue to extend the time gradually.

They got left for 2 hours today - I left for work at 10.30am and hubby got home at 12.30pm. They are aware of what to do in an emergency and I believe they are capable of looking after themselves.

My youngest is actually the most sensible and the one with common sense! She looks after her older sister :rolleyes:

black-saturn

Quackers wrote:

If you read the original post it is not just one day, it is one day a week throughout the summer hols.

Yes and I meant have 1 day off per week for the summer holidays. I wish people would think these things through BEFORE they take jobs on.

bella4uk

Coupon-mad wrote:

Not getting at you at all bella4uk - this is an interesting post - but isn't the extract above daft? It contradicts itself!

I have read this thread and was going to point out, as bookworm already has done, that there is no minimum age in law at which a child can be left alone.

It's presumably because some 16-year-olds (with learning difficulties, for instance) could not be left alone and the law needs to be able to prove negligence in such cases.

But I think the OP can relax and just stay in touch by phone, it will be fine. My very mature 13 year old looks after his younger siblings on occasions (only for a couple of hours, in the daytime) and it's no problem. It is not negligent, nor is it against the law.

When I was 13 I used to babysit for a neighbour's baby and young child until midnight - my parents were just along the road and obviously I did not go outside or walk home alone. Just enjoyed the freedom!

Yes I was just merely pointing out my find. I actually thought a child HAD to be 14 to babysit. My son, who is 15 babysits for his siblings whilst I visit my local 1 night a week, he was probablly quite capable of doing this at the age of 13 but waited till he was 14 thinking that was the legal age (wrong).So the question must be at what age can a child be legally left alone....certainally not saying the op is wrong, just curious myself as to the legal requirements. It seems there are plenty of loopholes????

Quackers

black-saturn wrote:

Yes and I meant have 1 day off per week for the summer holidays. I wish people would think these things through BEFORE they take jobs on.

Some people take jobs on to earn a living and pay the bills.

The OP obviously has childcare sorted via grandparents and this is just something they are thinking about doing to give their children some independance/freedom through the summer.

Sometimes though, circumstances change but it doesn't mean we can afford to give up our jobs at the drop of a hat.

Quackers

bella4uk wrote:

So the question must be at what age can a child be legally left alone....certainally not saying the op is wrong, just curious myself as to the legal requirements. It seems there are plenty of loopholes????

I'm pretty sure there isn't a minimum age.

Its up to the parent to determine whether the child is sensible enough - I'm sure thats what someone posted on here once before when this kind of question popped up once before!!

black-saturn

Isnt it wierd that a childminder has to be qualified and registered to look after children otherwise they are breaking the law yet anyone over the age of 14 is allowed to babysit?

Jay-Jay_4

black-saturn wrote:

Isnt it wierd that a childminder has to be qualified and registered to look after children otherwise they are breaking the law yet anyone over the age of 14 is allowed to babysit?

Only in the same way that it's weird that restaurant owners have to follow stringent health and safety rules otherwise they're breaking the law yet anyone can serve a meal to another person.

BobProperty

Saw this thread while looking for something else. I am of the opinion that to be absolutely safe a child would have to be 16 to be left alone. (It doesn't help in my situation that my soon-to-be-ex wife would be off to her solicitors straight away if something happend to the children who live with me). That is also the opinion of a relative who works in the area of child care. This may help http://www.nspcc.org.uk/html/home/needadvice/childrenathomealone.htm