What age can children be legally left...?

jellyhead

lol! i also let my son watch TV on weekend mornings, we're all heart aren't we :-)

i'm very protective of my little boy, he's 8. we live on the same street where i had a bad experience aged 7, i can't get it out of my mind. besides which i remember that sarah payne was 8 and couldn't fight off her attacker.

everyone says the home is more dangerous than the streets though for children.

yes glad it's sad about the 11 year old. the mother raises the child as her own and the 11 year old carried on with school. not our primary school but the 11 year old (12 now i suppose) is at the high school my son will go to. i don't know them personally but i help teach the girls 9 year old cousin and she's a 'nice girl', you know, one of those proper 9 year olds who talks about kittens and wears jeans and t-shirts to school discos instead of provocative clothes so the 11 year old was probably just as sweet. mind you it would still be a sad story even if the 11 year old had been streetwise and mature for her age, primary school is very young. it was the girls sister who took her to the party, not a babysitter.

bright_side

mariauk wrote:

I also have a 14 year old daughter who is very sensible but god forbid if I ever left them at home alone for more than 10 minutes. I would come home to find the murder squad in the living room :rolleyes:

LOL that's the EXACT reason why I'd never leave my 14 year old daughter with my 8 year old son :eek:

14 yr old loves being 'home alone' when she gets the chance, but I'd only leave her during the day cos I hated being alone when it was dark outside when I was a teen She says she wouldn't mind, but I'd worry too much!

crazyhazy

I can't remember exactly how old I was when i was first left home alon, although it was never a regular thing, my mum was there most days after school to pick me up and if she was working, an older pupil walked me to the shop my aunt owned, or my granpa picked me up, once everyone turned up for me on the same day! I always helped my mum with my little brother though, I was 7 when he was born, don't remember ever being left alone with him except for maybe 10mins when I was about 12 though. But as a result I was quite mature for my age and very good with children, I started babysitting for a family friend at 14, when her baby was 8months and she had a 10 year old too. Wasn't straight forward babysitting though, I spent every second weekend with them, looking after the baby whilst his mum studied in another room and sometimes looked after both of them when the parents went out for a meal in the evening. I think I got more experience this way though, cos he was awake most of the time, as I got more confident I would take him out to the shops and to cafes for lunch. I even remember once taking him to glasgow shopping when his mum had an exam, I would have been nearly 16 by then though.

My mums always said to be left for any length of time you should be 14, but this also depends on the child and how mature they are. I think 8 is far too young to be going home to an empty house though.

crazyhazy

karen23 wrote:

LOL that's the EXACT reason why I'd never leave my 14 year old daughter with my 8 year old son :eek:

14 yr old loves being 'home alone' when she gets the chance, but I'd only leave her during the day cos I hated being alone when it was dark outside when I was a teen She says she wouldn't mind, but I'd worry too much!

hmmm, thinking about it that's probably why my mum didn't leave me and my brother alone!

sarahbrand

I believe that the legal age for a child to be left by itself in England and Wales is 12, but that they are not able to babysit until the age of 14. However, although the babysitter is looking after your children, if anything happens, you are still liable for prosecution if they are under the age of 16. Social Services are the best people to go to for the correct information.

In Scotland, the law is worded differently, although you are still legally responsible for any minor under 16 in your home, even if they are babysitting for you. A child in Scotland, can be left at any age. They must be able to follow instructions, know how to use the phone and who to call, know not to let anyone into the house without prior knowledge from the parent, ie gas man, know who to contact in an emergency. This does therefore mean that if one child in your household is 15, but unable to cope with normal daily life, then you would be prosecuted, however, if another of say 7 or 8 is able to cope they can be left. There is another point that is added to this though, which states that the amount of time you are away from the kids, should also be related to age, and or ability ie 30 mins after school waiting for mum could be acceptable to one child, but 10 mins for another.

In Fife, the Child Protection Unit has a leaflet out with Social Services called 'Who's Minding the Kids?' Really informative and easy to read. Well done Fife!

mink35

sarahbrand wrote:

I believe that the legal age for a child to be left by itself in England and Wales is 12, but that they are not able to babysit until the age of 14.

According to earlier posts this is incorrect and there is no legal limit although it is an offence to leave a child alone if this action puts him/her at risk.

trafalgar wrote:

http://www.nspcc.org.uk/html/home/n...athomealone.htm


"There is no law that states the minimum age that a child can be left alone. However, it is an offence to leave a child alone when doing so puts him or her at risk. "