Would you leave a nine year old home alone?

Spendless

Yes, from choice

We don't have matches or a lighter in the house. We had to hunt round to find something to light daughter's birthday candles with the other day (and eventually found a gas lighter) so unsure what he could have used to start a fire with? I'm also quite confident that a child witty enough to make a quip about how dopey his cousin was regarding safety issues is unlikely to purposely start doing something stupid! At 3 months off his 10th birthday it was the FIRST time he had been left home alone and only then by discussion with his Dad and certain precautions in place so no I wouldn't in all honest opinion be concluding you could think the same about a baby. Mr S was going to ring and check son was ok, if there had been any problems at that point son could have told him (or rang his dad himself as I'd left the number) a baby wouldn't have the same option!

pulliptears

jsdakhilesh wrote: »

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buggar me I was only going to the shop for a paper not bloody India!!!

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Spendless

Yes, from choice

[QUOTE=victory;60365741_a_9_year_old_alone,_decided_to_cook?_Brr_doesn't_bare_thinking_about_but_like_I_have_said_before_many_parents_do_and_many_parents_have_no_problems_at_all,_it's_the_ones_that_do_that_end_on_the_front_pages_of_the_papers[/QUOTE]No, a 9 yo asked to use the microwave and knew more than his adult cousin about whether he could heat a can in it! My first reaction was to refuse that request and I really, really can't remember what we agreed to in the end regarding that.

gingin_2

He's persistent! (delete when appropriate).

Kayalana99

Spendless wrote: »

Mr S was going to ring and check son was ok, if there had been any problems at that point son could have told him (or rang his dad himself as I'd left the number) a baby wouldn't have the same option!

If it was so safe to leave your son at home why would a phone call be needed?

Why is it unethcial to leave a baby but not a 10 year old child? Even if just for 5min to the shops?

Baby can't turn the oven on so not at fire risk. Baby is 99.99% safe same as a 10 year old is 99.99% safe ( assuming they are of the mature sense).

I suppose next doors house could set fire...or a burglar could decide to rob the house at that time.

Yea its abit OTT but it DOES and CAN happen. You may have taught your son not to open the door but its the what 'ifs' that make us not leave a child un supervised.

How about an eariler thread about leaving her 9 year old daughter in the car whilst she nipped into a tesco garage (so she could still see the car from the window) and it got hit by another car?

A quick google of 'burgulars and 10 year olds left alone' comes up with many hits & news stories and even one of the burglar knocking on the door (to check no one is home) before trying to enter the house.

Toto

No, not unless it was a dire emergency

I've also had a kitchen fire while I was home, caused by a very sensible 14 year old and a faulty toaster. She did nothing wrong but she did panic when it caught alight. She told me after the event exactly what she should have done but in the moment she was too afraid to do anything other than scream.

That's the thing, you can never predict what someone else will do in the event of an emergency. They might tell you when all is calm and make you think all is fine, but they don't know themselves how they will react.

So, no, I would not leave a 9 year old. I hope people who do never have cause to question their decision. It's always the right choice until things go wrong isn't it.

Uphill

No, not unless it was a dire emergency

I hate leaving my two and they are 11 and 14. They are absolutely fine on their own its just me being over protective. I wouldn't go to work and leave them home alone all day but they sometimes stay at home when I do a food shop.

FBaby

Toto wrote: »

I've also had a kitchen fire while I was home, caused by a very sensible 14 year old and a faulty toaster. She did nothing wrong but she did panic when it caught alight. She told me after the event exactly what she should have done but in the moment she was too afraid to do anything other than scream.

That's the thing, you can never predict what someone else will do in the event of an emergency. They might tell you when all is calm and make you think all is fine, but they don't know themselves how they will

This us exactly why this age business doesn't hold up to me. So it is ok to leave a 14 to on their own because they are over 14 yet they clearly panicked in an emergency. How would they are fared on their own? Poorly it would seem maybe to the point of danger yet because of their age it would be deemed absolutely fine for them to be on their own.

Toto

No, not unless it was a dire emergency

FBaby wrote: »

This us exactly why this age business doesn't hold up to me. So it is ok to leave a 14 to on their own because they are over 14 yet they clearly panicked in an emergency. How would they are fared on their own? Poorly it would seem maybe to the point of danger yet because of their age it would be deemed absolutely fine for them to be on their own.

Exactly, but, how do you know that a 9 year old would be ok in an emergency? Because they tell you so? Because in a calm conversation they can tell you what to do and what they would do? My daughter was the most mature and sensible child I've ever known, I would have sworn up and down she would have been fine in an emergency, nothing to do with age at all but because she was such a level headed kid.

However, not so much when it came down to an emergency situation it seems. I was surprised at how she reacted. Age means nothing much but nor does an impression of how you think they might behave. I'd personally rather sit on the side of safety and not take any risks that I might live to regret.

conradmum

Yes, from choice

Not long after we moved into our previous house, our neighbour set her kitchen on fire. She came in all panicked, asking if we had a fire extinguisher. My husband works with electronics so luckily we had. He went in but by then the kitchen was full of smoke. We told her to phone the fire brigade, so she picked up the phone and ...phoned her husband to ask him if she should phone the fire brigade. I asked her if she's got the children out of the house. No, they were watching TV in the living room.

Maybe she shouldn't be left home alone? Age doesn't necessarily breed common sense.

Many of our parents generation were working full time jobs at 15. Many of their parents' generation were entrusted with important tasks much younger. I don't think today's children have suddenly evolved to be less responsible and trustworthy, but clearly they are. What's changed?