Opinion on leaving 13 yr old and 9 yr old home alone while working 9-5?

WantToBeSE

Hi,
i am just interested in opinions.

Would you leave your 13 year old and 9 year old home alone together from 8.30am-5.30pm for 6 weeks (during summer holidays)?

Or what about 8.30am-1pm?

What would be the advantages/disadvantages of doing this?

They generally get on really well, never come to blows when i leave them for a few hours to go food shopping, and the 13 year old is trustworhy (although he wont have to cook or anything).

pigpen

I wouldn't.

Looking at my 8, 10, 12 and 14 y/o's I'd not leave any of them that long. I would leave the 14 y/o 8:30-1 but none of the others definitely.

It is personal choice.. you do what you feel is right but if there were to be an accident you would be held accountable even if you weren't there.

Claree__x

How would they eat if they didn't have to cook from 8.30am to 5.30pm?

Personally I was left at about 11(ish) for long periods throughout the day due to circumstances that were unavoidable and it didn't do me any harm but it depends on your own kids I suppose

DKLS

I was left at home at a similar age and didnt have any issues other than running out of pop on a sunny day.

If the two of them are mature and can stick with a few house rules I dont see why not.

No parties,, no bonfires, no hookers, no strip poker that kind of thing?

pingufan

I have a 13yr old and a 10 yr and I wouldn't leave them for that long to be honest. I only ever leave my 2 for about an hour or so as although they generally get on ok it's just too long for the 13yr boy old to provide company for a 10yr old girl.

He would want to slope off and play the Xbox for hours on end and she would be left pretty much alone even though he would be in the house.

She would hate it I know, that's when she'd get bored and start fiddling with things or 'making' things - especially as I have the rule that they are not to go out to play or have friends in.

It's too long IMO, sorry, another year or two when daughter is in comp then maybe x

Nicki

No.

I have a very sensible 13 year old and I would consider leaving him on his own 8.30 - 1pm if needs must, but I would not expect a child of that age to be responsible for a younger sibling for that period, nor would I leave him on his own all day 5 days a week.

What on earth would children that age do all day without adult support or organised activity. As the saying goes the devil finds work for idle hands so even if they are normally sensible when left for a short while, by the end of the summer holidays when they are climbing the walls with boredom, who knows what they would be up to.

Another way to look at this is would you be happy to leave your 9 year old alone all day, or even half a day every day of the week, if you didn't also have your 13 year old. And if the answer to that is no, would you employ a 13 year old child to provide childcare for your 9 year old for this kind of period?

jackieblack

I agree with what others have said - older child 'til lunchtime, maybe, if they are usually sensible and responsible, but not every day for 6 weeks and it's not fair to ask them to be responsible for younger sibling.

What happens if he gets invited to play at a friend's house one day?

Surely they're not going to be stuck at home all day, every day for the whole holidays?

And accidents can happen, even to the most sensible children (and adults)
my 17 year old DD was at home on her own while I was shopping at Tesco on Saturday morning and she fell down the stairs carrying a bowl of cereal - I arrived home to find milk, cornflakes and broken bowl up and down my hall & stairs (walls, carpet, everywhere) and a very shaken up DD. Luckily she had only badly bruised her elbow, but it could have been much worse (last time she fell down the stairs she broke a toe so badly it was sticking out at a right angle to the rest of her foot)

How would your younger child cope if the older one had an accident? As pigpen says, if there were to be an accident you would be held accountable even if you weren't there.

cutestkids

I wouldn't to be honest my oldest son is 12 and I will leave him alone for 1-2 hours but would not leave my younger son who is 8 with him.

I think it is too long for a 13 year old to be left anyway, basically all day every working day for 6 weeks is too much.

Perhaps for a few days if no other possibilities were available but not for 6 weeks.

whitewing

Yes for the 13 year old, responsible for himself.

No for the younger one.

I don't agree with the older one being responsible for younger children, probably because my parents got in the habit of dumping younger children on me.

Artytarty

I wouldn't!
My and my brother were left until about three o'clock. We used to fight like cat and dog.
One day Ma came home and thought it had been raining. It hadn't. The fire brigade had just left as bro accidentally set fire to the wooden garage.:(

starlight29

I think it would be too much to ask of the 13 year old I know its a personal choice but I wouldnt its a long day and even till 1 is alot for a 13 year old if they are looking after a younger one nearly everyday in the holidays.

I used to have to look after my sister in the hols I was 14 she was 11 it was for 4 hours a day 4 days a week and I was fed up of it after the first week tbh.
Starlight