At what age can a child stay home all day while parent is at work?

mark5

I wouldn’t trust a girl anymore than a boy, they sometimes come across as more mature on the surface but underneath seem to have the same child like tendencies.
In my limited experience of my kids and partners kids the girls are more likely to not be where they say they are, come home later than allowed , go places you tell them they cant go.

I used to be left alone during the day from about age 11, I think you tend to know when your kids are ready and would probably gradually increase the time you leave them for.

trailingspouse

You need to set ground rules (maybe - not allowed to go out, no friends round).



And you also need to go through a lot of 'what if' scenarios. What if a stranger came to the door? What if there was a fire (or even just what if the smoke detector went off). What if they started to feel poorly. What if the electric went off. Etc etc etc. You need to give them the tools they need to feel confident. So for example, tell them it's OK to ignore the door bell if they don't know who's at the door, tell them who to call (you, their other parent, a neighbour) if they don't feel well, and so on.



If a child lacks confidence it's often simply because they don't know what's expected of them - so tell them what's expected of them. It also helps if they know exactly what time you'll be back and what you will do if you're going to be later than planned.


It's all part of growing up!!

suejb2

a free
An underage party. Short for "parent free." Typically held in a kids house when their parents are out of town.


It’s not your son and his mates you should worry about. It’s the others that hear about it. Tell him not to broadcast it.

Drawingaline

It's child dependant. My 10yr old I won't leave alone at all. And probably won't for a while yet. However my older two were left alone for inset days from year 6. But I work 9-3, so not into the evening. My daughter has been in charge of her two youngest brothers for part of the summer holidays since age 14. She gets paid, and I try and take at least half of them off. My older son comes to work with me and earns money.

I work locally and am always only about 15min drive away max. My friend lives 10 doors down and my parents are also local (but aging and getting less able to have the little two on a regular basis).

It's this, or I don't work and then we can't eat! Before this my parents had them, but as mentioned, are less able to without it impacting their health.

lincroft1710

How times have changed!

Back in the 1950s/60s most children aged 6/7 and above walked to and from school (and from 10/11 also cycled) on their own or perhaps with classmates. Often about a mile (in my own case) and we are talking urban environment and on pavements alongside A roads.

Spendless

When mine were younger (they're now 19 & 16) there was no choice. Childcare where I live stopped after age 11 (ie non from age 12+ s). There were sports or dance/drama holiday clubs. They ran less than a full time day eg they were often 9-10 till 2-3pm and required an adult to sign them in and out, so no chance of telling child to make their own way there and back either if you were at work outside of these times.

As I was well aware of this situation years in advance, I had to make sure mine were ok by this stage to leave.

maman

lincroft1710 wrote: »

How times have changed!

Back in the 1950s/60s most children aged 6/7 and above walked to and from school (and from 10/11 also cycled) on their own or perhaps with classmates. Often about a mile (in my own case) and we are talking urban environment and on pavements alongside A roads.

You're right, times have changed.

Part of the problem is government policy. Many children don't go to local schools any more because of the policy of parental preference. And the cost of housing means that far more children have both parents (or a single parent) working full time and maybe they've 'got on their bikes' and work far away from family support and also grandparents maybe are working longer and can't help.

Ms_Chocaholic

Are there any holiday clubs that you could use for a couple of the days?

badmemory

I was told (about 30 years ago) by a policeman that legally the age is/was 18. When I said but you can be married at 16. He agreed, but said if something went wrong with an under 18 who was alone, it was possible that the parent could be held responsible.

Savvy_Sue

badmemory wrote: »

I was told (about 30 years ago) by a policeman that legally the age is/was 18. When I said but you can be married at 16. He agreed, but said if something went wrong with an under 18 who was alone, it was possible that the parent could be held responsible.

Unlikely to happen with a 16 year old, but that's the situation. You can leave a child 'home alone' at any age, and if nothing goes wrong, no laws have been broken.

If something goes wrong, brown stuff should hit rotating blades fast.

The age at which the likelihood of things going wrong becomes negligible varies and it's your call.