If she is 13?

Question

My daughter is 13.If I leave her alone at home,to go to work,should I be worried that Children Services will invade the house?

Answer 1

13 is NOT too young. 11 is too young.

Answer 2

In todays society It would not suprize me in the least if they did. Sadly that is just how some people are. However your 13 year old daughter is old enough to be alone for 5-8 hours (with minimum-extensive contact) Lay down the ground rules and be firm. Ask a neighbor to swing in every couple of hours and tell your daughter that they will be doing so. This serves multiple purposes. First it gives you a "Sitter" with out actually having one, secondly it keeps your daughter safe and third keeps parties or Boys from having free reign in your house with your daughter.
Trust your Daughter to do the right thing then make sure she does by having some sort of supervision(limited but supervision non the less)

Back to the Question...

In todays society it is a possibility that someone will report you to CPS/DFYS/CFS or what ever other abbreviation that your state may use. The fact of the matter is that at 13 your daughter is still a minor and somepeople have a problem with adults such as your self leaving a minor alone to their own devises. Personally I say they should worry more about them damn selves rather than what others are doing. Especially when you are "leaving" her at home to go to work, to earn a living, to provide for her and to ensure that she has the opportunity to have a good life. I say Go For It and cross the Child services bridge if and when you come to it. Oh and on another the other side of this topic.(to all those who would undermine everything this person is trying to do by calling Protective Service) Instead of reporting someone who is doing the best He/she can why don't you get off of your self rightous *** and offer to watch the child. we spend way to much time worrying about others actions then we complain that society has gone to hell. What ever happened to civic responsibility and helping your neighbor in need?

Answer 3

I'm not sure where you live, but most states have a website that list the specific rules. My daughter is 13 and I just started working this summer and she's been fine. The website for my state said there is not a specific legal age but listed 12-14 as a guideline. It also stated that they look at the reason why the child was left alone. If the parent not working would cause severe financial hardship on the family, they are more lienient. Good luck to you.

Answer 4

If she is a mature 13, then I think she should be ok for a couple of hours alone. When I was 13, my mom and dad started letting me stay home alone from the time I got home from school at 3:45 till they got home from work around 6:00 or 7:00. But to keep me busy and out of trouble, they would leave me chores such as cooking dinner or cleaning something up.

They would also call at various times of the day and occasionally come home from work early to make sure I was doing what I was supposed to be doing.

This taught me responsibility and independance, and also saved them money.

Answer 5

Yes, I'd be worried although I would be more worried about the fact that you are leaving a thirteen year old in the house alone while you go to work. So don't worry about children services worry about your daughter

Answer 6

Where I live the minimum age to leave a child alone is 11. If there is anyone younger that, even if there is someone there that is over the age of 11 acting as a babysitter, then no. You should check for your area, but chances are at the age of 13 it is probably OK, legally speaking, to leave her alone. Just make sure she is protected, has your phone number at work in case of an emergency, etc.

Answer 7

If it's an after school for a couple of hours thing - I don't see a problem. If you are talking about her being alone for hours upon hours, I would worry about what she's up to.
No matter how well you raised her, she is at a very vulnerable age, and though she may be OK for the short time, she is exactly what sexual predators are looking for.

Check with your local police department about what the 'home alone' rules are.

Answer 8

Most states have a age which is ok to leave at home, often referred to as "latch key" kids. Thirteen should be plenty old enough to stay at home alone, wise enough to not open the doors for a stranger, or answer the phone and say that you are not there. Now if she is really irresponsible you may have a problem, playing loud music (lound enough to distrub others), out running around getting into trouble, enough said. But if she is a pretty good kid and stays quiet and pretty much inside you both should be fine.

Answer 9

Call your state social services or children & youth office & ask a professional who knows the age for your state. Each state is different. Make sure you write down their name & date of your call to them. Tell them your name & ask that they make note of your phone call,...just in case. Years ago a woman called to verify that 12 was the age for a child to be home alone day time short for a few hours,...she wrote down the persons name who did the verifying through children & youth. Turned out that woman got it wrong it wasn't 12 it was 13 the only thing that saved this mother was that she logged the phone call along with womans name & exavtly what she said.

Answer 10

No, she is counted as a teenager at 13. If you feel you can trust her to leave her alone then do so but see how she feels about it as well. Also do it in small steps you might feel now you can trust her but see how you feel when you come home from being gone for a couple of hours not the whole day.

Answer 11

It depends on the state. Many states say 12 is OK but it also depends on maturity and how the situation is handled. I let my 12 year old stay home if I need to go run a few quick errands (about 1 hour)