If other children can,why our children can't?

Question

I have a 6-year-old daughter.My husband's salary isn't enough for the 3 of us.We consider some work for me either but we don't have anyone to leave the girl with(no reliable neighbours,no grandparents and no way to hire a baby-sitter).So we think she would be alone at home.But my question is that - I have friends from Europe.They all can leave their children alone whenever they want to and nothing bad happens.Their children usually stay at home,read books,watch TV,sleep,play with dolls.I think if European children can handle with such a situation,our(American) children can do it so.My best friend(from Europe) has a son,5 years old,and she regularly leaves him alone,because she is working and they don't send him to daycares etc.What do you think about that?

Answer 1

You are wrong. Leaving so young children alone in home is not a widely adopted practice in Europe. Just because your best friend does it, it doesn't necessarily mean that the rest of the continent shares her point of view. It is not a matter of being European or American. Leaving so small children home alone is wrong, period. And I'm sure it constitutes a strong child negligence case!

Answer 2

I don't think it is a good idea. If your friend is living here in the States doing that then she is opening herself up to a child neglect law suit.

Most children that age do not have the knowledge or skills to react properly to an emergency situation. If the house catches fire or if someone tries to break in or any number of other senarios of things that could happen.

Europeans raise their children differently than we do. Who is right and who is wrong can only be determined by the situation of each incident and what the circumstances are that led up to it and what the end result is.

Personally, I trained my kids how to get out of the house if there were a fire or some other disaster that would hurt them if they stayed in the house. I taught them how to dial 911 to call police or fire department if something were happening that they felt was dangerous.

Not all parents do that, and the children that don't know these things are the ones that would be in more serious danger if something were to happen if they are home by themselves.

Thay is why in most places in this country you are required to have supervision for your children and not leave them alone for extended periods of time. Too many things can happen, and unfortunately in our country, there are too many weirdos out there that want to get to our kids to do unspeakable harm to them.

Love your children, protect your children. If you get a job, see if your company has some sort of child care at work where you can bring your child and have them supervised. If there is a charge, most of the time they will take it right out of your check for you so you don't really miss it.

Good luck and I hope you get back on your financial feet soon.

Answer 3

In South Carolina it is illegal to leave your children alone if they are under the age of 9. My oldest is 11 and I still won't let him be home alone, even if I am just running a quick errand. There are too many things that can happen.

Also, if you are planning on working and leaving the child alone, who will make sure he/she eats? Kids don't know what is healthy to eat at that point. I also think from a psychological standpoint you would be doing great harm to your child leaving him/her alone. Do you know how lost and lonely it would be to all of a sudden be alone in the house?

And Europeans don't leave their children at home alone. They usually have a good network of friends and family who help care for the children (not much different than in the US but a lot less daycare centers). And your friend has been extremely lucky that nothing has happened to her child. She should thank God everyday that her lack of intelligence and lack of care of her child hasn't had any detrimental affects.

Answer 4

This is NOT a european standard! Europeans don't leave their kids home alone at that age and neither do americans! Just because your friend does it (wrongly) doesnt mean all europeans think it is okay! It is NOT okay to leave a child that young without supervision! Think ahead! What if there was a fire? Could your child get out of the house? Would your child know what to do? Children that age crawl into closets when there is a fire! They don't go for the door! And if your child could get out of the house, than they could get out at ANY time! They could decide they wanted to take a walk and get snatched up by a child molester or worse. They could get lost. Would you leave food out for your child or let them starve? Surely you wouldnt let your child starve, well what if they started to CHOKE on their food! If an adult was there they could help them get it out and call 911. If a child was home alone, they would choke and DIE because no one was there to help. And you would go to JAIL for child endagerment. Even if you have child proofed your house, NO place is 100% safe. There are a million and one things that they could get into that would be dangerous and no one would be there to prevent it or to get them the help that they needed. This is why child protective services take children away for that treatment! If you dont have enough sense to understand why a 6 year old cannot be safely left at home alone, then I am REALLY scared for your child even when you are there! YIKES!!!

Answer 5

I don't thin k that any child that young should be left alone,
anything is bound to happen ! They could get hurt, answer the door to the wrong person, make a mess of the
house & so on. Try to find work @ a day care center,
this way you could work there while your child goes there.
They will have you pay for your child to attened , but you
will get what ever percent is left. SOME will let your child
go for free if you work there.
OR why not babysit @ your home & this way you can be w/ your child & make some extra cash watching other
children too. Just make sure you don't watch too many
@ once it's against the law. ( amount depends on the
size of your home ) Good luck

Answer 6

Wow, you're ignorant and obviously have little concern for the feelings and well being of your child or "the girl" as you call her.

I lived in Europe for 4 years and can tell you that it is not common practice to leave children home alone. If that were true why did I get called to babysit? I have a 6 yr. old and would not even think of leaving him home alone. He is actually quite advanced for his age and I would still never consider leaving him home alone. He is not ready. He is smart and quite independent but that does not mean he is ready to be on his own. What if something were to happen? Children that age just do not yet have the thought process to handle unexpected circumstances. Plus, I'm not sure he'd be comfortable being home alone and I'm quite sure he'd be lonely. Have you even stopped to think how your daughter would feel.

Answer 7

A few towns over from me a Dad in a bad financial situation had to leave his boy (around 5-6) home alone when he went to work. It was 2-3 hours a day, I think in the late evening. A fire started in the house and the boy ended up dead. Now among his grief and guilt he is being charged with child endangerment.

Answer 8

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Answer 9

Sorry! I am from Europe, and I never did that. It doesn't depend on where you are from, Europe, Asia or America. It depends on responsibility. A responsible parent does not leave a five year old alone!!! No matter what side of the earth they live on. Try to find a job, that you can do at home. Through the Internet or something. Don't leave your kid alone. That is not right. We don't have babies to let them be, they need us.

Answer 10

Why would you not have her in school? And where I live in Europe, children go to nursery school and then continue into a primary school. They are never left alone at such a young age. So find a job at the school so you can be with your child and still earn money. Or stop spending so much.