I'm just curious as to what the average age is now that people leave their kids home alone, be it for 15-30 minutes to run to the store or whatever, or a couple hours at a time.
2007-03-20 02:20:36 · 11 answers · asked by lilly_rose_starphase 3 in Pregnancy & Parenting ➔ Parenting
It really depends on where you live. I stared to let my oldest daughter watch her younger sisters when she was 11. Where I'm from she can be alone with her sisters for as long as 18 hours at that age as long as they are all above the age of 4. Here you can leave a 8-9 year old alone for up to 4 hours, but there's also no actual laws, only guidelines. I'd say that it depends on the maturity of the child myself. If you can trust that your child will be able to handle it alone, try it our for 20 min. and see how they do. I started out doing it when they were asleep, warning my older child that I would be at the store for a bit, and if the younger ones woke up, she'd deal with them and call my cell phone if there was a problem. It's worked out for me so far, as long as I have my phone, and I can get home quickly if they need me.
2007-03-20 03:22:56 · answer #1 · answered by Crazygirl 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
My daughter was 10 and it was only for the time inbetween she got home from school and husband got home from work, about 30 minutes or so. When she was 13 we had her take a babysitting class to get certified and now she stays home and watches her baby brother and sister for a few hours at a time (they are 4 and 2) and sometimes we will leave her here while we run errands with the little ones. She knows her rules and she abides by them MOST of the time. She's a good kid for the most part. Honestly I think it depends on the child. Some kids are more emotionally and mentall ready for that kind of thing at an earlier age while others shouldn't be trusted even at 16 years old.
2007-03-20 02:48:55 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
When my daughter was 12 I started to leave her home for short periods of time. I had her take a class on personal safety at the local Y before hand. I think between 12-13 is the right age.
I know when I was a kid my mom left us home alone when we were 10 and 11 but that was a different time.
It depends on how mature the child is too. You don't want them to play with the stove or make prank calls when you are gone. You have to go over the rules of how to behave when you are not home. Oh Yea if I am leaving my daughter home alone (she is 14 years old now) I disconnect the Internet so she can't be on-line when I am not home. (Yes I get to hear you are so mean mom ..) lol
Good Luck
2007-03-20 02:57:03 · answer #3 · answered by justwondering 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I started letting my daughter stay home for 15-20 minutes while I ran to the store when she was 10. She is now 12 and I can leave her for a few hours.
2007-03-20 03:04:01 · answer #4 · answered by KathyS 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
My daughter is 10 yrs old now and I still haven't left her alone. I even go with her to get the mail. This world is a crazy place, I trust no one.
2007-03-20 02:36:22 · answer #5 · answered by Polynomial 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
My oldest is 10 and I wouldn't even consider it yet. When she is 12 she will be taking a babysitting class offered at a local hospital - I'll consider it then.
2007-03-20 02:27:11 · answer #6 · answered by Zabes 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
when he was 10; I would allow him to choose to go with or stay home. When he turned 12, I allowed him to babysit for a few hours...and yes I paid him!
2007-03-20 02:30:23 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
my eldest is 14, and I still don't. The world is full of worse people than you could ever imagine. at 16 I will start.
2007-03-20 09:10:26 · answer #8 · answered by Icewomanblockstheshot 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
About 13. She always wanted to go with me anywhere I went anyway. She was, and still is, a daddy's girl
2007-03-20 02:28:57 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
my daughter was 11..she was mature enough to walk home from school..and stay in the house until i got home from work
2007-03-20 02:58:34 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋