I have a big problem here to deal with. Normally i work first shift but i have been transfered to third shift starting in one week. My husband works 2nd shift at the same place as I do. My question is this I have a 14 yr old a 12 and 11 yr old, legally is it ok for me to leave them sleeping at home alone just long enogh for me to drive the 5 to 10 minutes to work for my husband to take car as soon as i get there and go strait home. Not more than 30 minutes will be needed for me to get there and him to get back home. This is at like midnight.. the only other way to do this is to wake them up and have them get in the car and drive there with me. But i dont want to have to disturb their sleep cycle and possibly cause them problems at school for sleep deprevation. I live in Indiana does anyone have any thoughts for me.
2007-09-28 06:12:09 · 19 answers · asked by Raven B 2 in Pregnancy & Parenting ➔ Adolescent
well i called Cps and asked them about it. They told me currently there is no law governing children watching children, but that the 14 yr old should be old enough to watch the other 2 and make sure that i leave phone numbers of where to contact and that kind of thing. I am also going to talk to my neighbor and ask her to check in on them, and let her know that in case of emergency id like it if the kids go to her. She is a nice lady and my kids play with her grand kids all the time.
2007-09-28 06:55:40 · update #1
yes only one car and he is getting off work when i am going on. We work for the same company but different shifts because finances are really tight i cant hire someone to watch them this late. i felt they could probably handle this but others were telling me that it was inappropriate. Thats why I asked.
2007-09-28 15:31:58 · update #2
Can you get somebody to sit with them for the short period of time??? I realise it is late, but some people will not mind. Make sure the doors are locked.
Make sure your smoke detectors work. (very important)
Make sure you have a cell phone with you and/or your husband.
2007-09-28 06:17:17 · answer #1 · answered by CCBB 4 · 1⤊ 4⤋
Well I was babysitting when I was 14 years old. Let them be aware what is going on so if they wake up they don't freak out. I honestly think if it is no more than an hour and they are asleep then it will be fine. But just in case something does happen to you, say a car accident or something, just make sure the 14 year old would know emergency numbers or numbers of relatives to come and watch over them. Just take extra precautions because anything can happen, even so close to home.
2007-09-28 06:19:46 · answer #2 · answered by l'il mama 5 · 2⤊ 0⤋
In my area, it is ellegal to leave a child under 12 alone for any amount of time. I don't think that an older sibling of 14 qualifies as adequate supervision, but it might.
If your older child is responsible, I personally see no problem with this, assuming it is legal. You might want to annonomysly call your local social services agency and ask them what the law is in your area.
If it is not OK for your kids to be left at home, do you have a neighbor who would be willing to sleep at your house while you were out? That would be better than waking your kids up. Also, please try to work out a new schedule at work. It does not seem to be reasonable for you and your hubby to have overlapping shifts that leave your children unattended.
Review with your children the house rules and emergency procedures (crawl out if there is a fire, don't answer the door, here's mom's cell phone number in case someone is sick, etc.) Make sure the oldest child is comfortable with the responsibility, and perhaps increase their allowance by a little to compensate them. It is very unlikely that there would be a problem, but if there is, you need to be sure the older child is able and willing to handle it.
If I were in your situation, and it were legal to do it, I would have no problem leaving my 14 year-old in charge of the other kids for 30 minutes. And I'm a VERY overprotective parent!
2007-09-28 06:22:23 · answer #3 · answered by Kellie W 4 · 0⤊ 1⤋
yeah thats perfectly fine considering i started babysitting when i was 12! u would seriously get all of the kids up at midnight and take them in the car with u...its not like they're 5 years old....just lock the doors and they'll be fine...i'm sure the 14 year old could handles things for 30 mins if anything does happen...and if ur kids aren't capable of this by the age they're now then it sounds like u need to let go a little bit and let your kids grow up! also why do u have to pick up ur husband? do u only have 1 car for the whole family???
2007-09-28 09:20:14 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
Depends on the child really....never before age 10 or 11 but if they are mature enough and responsible enough at age 12 I would consider it however 8 hours is a long time to be left alone at that age no matter how responsible they are.
2016-05-20 23:35:34 · answer #5 · answered by ? 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The legal age is 12, but some families leave their children home alone when they're 9 or w/e. That's when I was first left alone and I still ended up in 1 piece. Your 11 y/o should be old enough to w/e w/o ur supervision. I think ur just being overprotective.
2007-09-28 07:15:30 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
I don't think it would be a huge deal. When I was 12 or 13 I would babysit late at night and a few times during snow storms ended up there alone with the kids most of the night. It was never a big deal. If it would make you feel better though, call your local police station and double check with them. You should be fine though.
2007-09-28 06:23:29 · answer #7 · answered by Stacy 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I think they are old enough to leave at home for less than 30minutes. I would let your 12 and 14 year old know of your plan in case of an emergency (or accident). Do you carry a cell phone? Make sure it is posted at all of the home phones. Do you also have a "friend" / neighbor? I would also let them know...in case of house emergency (fire). Of course, these are worse case scenarios...I doubt you will have any issues but it is better to be prepared "just in case".
2007-09-28 06:18:29 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
They are definately allowed to stay home. But make certain rules. Put a list of phone numbers just in case on the fridge make sure the door is locked. Check on your kids and get your husband to check on them when he gets back.
2007-09-28 10:04:26 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
They are old enough, just make sure you leave a note if you are going to be out longer....in case they wake up in the middle of the night, and you arent there....I think that they are more than capable....Just make sure they know their neighbors, so they can run to someones house in case of a fire or something....
2007-09-28 06:22:45 · answer #10 · answered by Katie Lynn 3 · 2⤊ 0⤋
depends on how mature the kids are, a 14yo should be responsable enough to watch the others for a few hours. besure you have all the emergancy information they will need, but, he/she is 14, she should know 911 by now...
Just tell them before they goto sleep, and keep a cell phone with you if you can. for midnight questions. lol
2007-09-28 06:16:47 · answer #11 · answered by Jamin 3 · 2⤊ 0⤋