What is the legal age, in WI, for a child to be left home alone?

Question

There has to be a legal age, in the State of Wisconsin, to be home alone. I have a friend who continually leaves her TEN year old home alone ALL DAY. To me, that's just not right.

Answer 1

There isn't one.

Wisconsin, like most States, doesn't set an arbitrary number. It's left up to the parent to decide, *but* if something happens then a court will decide whether leaving that particular child alone under those particular circumstances was reasonable, or constituted child neglect or endangerment.

Leaving a 9 year old home alone for 20 minutes in the day time while you go to the store might be considered reasonable, but leaving a 12 year old home alone for a three day weekend might not - depends on the overall circumstances.

Edit.... there doesn't "have to be" at all. Not every minute detail of our lives has to be regulated by the government. Leaving a ten year old alone all day sounds negligent to me too, but it's a judgment call, not a detailed law.

Read the link below.

Richard