What age should a child be home alone
By: 5bygrace
May 27th, 2011
4:46 am
Ok, so at what age should a child be home alone before school and/or afterschool?
and I am talking for an extended period of time....not just 15 min. to hop on the bus, but a few hours???
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49 comments on "What age should a child be home alone"
May 27, 2011 at 4:55 am
I don't have children of that age yet, and I know your expectations change as your child grows, but at this point I can't imagine leaving my child alone before the age of 12 or 13.
My friend started leaving her daughter alone at the age of 11.
May 27, 2011 at 5:28 am
I have the same view.....12, or 13....I think what worried me the most if the before school thing, I mean mistakes happen...alarm set for pm instead of am, power outages.....
Afterschool I think I can handle but morning getting there
May 27, 2011 at 9:32 am
So, he/she wouldn't be up before you leave? And would he/she be responsible for the other kids too?
I thin 12 porbably works for a littel time in the morning after you leave, or a while in the afternoon. My 9 yo shows signs of that kind of independence, but so far hasn't even spent 10 min alone while I run to grnadmas house...
May 27, 2011 at 9:58 am
No, IaDad, she'd just be responsible for herself. This isn't at my home, though, her Dad's trying to get away with letting her stay home alone while she's at his house, good thing our daughter talks to me, she just blurted it out the other day, NICE!
I just wanted a poll really, I think most reasonable parents have the same feelings, and it's based on the child, this one has two homes with which this routine would not be consistant, and could cause trip ups I think.
May 27, 2011 at 10:17 am
I agree with what has been said, 12 or 13 seems about right, although of course every child matures at a different rate so maturity will play a bigger part in the decision. But yeah, 12 or 13 and not ALL the time.
May 27, 2011 at 12:20 pm
I agree, it depends on the maturity of the child. Meagan we left home alone for about an hour when she was 11 I think and she called us in tears "there is someone at the door and they won't go away!" blah blah blah. I told her to look on the security camera and see who it was and all of a sudden "It's miss Deborah (neighboor) call her and tell her to go away!" lol. So needless to say we didn't let her stay home alone for a while after that. Really I think she was probably 14/15 when we felt totally comfortable with it.
Cassie would BEG us to let her stay home alone from the time she was 9 - ...well, now. And we tried it out when she was 11 as well. We had gone to a friends house party down the street and let her stay home, she was fine. Didn't call us once, no problems, let the dog out when she needed to. And even made her own dinner.
May 27, 2011 at 3:23 pm
Definitely depends on the child. I was taking care of my sibling at 11 for 8-9 hours a day but I was a very responsible child. I tried leaving my older 4 at that age and...yeah, it didn't happen again until they were 14/15.
I think 11 would be the earliest as long as it was only themselves they would be taking care of. Siblings it would be 13/14.
May 27, 2011 at 4:32 pm
I think 11 would be the earliest as long as it was only themselves they would be taking care of. Siblings it would be 13/14.
May 27, 2011 at 7:32 pm
It mostly depends on the child's maturity. If the child has shown that he/she has been responsible, knows emergency numbers, can make something to eat, knows not to open the door for anyone, than yes, they can be home alone. Make sure you have a little talk with your child before going over all of the basics. Good luck!
May 28, 2011 at 3:28 am
I've left my older son, who will be 10 in June, for short periods of time. I remember being left home alone at his age. Sometimes with my older brother and younger sister, sometimes just alone. My younger sister wouldn't stay in the house alone at all. She was afraid to be alone...she probably still is!!! And she is 35. So, we are all different.
and he was pretty proud of himself for foraging for his own food. He even offered to make me one. I hate them, but accepted and ate it anyway, cause that is what you do when you are a parent 
The first time I left my son alone it was for about 20 minutes. I've gone up to 40 minutes or so...but not any longer than that. One time I came home and he was eating a cheese quesadilla . He made it in the microwave
I was babysitting other people's children when I was 12. So to me, 10 is old enough to be left home alone if the child shows they are ready for it.
May 28, 2011 at 9:30 am
Thanks for all the different feed back
May 29, 2011 at 2:32 pm
myself i was being left alone from very young age. school was within walking distance and parents walked with me only the first day. but it was different place, different time. now i'd say 10-11 should be OK, but not for too long.
May 31, 2011 at 9:23 pm
I think each state has a law.
May 31, 2011 at 9:32 pm
Good point.
Latchkey Kids Legal Age Limits Listed By State
It looks like only some states have laws stating an age to be left alone at home, and they range from 8-14, but the most common listed age is 12.
June 1, 2011 at 1:28 am
i believe there is no age for child to be alone. Every one need someone's support so there should be some activity for child. but if you planned take these things in your mind.
First note that is your child is able to take responsibility.
Is he able to handle unexpected situations
You have to note down all safety measures.
Good First-aid procedures must be taught to child
June 1, 2011 at 5:21 am
Depends on the child. I wouldn't leave my child alone under 14 and even than he would have to prove he was responsible enough. My son would forget to lock doors, answered phones, let friends in, lol attempted to cook,
become hypnotized by TV and computer, (and God knows what can happen there).
I never left him alone needless to say...but I suggest no younger than 14 and I would have her call (YOU) regularly when she is alone. Being that she is in his home alone, would make me even more uncomfortable to be honest
because I wouldn't know what goes on there, or in the neighborhood.
Just my opinion.
June 2, 2011 at 9:26 pm
it was different place, different time..
I lived a different life when I was younger, I grew up quick. I didn't have both parents and my father worked very long and hard to provide. From about the age of 7 or 8 I believe I was home alone for a few min in the morning and for a couple hours in the afternoon. I was responsible, did my home work, picked up the house, cooked dinner...on the stove (Ramen). I also road my bike to/from school everyday... a bit over a mile, crossing a major 4-5 lane road. Of course this was also the close to the same time in my life where I was flying by myself for summer vacation, even switching flights.
I am sure my father did not like it, but it is what we had to do.
Would I do that to my oldest (10yrs), heck no. She wants to be responsible but I don't think she is there yet and her anxiety flares up easy. I would say probably 12-13 is a good age though.
JB
June 2, 2011 at 9:36 pm
Looks like I'm in the minority here, but my son has been home alone at times since he was seven. His mom and I only work 2 minutes away and he has had his own cell phone since then. There were some rough moments for sure, but mainly just small things. Now he is ten and he gets himself off to school on time every morning (he's home alone for about an hour before he has to leave) and it's been quite a while since he has even had to call for anything.
Maybe I'm a bad dad for having him home alone, but he's become a pretty responsible and independent boy having done so.
June 3, 2011 at 6:48 am
Looks like I'm in the minority here, but my son has been home alone at times since he was seven. His mom and I only work 2 minutes away and he has had his own cell phone since then. There were some rough moments for sure, but mainly just small things. Now he is ten and he gets himself off to school on time every morning (he's home alone for about an hour before he has to leave) and it's been quite a while since he has even had to call for anything.
Maybe I'm a bad dad for having him home alone, but he's become a pretty responsible and independent boy having done so.
Sorry but I don't think it's ok to leave a seven yr old home alone. If God forbid something happened to him or anyone else while he was left alone you can be seriously liable. SEVEN? He's still a baby to me. I'd be terrified to leave my seven yr old home alone for even 10/15 minutes. Getting off to school by himself since 7 yrs old? Of course he became responsible, he had no choice he had to survive.
You know if your family was poverty stricken and both parents had to take jobs where they HAD to start working at the same time, I'd still say drop your child off at a neighbor's house or a family member's home instead of leaving him alone. It's not easy but that's what most people do.
June 3, 2011 at 8:35 am
I was going to say the same thing.
I lived a different life when I was younger, I grew up quick. I didn't have both parents and my father worked very long and hard to provide. From about the age of 7 or 8 I believe I was home alone for a few min in the morning and for a couple hours in the afternoon. I was responsible, did my home work, picked up the house, cooked dinner...on the stove (Ramen). I also road my bike to/from school everyday... a bit over a mile, crossing a major 4-5 lane road. Of course this was also the close to the same time in my life where I was flying by myself for summer vacation, even switching flights.
I am sure my father did not like it, but it is what we had to do.
Would I do that to my oldest (10yrs), heck no. She wants to be responsible but I don't think she is there yet and her anxiety flares up easy. I would say probably 12-13 is a good age though.
JB
It's really sad because I lived an idyllic childhood. It was summer camp every day - riding bikes, picking blackberries, swimming in the lake, building forts in the woods, playing kick-the-can 'til nightfall, etc. I wish my child could have such a childhood.
But one of the most important reasons I wouldn't leave my child alone is because I'd be afraid something like a car accident would happen to delay me. I remember when she was just an infant and would be sleeping and I'd consider going down the elevator to the little shop in the lobby of my building in China. I'd always decide against it because I'd imagine a fire or even an earthquake stopping me from getting back to her. I imagined I'd rather die in the fire or earthquake with her than survive without her.