Leaving Kids Home Alone..

Nancy - posted on 03/26/2013

times have change. with the laws the way they are if a 10 year old was left alone for 5 minutes and something happen the parents will be held responsible. I would make sure a neighbor knows your running an errand and will be right back. I cant tell you how many times I had to bring a bunch of 10 year old with me. the girls love it though.

Julie - posted on 12/16/2010

I leave my 10 year old and 5 year old home just long enough for me to go to the store. I don't have a landline so I usually leave me cell phone with them and tell them to call one of my firends that lives near by if I know that she is not home I tell her to call grandma if something happends. Grandma is only across town. They usually are good. If I am running to a friends house they know how to get a hold of me thru the friend and even though I am only gone for 10 minutes I usually get a call from her saying mom just checking on you. usually she is calling me as I pull in to the drive way though. lol I don't feel like I could leave both of them home like after they get out of school until i get home ect... which is about a 2 hour gap but also I commute as well.

Star - posted on 06/30/2010

i leave my 12 year old girl home alone but i do not let her keep her 9 year old bro with her i feel she is old enough to watch herself but no one else

Amanda - posted on 12/08/2009

I allow my son to stay home alone at 11 but only if I am making short trips around the neighborhood. I've never thought it safe to have him babysit his siblings.

He's a good kid, but not ready for that stuff.

I wouldn't hire an 11 year old babysitter to watch my children.

But different strokes for different folks!!!

Sarah - posted on 11/05/2009

We leave our 11yr old girl home for like 30 minutes or so. I would like to get her into that red cross babysitting course too, but we have a 2 month old. I bet she would think she could watch him, but we will have to let her know that he is still too young. maybe in a few years.

Jode - posted on 08/17/2009

We leave our 11 yr old son home for about an hour or so but no longer. He is really good about following all the rules of staying inside, no using the phone unless it's an emergency or having kids over. We also have great elderly neighbors for him to go if there was a problem or if he just got nervous/scared. But in Sept. we run into a new problem. He starts school an hour later that we leave for work and our oldest leaves for school so wondering what we'll do then.

Shana - posted on 05/07/2009

i think age is only part of it. I was babysitting at 12, but i was very mature for my age. My son is also mature so we had no problems when we started leaving him home for short periods of time(at 10). Which was great, because he hated grocery shopping. My daughter on the other is 10 now, and I wouldn't leave her alone. I love her, but she is more of a free spirit. Luckily, my son is now 12 so we feel he has earned our trust to leave them both long enough for us to start dating again. It has been great for his self esteem and for our marriage. really it comes down to the child. a parent knows when they child can be trusted and when they are ready

Angela - posted on 04/26/2009

I leave my boys home alone during the day for short periods of time (ages 5 and 11.5), but only when I know our closest neighbor is home too. We live on a small farm, and the entire property is gated, so no one can get in without a gate code. It makes me feel better about leaving them. The boys very seldom argue about anything; I think it's because of the age difference, and because my oldest is so easy-going - he's also very mature for his age. I only feel comfortable leaving them if I'm going to go somewhere nearby, so that I can get home quickly if they need me. I also don't feel comfortable leaving them at night. If my oldest is alone, without our 5 year old, I can leave him a bit longer (an hour or hour and a half), or if our 5 year old is napping I don't mind leaving them a bit longer. I really thing the age and time limit depends on state laws, and the maturity of the child/children.

Tami - posted on 04/20/2009

I leave my 12 and 10 1/2 year olds home for an hour or two at a time home alone. They have also attended Red Cross training course and it does make me feel more comfortable. My oldest has baby sat one time. I don't like to leave them home alone at night, after dark, but thats just me. They usually don't fight physically, while I am not home. They do argue, but are getting better about it!

Rebecca - posted on 02/23/2009

My sons are 12 and 10, and although I think they're old enough to be alone, they fight constantly and I'm nervous about them actually hurting each other when no one is around.