To leave a ten yr old home alone for an hour

Of course not! Don't you understand that your house will be burgled and then catch fire, and that you will be in a car accident and be unconscious and they won't be able to identify you and your child will be left home alone forever, and, and...

Yes, sounds reasonable. Has she got access to a phone or tablet so she can contact you if she needs to?

Agree re setting the ground rules and making sure she knows what to do in an emergency. My neighbours were great with this.

And don't worry about the judgers - they are in the minority and mainly those who over cosset their children and then wonder why they can't look after themselves when they leave home!

YANBU & yes I do it, have done since she was 8 (started with half an hour, easily an hour by 9). She's a sensible kid though & definitely wouldn't open the door to strangers (she's reluctant to do it when I'm home!), nor cook/cut stuff up (far too lazy!) and would go next door at the slightest opportunity (they have a dog 😁). She's actually a great kid though and will get on with homework, music practice etc if necessary, or otherwise happily amuse herself with DanTDM.

i started leaving DC1 for 30-60 minutes aged 9, up to 90 minutes aged 10.
Our rules are :
She's not allowed to use the kettle (I make a fresh brew before I go) or cooker. No answering the door, but I remind her to leave the house if the smoke alarm goes off. She's not to answer the phone unless she can hear through the answerphone that it's me. If I'm out for longer than 30mins I get her to call me at an agreed time, just so that I know she's keeping an eye on the time, as I tell her to call a designated person if I'm late back without calling her first.

She bloody loves having the house to herself.

Yes I do this all the time. I made sure he knew how to contact us and what to do in the event of a fire etc.

If she is safe, sensible and happy to be left, then I'd just give her an emergency phone and some instructions.

I'm in the minority here, but I wouldn't do it

When we first moved to my parents current house I was 10 and had moved to the local school but my sister couldn't get a place for a few months. My mum used to leave me and I used to walk myself to school in the mornings. It was one the road but I would have been left for over half an hour on my own while she took my sister to school. It does really depend on how sensible your 10 year old is. If you feel confident then do it

Depends on the child but yes I would have with mine

Yes, I wouldn't really hesitate at 10 years old. I leave mine when I go out in the evening (with 12 year old brother) and my 10 year old walked to school alone at 6.

I think if you feel your child is sensible enough then it's totally your decision! Maybe do a test run as in nip to shop for 10 mins and actually knock the door to check she definitely doesn't answer it! Might reassure you a little bit, and I agree with others at secondary school most children make their own way which involves many more dangers yet as parents are aren't judged on that? Hope it goes well 😀

Yes, but with clear rules. Don't answer the door or the phone, and have a plan for what to do in an emergency. Have done with my 10 year old. It does help if they have a mobile and you are able to contact them.

I would. You being just 10 mins away is good prep for when they are further away at secondary.
Leave with basic mobile incase needed, and rules.

Provided she is sensible and knows exactly where I am and what to do in a crisis, I would leave her for 30 minutes. Not much more.

It depends on how sensible your dd is, but I would say most 10 year olds are more than capable of being left for an hour or so.

Mine were both left from this age. We had rules about no cooking, not answering the door etc.

The only issue we had was one Sunday, when ds1 was 10, he didn't want to come to church so we agreed he could stay home, he'd stayed home alone before. Somehow he became quite convinced that he could hear someone moving around in the house (thought it was a burglar) and hid under the dining table, tried to phone me but I had phone switched to silent because we were in church. He was beside himself when we got home which made me realise that maybe he wasn't as ready as I thought he was. I also learned to put my phone on vibrate and have it in my pocket so I could answer him in future!

Yes definitely

Yes if she is sensible and knows what the rules are.

Millions of 10 year olds do it after school every day.

Yes, I would with certain ground rules eg. Don't answer the door, no cooking, no leaving the house etc.

Definitely. My 10 yo has been left since age 9.

Rules are:
Ignore the doorbell. Let the phone go to answer phone and only pick up if it's me/DH. No cooking, kettle or chopping. And of course we all know the fire drill.

Dd is nearly ten and I am preparing her to do this. We have discussed what she would do if someone knocked the door or if there was an emergency. Depends how sensible the child is of course. There is no way I could have left my other daughter at that age.

Yes I would and I do (with my ds whose 10).

He will happily make himself a cuppa, play minecraft or watch a DVD and barely notices when I come back! He knows how to use the phone and has my mobile number. He's not allowed to answer the door,

Yes, but go over 'the rules' first. Eg only answer phone if it shows your number, no answering door to anyone.