Exh left kids alone - handhold

Crazy concept, but phones aren’t confined to use in one room anymore.
Of course the first advice is to get out. But if you can’t get out, you call 999.
Do you think the fire service just monitors phone calls to 999? Of course they go to house fires and rescue people.
I’m absolutely baffled that people think it’s ok to leave a small child in the house alone with no way of calling 999. It’s completely indefensible. I must be in a parallel universe. I don’t get it. I’ve no more to add to the thread and hope to god your kids never need help in an emergency when they’ve been left alone.

Well, as with everything, it must vary by area.

There's an interesting article in Le Monde about it's still encouraged for first graders to walk to school alone (as in, without parents) but in a group of peers.

@DowntonCrabbie what a disgusting comment to make.

When we lived in Germany they had to be collected until age 10.
5yos don't even go to school there... they are at Kintergarten.

Surely the kid would be watching telly downstairs? So if the house did suddenly spontaneously combust they would just walk into the garden?

I agree it’s not great to do regularly for long periods but I wouldn’t make a massive deal out of it.

The 10 year old isn't an issue. However, I wouldn't leave a 10 year old in charge of a 6/7 year old. It's too much responsibility for a pre teen.

The risk of your child dying when they cross the road is greater - maybe children should just be shut inside with a parent 24/7 just in case?

Yes. In countries like Germany and Switzerland, it's very normal for 5-6 year old children to walk to school in groups. I used to go to Switzerland on holiday and we always saw groups of young primary-aged children catching the train without a single adult in sight.

You need a handhold? Seriously?

From the title I thought you were going to say they were toddlers, I do think 9 & 6 is on the borderline and I probably wouldn't do it but I wouldn't be up in arms about it.

Do they though? I'm in Europe, nobody I know would dream of that.

It's normal for children to walk home from our school from age 7 which I'd say is very high risk with shit drivers and known perverts nearby. It's strange that I'd feel really uncomfortable leaving a child that age home alone at all. I definitely wouldn't have a 10 year old be responsible for a younger child.

That will make you feel so much better when your young children die in a house fire when you locked them in and left them alone.

If you can't get out, there is also advice about how to make yourself as safe as possible (closing doors, blocking gaps, getting to a window etc).

When the fire brigade visited our Cubs, they told them to sit in the middle of their bedroom floor with the door shut as rhen they are immediately obvious to the searchers.

But it comes back to... while its not illegal to leave a child alone, if something happens are you are found to have put them in danger, you can be prosecuted.

Well one of mine needed surgery after tripping over something in his bedroom.
Do you imagine children never hurt themselves?

If you can't get out due to smoke, fumes and flames, how are you going to be able to find and use a phone?

The advice in the event of a fire is to get OUT. Not to faff around trying to make a phone call.

And honestly, if a fire is so bad that you can't see or leave the house, then (sadly) I don't think that being able to call the emergency services is going to make much difference to the outcome.

Are you being intentionally obtuse or…? Can you not picture a situation where you’re aware of a fire or smoke but you’re unable to get out due to fumes, smoke or flames? Would you ring 999 or just not bother?
Why do people think that you will always be able to escape from a house fire?

In the event of a fire the correct advice to a child is “get out of the house asap, don’t hang around making phone calls or trying to find the mobile that mum says she left at the back of the living room cabinet under the blue shoebox. Just get out.”

I agree that a child left alone should
have the means to make an emergency phone call, in the event of injury etc. But fires aren’t the reason.

If the fumes will render you unconscious then you won't be able to use the phone, will you?

Children in Europe walk to school (and catch trains) alone from age five.

SN aside, not leaving a child alone in their own home until they're 13 is absolutely ridiculous.

This!! What if the 6 year old falls and splits head open? Chokes on food? Any medical emergency- how can you place that responsibility on a 10 year old?

No excuse for leaving young kids alone

hmmm, like others have said, i don't see what you can do about this. I left my eldest alone for a few minutes from age 9, but not with his younger sibling. Like others say, you can teach them what to do in case of emergencies.

You do you. But I cannot fathom someone leaving their young child alone with no way of calling for help in an emergency. There are a million circumstances where he needs help and can’t leave the house to get it. It’s the thing of nightmares.

How will he call 999 if he's unconscious?

Honestly it’s not fine. It really isn’t. Electrical fires happen all the time. The fumes can render you unconscious before flames even take hold. You can’t leave a child alone in a house with no way of ringing 999.