When can you leave DC alone?

[Petitpenguin]

Random question from a first time mum, but at what age did you / should you start leaving your little one by themselves in a room? (Assuming room is basically child proofed)? My dd is 16 months and I've not done so yet other than popping out for 10 seconds to grab something.

I think it depends on the situation to be honest.
I’m a FTM and my DD is 6 months.
I’ll leave her in the living room in her sit me up while i wash the dishes for example but only because the rooms are joined and I can see her the whole time.

I wouldn’t leave her downstairs while was upstairs for example.

Sorry I’m not much help! It’s a good question and one I’d like to get answers on 😂

DD is 21 months, and I leave very quickly to get something, or go to the loo. But only when she's really engrossed in something so I can be fairly sure she won't suddenly decide to climb the bookshelves.

From birth, do people really stay in the room with their babies all day for every second 😐

@TurnUpTurnip I think OP is asking more for babies that are at an age where they’re active and are more likely to do something.
I mean a newborn in a Moses basket is different, you know they’re not suddenly going to crawl on the couch or rip up books 😂

how do people with multiple kids manage to never leave one alone? Madness

@TurnUpTurnip
OP is asking at what age people left there DC alone?
You said birth- okay- thank you for your input
No need to be so passive aggressive

She asked and I’m answering, are we only ever meant to answer if we never left ours alone? I have 4 kids how would I possibly never leave one alone, easy enough to do if you only have one though I suppose, just make sure the house is baby proof then no need to worry!

I've just started leaving mine for a couple of minutes to go to the loo etc. 20 months tomorrow!

Although she's been a bit reckless lately so I might stop before she gets any ideas

As soon as DS started moving we baby proofed most rooms downstairs and baby gated off the rooms that weren’t. So he could roam around without me worrying.

So that was 7 months old.

I should - by baby proof, we had no book shelves in the main living room, everything up high, fireplace had foam edging. Kitchen had nothing in the bottom cupboards that was poisonous or breakable, bathrooms similar.

It made life much easier.

@TurnUpTurnip

how do people with multiple kids manage to never leave one alone? Madness

I had twin babies and a 2 year old. Try never leaving them in a room when you are potty training. That’s a fun ride I can tell you

Are play-pens considered cruel again?

@merryhouse
Was that actually a thing?!
We call the travel cot ‘baby jail’ 😂
DD loves it because she can roll around to her hearts content, and throw her toys around and still reach them 😂

Depends how long you are going to leave them and what you will be doing. Going up the stairs for an hours soak in the bath, not OK. Popping into the kitchen to make a coffee and you can still hear them, fine.

Depends what you want to do. Wee alone, cook dinner, hoover etc it's different in every scenario. No need for bragging PPs who have several kids, it's a learning curve for every mum. I'm sure you compare the age of the children you're leaving unsupervised with the potential risks which is exactly what OP is doing.

Yeah thanks for the passive aggressive response pp

Luckily we have a kitchen / living room and our flat is all on one floor so I can make food at the island and stand facing the living area where dc plays.

I have started trying to wee alone but dc often follows and scratches on the bathroom door!

From birth. I didn’t take them to the loo with me.

Obviously I didn't take a newborn to the loo with me! I'm clearly not talking about newborns here, but once they start moving and being a danger to themselves.

Definitely before 16 months, although it does depend on child and situation. I would quite often put a baby int heir crib if I needed to pop to the loo or grab something from downstairs or similar. I'd leave them on their mat if I needed to pop into the kitchen because I can hear everything but wouldn't leave them there for more than a couple of minutes.

By 16 months I'm pretty sure I'd have left them on the couch watching a bit of tv while I was in the kitchen, listening out. But that does assume you've got aviary good baby proofing. And on child. I am nervous about leaving nephew alone in a room and he's 5!!

Pee with the door open?

Probably about 16 months, to grab something from upstairs or make a cuppa. When I run up the stairs she mostly just stands at the gate shouting for me so I know she won't come to harm there for 60 seconds.

She's now almost two and is happy to watch Tv whilst I make dinner

But when people say from birth they clearly mean they’ve always left them if needed, baby proof the house then it won’t be a problem, mine can’t climb furniture etc because everything that could tip etc is secured to the wall, baby proof the house then you can leave them at any age! I never took my toddler with me every time I left the room sorry but that does sound exhausting Obviously not for hours but we are talking about things like nipping to the loo etc

I am a firm believer in travel cot with a few soft toys/balls and pop them in when you need to wee etc. They are safe you can relax and not break your neck running down stairs when you hear a sound......... bitter experience! Genuinely baby proof when they start to move - it gives peace of mind.

Tbh I used to put my DD in her bouncer or I would put the travel cot up and put her in it with loads of toys when I needed to do Something it wouldn't be for long and I would do that when I had a soak too just putting the bouncer in the bathroom or the travel cot on landing outside door so I had visual on her at all times.