At what age did you start leaving DC home alone?

[dsan]

I needed to go to the supermarket this morning and DS (9) asked to stay at home alone. I said no and managed to bribe him with spending the £10 he got from family for Easter but it got me thinking, at what age would this be OK?

I already leave him if I am just popping to the corner shop (can see it from our house, takes 5 minutes max) but the idea of leaving him for 30 minutes seemed unacceptable to me at this age. When did you start leaving your DC?

I am thinking I may start leaving him for longer periods, eg. not rushing back from the corner shop so fast, in order to build up to him being 10 and maybe being left alone for 30 minutes then?

I started leaving mine for up to an hour when they were 11.
When they were 9/10 I would leave them for 20 minutes at the most.

Where we live children walk home from middle school alone (9/10) and sometimes parents are not able to get home straight away.
But there are multiple factors at play, not least the area you live in (we know all our neighbours and grandparents are up the road) and most importantly what your child is like. My 10 year old is very responsible and grown up - I have no problem leaving them at home for an hour or so.

I think that it’s very dependent on the child. DD was always very sensible and mature, I could’ve happily left her home alone from your DS’s age but she didn’t feel comfortable with it so that was fine. It took until she was about 12 for her to be content in being left home alone, I didn’t leave her all day until she was 14 and even then she struggled initially!

About age 11 during lockdown as I had an appointment.

I leave mine if together. 10 and almost 14.
13/14 yo I leave for a couple of hours at a time if they're alone. But they don't move from their bed 😂
10 yo I've left for up to 45 mins-they know where I am (3 mins away and both of us have our phones) but they don't want any longer than that (and I wouldn't either)

I was happy to leave mine for short periods (up to an hour) from Year 5, as were they. I wouldn't have done it if they were uncomfortable with being home alone, and I gave them basic instructions on dos/donts while i was gone. They were also walking home from school by themselves at this age.

Secondary age. If they had no after-school activities, my daughters got home from school around 5pm. They let themselves in and were alone until I got home from work at 6.

They went to school independently too at that age.

We started at 8 for about an hour, up to two hours after school at 9, inset days from 10.

Ds at about 10...this was only when I was dropping DD at brownies which was down the road so I was gone for ten minutes.

11 when he started secondary school for longer periods...an hour ISH.

DD is 13... never left her alone. She is a bit nervous and said she doesn't feel ready yet.

I started with 10 minutes at around 9 then just built it up as they got older. It helped that we had a landline so I taught mine how to call my mobile if they needed me.

Also obvs told them not to answer the door but also if the smoke alarm went off to go outside and go to neighbours house.

It really depends on the individual child and the circumstances. I leave my almost 12 year old for up to an hour but he has a phone to keep in touch with me. I wouldn't leave my 9 year old alone at all as she is very anxious but have left her with her brother for up to 20-30 mins say while I walk the dog in our local area or pop to the shop. She doesn't have her own phone yet but is able to use her brother's if needed. I also make sure I tell them what time I should be back home and if I haven't come back by a certain time they know to try and call me but if no response they should call my sister or parents and explain what's going on. They also know how to call 999 in an emergency and not to answer the door while I'm out.