School mum leaves Year 1 alone

[penguin816]

A school mum was chatting at drop off and mentioned that her daughter is very grown up and sensible and that she is able to leave her at home alone nowadays whilst she pops out to the shop for 5 minutes. I don’t know where they live but she implied the shop was just down the street. Her daughter is in my child’s class - Year 1, so is either 5 or 6. I felt shocked and now second guessing.

Second guessing what?

You don’t know where they live? So how do you know this is an issue?

Of course it’s an issue leaving a five year old home alone.

None of your business for 5 minutes.

There was no way I’d be leaving my then 5-6 year old to go to a shop for 5 mins. They’d come with me or whatever it was would have to wait.
i didn’t leave either until the last year of primary school - then it was about 20 mins or so.

Wow, so people would happily leave a FIVE YEAR OLD home alone?!

It's certainly unusual in this culture, and not something I'm ready to do with my 6yo but it's nothing to do with you if she and the child are happy with the arrangement.

I certainly wouldn’t. My son is almost 8 and I left him recently for half an hour my his step sister who is 16. He is very sensible but until he is old enough to have a phone and be able to contact me, I wouldn’t leave him completely alone.

I certainly wouldn’t have done it, and it’s not something considered generally socially acceptable in UK culture. But there are different norms in other parts of the world. I am thinking eg where children walk to school solo from quite a young age, and I would always feel a child is safer in their own home.
Logically a sensible 6 year old should be safe at home for 5 minutes as long as they sit quietly and watch TV. But there’s always the ‘what ifs’ and that’s why most people don’t do it.

It is absolutely none of your business what other people do with their kids.

Sorry I’d be reporting them to social services. A child this small shouldn’t be left alone for any length of time. Just bring them to the shop with you ?!

Very different responses from none of your business to report this!

My child is in year 1 (age 6) and I would leave him alone if I needed to pop to the shop across the road for 5 minutes. Generally though I‘d send my 8 year old to the shop instead as he loves doing it and feels very responsible as a result. We all need to make these judgement calls for our own families and try to avoid judging other people for decisions that they have taken. I can’t believe someone suggested reporting it to SS! I recently read The Anxious Generation and think it’s eye opening how little freedom we give our children now compared to when we were children.

If the shop is next door maybe..If its a car ride away no chance

Japan is a great example of teaching independence from a young age.

Well, I wouldn’t personally do it to pop to the shop (though the shop is not a 5 minute trip for me) at Y1, but my youngest is Y3 and I leave him to run and collect older one from friends or to go to the shop (10 minute trip both of them). But definitely at 5/6, he was off playing outside, we live on a farm but no heavy machinery unless Dh or I were driving which we wouldn’t unless we knew where he was, and we’d routinely not know where he was for 30-45 minutes. He’d be off digging in the mud in a field or playing in a den in the woods. He’d was fine. There’s no public access anywhere. But I wouldn’t have my eyes on him constantly. So I guess that’s pretty much the same thing really.

Calling social services or otherwise reporting the mum is absolutely ridiculous. 🤦‍♀️