What age to leave child alone when you're at work

[purpleme12]

What age did you start leaving your child alone while you were at work?
So for example for 7 hours?

Secondary school, aged 12, I left mine as there was no other option really. In school holidays I encouraged as many clubs as possible and tried to work from home once or twice a week. Dd was fine with it. Normally didn't get up til lunchtime...

Full work day 12 or 13.

A few hours - 11/12.

I think all day is a long time if they are just at home. DD14 I would happily leave at home for 4 hours but I'd be much happier if she had plans and was going out/having friends around if it was longer. We've only just started to leave her in the evenings for a few hours if we go out rather than get a babysitter. I might feel differently if there were two of them. 7 hours, 5 days a week alone at 12 wouldn't feel ideal to me but if they were breaking it up with hanging out with friends, going to visit relatives or doing activities I would feel better. I appreciate full time work out of the house might necessitate this but it wouldn't be my choice.

I was left alone all day everyday during the school holidays from 12. I slept, watched TV, hung out with friends in town, went to the cinema or the bowling alley, ate a lot of McDonald’s or chippy chips and just generally hung about. I loved it.

Dc1 did one day per week in the summer holidays between year 5 and year 6, so by the time no holiday clubs were available in year 7 he was used to spending time solo. I tried to have one day off a week in the long summer and DP was already doing 2 days wfh so he rarely had more than 2 or 3 days alone.
Some weeks I would meet him and later dc2 in town for lunch or shoe shopping etc so I knew they had got out of the house at least.

I had no cause to leave mine alone until covid, when school closed and grandparents couldn’t come over. As soon as the first lockdown began, I had to leave them alone for 12 hours per day, 3 days a week. They were 14 and 10. My 10 year old messaged me constantly as he could never access the bloody online school work!

I worry about when the time comes.i

She doesn't do that well doing a sedentary activity. She's at her best doing active things. and finds it hard/nigh on impossible to occupy herself. If she's spent too much time sitting still/watching Tele she gets in a slump. Can get dysregulsted. And can't get herself out of it all. Doesn't do well being by herself.

Just sometimes on here you feel like everyone leaves their child while they go to work as soon as they get to high school. So it's kind of reassuring to read some people on here don't feel comfortable till they're a bit older like 14. And like I'm not the only one.

And sometimes you kind of feel like work will expect you to just leave your child now she's at high school as well. But I don't feel comfortable doing that. Not while I'm at work

I was 11 when I was left alone whilst my mum was at work. My brother had to go to my grandparents, most of the time I did too like during holidays. I left DS 18 from about 15 as he’s autistic, never longer than a few hours though. Dd was about 11 aswell. She’s very mature for her age and tbh my mum works right next door and our house is like Fort Knox

I think my oldest was 11 but never needed to leave her all day before that, she would have been fine younger too.
My youngest is 8 and he might have to stay home some days this summer but I'm hoping his grandad can look after him instead because he would not cope so well and he'd eat all the snacks. But with the way mine and my partner's working hours go, it wouldn't be more than a few hours. Its not ideal but many children his age have to manage whole days during holidays as there's no childcare here.

Once they’d been left home alone for 3-4 hours at a time often enough that we both felt confident about it. Think that has ended up being between 12-14 for all of them so far.

I think how quickly I could get home from work in an emergency and whether I would be easily contactable at work would factor into my decision about when they were ready too.