To ask about leaving children home alone?

[ThisLittleKitty]

Whats the youngest you would leave a child home alone to pop to the shops? I know everyone's area is different so shops will be further away, but just looking for a general idea.

[RainbowGlitterFairy]

DD is 9 and a half and I have just started to leave her while i pop to the shop 5 minutes walk away, I worry the whole time.

I have 4 younger siblings who used to live with me and I used to be able to leave each of them and DS from about 7, but they were much more sensible than DD - I did have to be careful about which ones were left together though, individually they were all fine but certain ones could barely sit in the same room with me there let alone without me.

[ShawshanksRedemption]

From age 11 when they were starting secondary. I made sure they knew what to do in event of any emergency, and I would only be local (i.e. 10min walk away at most).

[Thehogfather]

rainbow sorry, but that made me laugh. It sounds like that puzzle about the farmer with a fox, a hen and grain trying to cross a river.

[MichonnesBBF]

This exact scenario has just happened to me during the bad snow, both kids had diaorreah on Wednesday so we were house bound, both kids absolutely fine in themselves but still couldn't leave the house.

I was running low on a few essentials, shop 20 mins there and back, I have never left them 7 & 9 only just before.

Skyped their dad as he works away and he spoke to them the whole time I was gone.
As a back up plan incase battery ran low set the alarm on my mobile, to go off after 45mins and wrote my brothers phone number down to ring if the alarm goes off.

Was back in loads of time and it worked really well, will probs do it a little more often now if they don't want to come with me.

They were also left with instructions to not answer the door or phone to anyone before the alarm went off.

[TwigTheWonderKid]

Have left each of my DSs alone for up to 20 mins from about 8. If you feel they are ready then they probably are but you could start by doing it for just a few minutes whilst you visit next door neighbour so it's not to scary for either of you.

Interestingly, DS1 who is almost 13 rang me the other afternoon because someone was loudly banging on the front door and he was quite scared because this was something he had never experienced before, despite being well used to being at home alone for many hours.

It's like anything, although you can wait until they are "old enough" if you don't give them the opportunity to practice in age-appropriate ways then they still won't know what to do when they encounter a problem.

TotHappy Leaving a helpless baby alone in their cot for 20 minutes is absolutely insane. Do you not realise how incredibly quickly fire can spread?

[golondrina]

I'd leave my nearly 10 year old for five or ten minutes alone but not with his younger sister. But we live in a very quiet village and the neighbours on each side are very nice and always at home, so he could go there if he needed help.

[VeganCatLover]

Ds is 11 (yr 6) he is off school often because he has a lung condition and is on steroids every other week at least. I leave him now when I take the younger children to school (15 mins tops). But only in the mornings as dh is home by pick up time.

[hels71]

Dd is 10. I have left her for 15 min to run to shop around the corner

[TotHappy]

@hogfather no of course she's not mature or sensible as a toddler!! But she's asleep! And can't get out of the cot. What's she going to do?

[cece]

When my dd was 11 and in Year 7 she used to walk home, and then be home alone for about 2 hours before someone else would get home.

I leave ds2 home with his teenage siblings for up to 20 mins or so. He's 8 and has SEN.

[phoenix1973]

10 for my child

[YearOfYouRemember]

Be sick and swallow it?

Get a limb trapped between a cot bar?

[stitchglitched]

TotHappy and if you became unwell or fell and broke your leg or got delayed somehow? Would you be happy explaining to the police/ ambulance crew that your toddler was home alone?

[TotHappy]

Ok, admit i am being a bit goady... Yes i did feel anxious about doing it. No i do not do it regularly. And yes would obviously tell them she was home alone if i couldn't get back!

[stitchglitched]

And even if she didn't come to physical harm what if she was crying for you and became more and more distressed. Not leaving your baby at home on her own is really the rock bottom bare minimum level of parenting.

[TotHappy]

Do people not have that fear anyway, even if they are home, though? That fear that you might fall downstairs and be unconscious or dead and no one would know or be there for your baby?

[TheIrregularChoice]

I reckon it’ll be at about 10. My DDs are only 2 and though, so a while to wait yet!

[YearOfYouRemember]

TotHappy grow up

[Whatififall]

I've left DD 8 for the first time this week. School closed and I had to go to the shop for milk and she absolutely did not fancy going out. The shop is normally only 10 minutes there & back but I was closer to 25 mins in total due to the snow making it hard to walk. She was a bit anxious when I got back though so I won't be doing it again for a while. But I think 8/9 is fine for short less than an hour periods.

[DannyLaRuesBestFrock]

Dd is 9 and extremely sensible and grown up. I KNOW she would be fine if I left her for 10 minutes, but I just can't bring myself to do it.

She detests shopping though and I know it would be so much easier to just let her stay home.

[FilthyforFirth]

I am agog at someone leaving a baby/toddler in their cot and leaving the house. That is surely incredibly irresponsible.

[stitchglitched]

The NSPCC state that babies, toddlers and young children should never be left home alone. She could be prosecuted for neglect.

[arethereanyleftatall]

Even though I never did this, from a practical POV, there's a very low risk leaving a baby in a cot.
Unplug everything so no fire.
Re being sick and choking / they could do that when you're in the house, and you might not hear either
Re hurting yourself and not getting home quickly - you could fall and go unconscious in your own house
Baby can't hurt themselves if they're safe in a cot (probably less risk than a 9 year old hurting themselves)

[formerbabe]

I'm honestly amazed at people saying 6 or 7. I have a seven year old...imo it is far too young to be left alone. They absolutely do not have the reasoning skills to know what to do in an emergency.

[TotHappy]

Yes, arethereany that was more or less my thinking. I might be in the garden an equivalent time. If i was asleep i doubt the sound of her choking on the monitor would be enough to wake me. But, I can't say I'm proud of it. Especially since remembering that bit in the Railway Children when the baby is left alone on the canal boat and the boat catches on fire

Are NSPCC recommendations equivalent to law??