To leave DS overnight

[Umbella]

He’s 16 and pretty sensible. I’m away for the weekend and was going to take him with me but he’s asked to stay at home so that he can play in his Sunday league team.

What’s a sensible age to start leaving teens overnight?

I lived alone at 16...

16 people leave home and get jobs at 16, people can work in childcare at 16.

thats not a child

So did I @RedCandyApple but I don’t think that’s necessarily a good thing. Do you?

I think 16 is a great age to leave alone overnight for the first time, OP.

Not saying it’s a good thing, just saying 16 is more than fine to be left alone over night, Why is this even a question 🤦🏻

16 would be the youngest age I think this is OK.

At 16 they can leave home so I think it’s absolutely fine.

I too lived alone at 16, in a foreign country actually. Independently, not boarding school.

If he’s sensible and doesn’t mind it himself, I’d leave him alone.

16 is fine to leave alone. Just make sure he's got something like pizza to put in the oven or leave some money to get a takeaway.

Set the expectation of no parties & probably the worst thing that will happen is he'll stay up late watching TV & you'll find him asleep after football Sunday 😂

I have a 16 year old, would not be comfortable leaving her alone overnight before 18 (will probably still worry a bit then tbh).

Oh an reason being she almost set the house on fire cooking some pasta, she didn't move a baking tray with some grease proof paper on it off the hob. Good job I'd just got back from walking the dog before it got a good burn going.

My main concern would be friends finding out and pressuring him to have a party, and even if he says no arranging it anyway

I’d suggest him inviting a really sensible friend you know well, to stay.

My mum asked me to leave home at 16 lol

If your DS is happy to be alone, then I would say he is ready for it.

Everyone is different. DD1 would definitely have been ok with it at 16. DD2 is 17 and I don't think she is ready to cope because she is very anxious.

Gosh, modern parents seem excessively cautious! 50+ years ago, my parents left me home alone for three days at 14, while they travelled to attend my grandfather’s funeral 300 miles away.
17 years ago, I left DD aged 15 home alone for three days while I was in Prague. Admittedly I hadn’t planned to - the airport refused her boarding on a family passport - but she managed fine and even baked a cake for my return home.
OP, your 16 year old is not a helpless toddler. Provided you have taught basic life skills, he’ll cope fine.

If you trust him not to have his friends round, then I would say its fine I would leave him something foolproof to cook and call him when he needs to get up for football on Sunday otherwise if he's anything like mine he will sleep in and miss it.

It's fine.

At 16 I was pregnant and looked after my then 14 and 6 year old brothers while my mum went on holiday for a fortnight.

I think it depends on his personality and how responsible he is. I did overnight babysitting when I was 16 for a family friend, but I have young relatives who I’d be reluctant to trust at that age.

Of course a 16 year old can be left on his tod overnight!

@silkience

My main concern would be friends finding out and pressuring him to have a party, and even if he says no arranging it anyway

This is the exact reason we didn’t leave our children at home at that age. There’ll always be people who say they lived alone at that age and that a 16 year old is not a child, but I just never thought it was a good idea for the party reason.

I wouldn’t criticise anyone else for doing it. We all know our own children and can assess the risk.

Even living alone at 16 I never had parties as I wasn’t that kind of person, I’m a bit of a introvert so parties would have been the last thing on my mind.

Gosh, modern parents seem excessively cautious! 50+ years ago, my parents left me home alone for three days at 14, while they travelled to attend my grandfather’s funeral 300 miles away.

It definitely has, my mum left me home alone for a week when I was 14 and went to Spain! No wild house parties happened, by 16 I was expected to leave home 😂

My son was left overnight from 15 for one night, but we lived in an apartment and the neighbour was there to check that he was ok.

16 is fine.
People live alone at 16 (although I would say thats quite unusual these days!), work FT etc. it's more than old enough to be alone, although it depends on the Young Person (if they are sensible enough to not have a massive party etc!)

It really depends on the child. I’d leave my 16 year old without worry but I still get twitchy leaving my 19 year old home alone 😂

@Cas112

My mum asked me to leave home at 16 lol

That's so sad.

I did from 15., no probs at all.