To leave 2 x 11 year olds at home

[Whoopsywoo]

For an hour at 8pm?

They're Secondary School age. Yes, I would be OK leaving two 11 year olds for an hour.

I'd assume they had phones to call you if needed and a neighbour they could go to in an emergency.

Fine in view.

I think it’s fine and am surprised others say no.

I'd say fine. We would leave ours if we were doing something local for an hour or two e.g. residents' association meeting, parents' evening. And anyway they were walking themselves to and from school at 11 (primary) and later that year taking the bus (secondary).

My son started secondary two weeks after his 11th birthday. Some of the other kids at school travel up to 40 miles on public transport from London. An hour is the house is nothing.

Yeah mine would have all been fine with being left and 8f friends mums OK with it I can't see a problem

Totally fine. Year 5 children are allowed to walk to and from school alone, that feels much less safe to me.

they seem old enough

11 is absolutely fine. Some people on here would worry about leaving a 16 year old. It's mad.

Did you not read about the tragic accident with 4 kids on the ice? They were left on their own.

It always amazes me that people are ok about letting kids walk home from school if you consider cars pulling out of driveways unexpectedly and stranger danger but letting them stay at home with a phone watching tv not ok.

Im opposite amazed by how young children in my area are roaming the streets on their own, literally like under 10,like 5,6 etc. Running across the streets, narrowly missing the cars or playing near metro tracks under the bridges etc.

Last year there was an accident how a 7 year old must have tried to scale a metal fence,hood got stuck on the fence and hanged himself..

Every time I read about such a pointless unneccesary loss of a young childs life I think WTH were the parents thinking,if they were thinking at all.

From a very young age I was taught never to tread on ice. Literally drilled into me the same as not running into the road without looking. Sounds like this didn't happen in this case. Tragedies happen of course which is very sad but parents these days are way over protective in general.

It's fine. Give them a few ground rules (do not touch kitchen appliances etc). They are unlikely to move from in front of the telly if you provide a couple of J2Os and a load of crisps/popcorn.

Did you not read about the tragic accident with 4 kids on the ice? They were left on their own.

I don't think that's a fair comparison though.

That was an 11 year old out of doors looking after an 8 and a 6 year old.

This is two 11 year olds, safe inside a house with trustworthy neighbours.

I'm not saying that there's no risk at all but at 11 they're at an age where you can discuss and teach them to handle common scenarios.

Of course. I think people who aren't allowing tiny amounts of independence at that age are mistaken. You have to ease kids into independence.

If the other mum is OK with it's fine.

Fine

I have an 11 year old. If both sensible and the other parents ok with it then sounds fine to me. Bet they will enjoy the independence.

I wouldn't have done it when DS1 was 11, mostly because he wouldn't have wanted to be left. That changed when he was about 13. All children have different levels of maturity.

The kids on the ice is not a fair comparison at all. That group included much younger children and they were outside (with an icy lake!). Inside the house with sensible precautions for two 11year olds is absolutely fine.

It’s fine. 11 year olds need to gradually experience bouts of independence at home otherwise they won’t learn. Give them the spiel about not answering the door, not using the oven, bath or shower unless your home. They would usually have a phone at 11yrs old these days. And most 11 year olds are travelling to school alone. We’ve started to implement this last month as we physically cannnot both primary and secondary school run at the same time along with driving straight to clubs after school. Our youngest DC needs ferrying about to extra curricular activities 2-3 times a week and it would be unfair to drag our 11yr old out with us when all they understandingly want to do when they arrive home is eat, watch a bit of TV and make a start on their homework. We also have external CCTV around our home, including the option of locking the pedestrian gate. We always ensure the spare door keys are located close to the front door in case of needing to exit in an emergency. Our 11 yr old knows which door keys fit which lock and how to operate the house alarm. I work school hours and currently WFH most of the time so there is always an adult at home when they leave home and arrive home, therefore, no need for them to be given their own set of house keys yet.

Not all kids are ready at 11yrs old. Some will need more time before they can be left home alone for a bit.

The tragic accident of those poor boys on the ice is definitely not a fair comparison.

Completely agree about them being safer home alone than outside too..yet were often told how sad it is now that kids aren't allowed to "play out" like we did in the 80s. I was going to bring my then 10 to to an event for her older sibling and me that would have meant her sitting alone in a cafe for a bit and then realised the much safer option (and preferred by her) was to be left at home. In general, barring extraordinary events, it is going to be safe and with proper direction on cooking, door answering etc is fine.

Yes I would