Not to leave child home alone

[EmbarrassedMum1]

Me and hubby are have a little disagreement about leaving our child home alone for an airport run.

For context, child is 10 and an overall sensible child, very well behaved and a great sleeper in general. DH and friends are off on a short trip next weekend and need to leave for the airport at 4am.
DH says leave DC in bed because I'll be back in 45mins (1hr max).
I'd planned on getting him up and putting him in the car in his dressing gown, but everyone thinks that's silly.
DC says he doesn't care about being left alone at home but he will ultimately do as told.
So am I being unreasonable to get him up to come with me?.

good grief, why are people so grumpy and uptight about their little routine.
It's hardly a big deal to get up earlier and drive if you want to. If you don't want to, then just don't...
Co-dependent to have a friendly relationship? Ok then.

Why go for days getting over a 4am start too.
I am sure if you think about it a bit more, you can come up with plenty of very valid reasons by yourself.

How do you think parents who both have a full-time job manage?
When both parents leave the house by 7am, kids are fine by themselves.

Not everyone can afford a nanny for 10 yo children.

not at 4am because it’s nighttime and if anything happened he’d have to rouse himself from sleep and then deal with it.

leaving at home for an hour at 10yo is fine in daytime for a sensible child who is year 6.

Just chuck him in car and he’ll sleep there.

And the prize for trying to sound cool on MN goes to this post!

Don’t be silly. It’s nothing whatsoever to do with driving a spouse to the airport. It’s about doing so involves waking a 10 year old or leave him home alone.

Sorry, completely off the point, but I’ve been astonished by how many of us feel that 4am is the middle of the night and not just a bit of an early morning! I guess I must just get up unpopularly early…😂

🤣🤣 many moons ago I was driving home after a night out, and passed a man delivering bread.
I have never decided if 4am on a Sunday, is still Saturday night or Sunday morning.
It's all in perception!

"DH says leave DC in bed because I'll be back in 45mins (1hr max)."
If you'll be back in 45 minutes the airport can't be more than a 20 minute drive, so a taxi, even at 4am, is not going to be that expensive for him.

No, I would never leave a child alone in the middle of the night.

I can’t believe that anyone thinks it’s ok to leave a ten year old child alone in bed in the early hours of the morning!
What sort of parenting is that!

Agree

He should be getting a cab or a lift from friends - tsh, everyone has sparrow fart trips, leave everyone asleep and leave a quietly as possible!

Neither -the drive is realistically more dangerous anyway but I can see why you wouldn’t want to leave him.

could someone stay the night with you so you have an adult at home when you leave?

10 is fine for this if they’re ok
Loads of 10 year olds ( mine included) walked home from
school and were alone a few hours . Arguably more dangerous

I might leave a ten year old in the day when neighbours are around /family contactable by phone. But not at that time. I wouldn’t be getting him up either.

I would give a lift (or get a lift most times)
but even if it's not even dark at 4am anymore this month, it still qualifies at the middle of the night for me 😂

If I was back at home at 5am, I would probably go for a run then, no point going back to bed, but I would be cursing the ridiculous hour 😂

I’m up at 4am every day - DS is a swimmer!

I knew kids who were meant to put themselves out to school, who'd often decide a duvet day would be more appealing. And they'd call the school with absence excuse.

And i don't believe children have changed ever. Thousands of kids would opt for a duvet day if they could.

Your DH is off for a fun trip with friends for a child-free weekend and wants you get up at 4am to give him a lift? (you won’t sleep when home after driving)

No way!

Taxi! He’s cheeky to even ask at 4am!

Too young IMO

True, very normal where I am for kids to get themselves out of the house and off to school alone because both parents work and are gone before its time to go to school, my son will be doing the same in the autumn and he's 7, but I wouldn't leave him asleep, I'll be waking him up and making sure he gets up before I leave for work at half 6.

Sorry, completely off the point, but I’ve been astonished by how many of us feel that 4am is the middle of the night and not just a bit of an early morning! I guess I must just get up unpopularly early…😂

I get up at 5 on weekdays so only an hour later so I know logically 4am isn't the middle of the night but it just feels so different to 5.

Another vote for a taxi here! By the time you’ve burned fuel there and back, your DH might as well have booked an airport taxi. Just get one booked!

Just because you know one who didn't go to school, it's nonsense to pretend every single child left home alone has a duvet day 😂

I've noticed different countries can have very different views on leaving children one.

A story on Facebook for example... another in the US facing prison for leaving an 8&9yo for a couple of hours for example.

The kind of parenting where people work to pay for their kids maybe? Definitely was the case with my dad.

Why does it matter what decade it was? 80s btw which was before mobile phones and ring doorbells so surely it's " less dangerous" as kids can keep in touch with parents easier if they wake up

I'm shocked that you need to even ask if you'd be unreasonable not to leave a 10 year old alone in the house at night, and that you've even discussed it with him.

The decision (as obvious as it is), is not for your child to make.

Why on earth isn't your DH getting a taxi if the airport is so near you'd be there and back in 45 minutes to an hour?

Tight fucker.