To leave kids in bed whilst I run

[Wanttodobetter]

I’m a single parent to 4 children, youngest 8 and eldest 14. I want to run for 30 mins locally early morning whilst they’re still asleep. 2 have phones and I’ll leave a number of a neighbour. That’s fine right?!

Seems fine to me. My youngest is 8 in September and regularly gets up before us, takes himself downstairs and watches TV, sometimes has his breakfast before we are even fully awake.

The risk of something major like a fire happening in 30 minutes is so small and by 8 they should know what to do anyway. They don't need full supervision and a 14 year old should be capable of dealing with something on the unlikely chance it happens to crop up. Plus you have the others somewhere in between.

As long as they know you go for your run, of course absolutely fine.

It would be just as ok to go to Tesco or anything. Half an hour is nothing!

Personally I'd want the eldest awake.The age isn't an issue imo but being aware of anything that might need dealing with would be very important to me

Genuine question, do you take turn in your house to stay awake at night? In case of fire?

Fridges are a risk - people don't switch them off at night for example. How do you manage the risk in your own house? Surely you cannot all be sleeping at the same time?

I'd use a treadmill instead, but that's just me.

I would have been totally for this until I had a freak accident close to home while running and ended up going straight to A&E in an ambulance. Obviously the chances of it happening are very small but it is something to consider.

More than fine. As long as they know you'll be out, they're plenty old enough imo.

When I read these threads, I honestly wonder if people have this genuine level of anxiety in real life, or they are just letting their imagination run wild because they think it's fun on a forum.

We are talking about an 8 year old potentially waking up in his own house, with 3 older siblings and whose mum would likely be back by the time they actually wake up fully and have a wee.

You'd think the OP was planning on leaving for 6 months leaving young kids in a war zone surrounded by brain eating zombies and having to master an evacuation and survival plan. Honestly 🙄

NRTFT—only OP posts. If you’re worried that your ex will catch wind of this and use it against you…have you considered doing a YouTube exercise video?

My mum used to leave for work at 6:30am. My brother and I were 6 & 10 and this went on for 20+ plus years. She would leave a cooked breakfast which we just needed to reheat, we would make toast and tea ourselves before walking to school. However this was late 80’s to 90’s and children were sensible then and not wrapped in cotton wool. Not saying it was right but it was either that setup or us not having a roof over our heads.

It is genuinely not possible to plan for every eventuality in life otherwise accidents wouldn’t happen.

There are countless parents who will be allowing their 14 year olds to be home alone for a couple of hours after school until they get home from work. Most of them will have drilled their dc on who to contact and how to react in an emergency. Placing this level of trust is just as important as protecting children and engenders independent thinking. Too much helicopter parenting is disabling.

I agree. I'm shocked by the responses on here. I wouldn't leave an 8 year old without a responsible person and a sleeping teenager doesn't count.

I think it will be fine as long as you make sure to bring some form of id with you (name address etc) in case something happens to you.

I know that sounds weird but I know people who collapsed while running and no one knew who they were, so I always advise this.

I'd do it, but would talk to the kids about the 14yo being in in charge while your away and the 8yo needing to wake them if they need anything. If finances allow I'd also offer the 14yo a small financial reward (maybe £10/week) for taking on the responsibility of potentially being woken and having to care for 8yo.

Yes, I would do this also. I'd make sure that I told them I was going to do it the day before and that the oldest one was aware, in particular. Also an idea of where I'll be if anything went wrong- i.e. if you fell and couldn't get to your phone (however unlikely). Also make sure your ICE contacts in your phone are activated so that if you were hurt when out (at any time) someone could get in touch with the right person easily. Good advice for anyone but particularly a single parent I think.

My mum used to leave me in bed while she went to do the horses when i was little. Then come wake me up in time for school. You'll be fine, especially with the older ones in the house too :)

And we wonder why young adults are increasingly anxious and struggling with independence!

Totally fine, enjoy your run.

I sometimes do this, i tell them the night before and leave a note in the kitchen in case they wake up.

I did this on occasion. I stayed fairly close to home (so ran a loop) so I could get back quickly if needed. Now they are 15 & 17 I can go on longer runs further away or to the gym without worrying.

No, I wouldn’t do this. But I am aware that I’m probably overly cautious.

what's your back-up plan if the OP falls in the shower and seriously injure herself or worst?

What about if the OP wanted a bath, pass out and the water floods the house and drown the children?

Surely only one adult at home is insanely risky?

What about if the OP has a stroke? What about if there's a home invasion? The OP is a woman, how could she handle 3 armed men putting her kids in danger?
What about if a commercial plane drops something that smash through the roof? What's the contingency there?
What about the risk of a blood sucking rabid bats attacking the house through a window left opened?

No woman or single adult should be left in charge of children, it's insanely risky, all the things that could happen.

Is it the age of the teen or the fact they are asleep? I don't know if I know particularly good teens but I wouldn't be at all worried about a 14 year old watching an 8 year old for a few hours, never mind 30 minutes!

I also do not have an issue with everyone in the house being asleep at once - this happens every day in my house, presumably you have to agree sleeping blocks so someone is always on watch like in the army.

Of course I left Dd aged 9 alone for run in local park with my phone.

I'm also a single parent to 4 and have done this frequently. They know if I'm not here I'm either on a run or walking the dog but I usually leave a note outside their rooms to say I've gone for a run and will be back by xxx time. 9/10 they aren't even awake when I get back.

It's the being asleep. I know my youngest could get into all kinds of issues without his sister waking up. I would want the eldest awake and actively babysitting.