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Original poster

Leaving 6-year-old home alone

110 replies

Tailfeather · 11/04/2023 20:22

Would you leave your sensible 6-year-old home alone for 10 minutes with strict instructions of watching tv and not eating or going into the kitchen?

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Pinkywoo · 11/04/2023 20:30

BraveMaeve · 11/04/2023 20:26

No I wouldn't, I've only just started leaving my 10yo for 10 minutes at a time.

Really, they'll be at high school soon?!

MrsRickAstley · 11/04/2023 20:31

Nope.

I don't leave my 10.5 year old alone either.

OhMyCherriePie · 11/04/2023 20:31

No way

Greentree1 · 11/04/2023 20:31

We have a really big garden and I did say to my child about that age I'm going to water the greenhouse, pick veg or whatever, probably didn't take 10 minutes, but it was never a problem. They were probably watching a film or something, not roaming around the house, and obviously doors locked nothing dangerous left on.

mumu54 · 11/04/2023 20:31

No

Original poster
Tailfeather · 11/04/2023 20:32

Thanks all. That's my strong gut feeling too. But wondered if I was overreacting as I was definitely left home alone for short periods of time at that age and stuff I've been reading online said an absolute NO for leaving toddlers and babies (obvs!) and recommends not leaving under 12s for long periods of time, which made it sound that a few minutes was fine. By 8 I was going on the tube with friends on our own! But that was the 80s.

OP posts:
GirlInTheDryShirt · 11/04/2023 20:33

Just to be a dissenting voice, I absolutely would. But it really depends on the child. A very sensible and mature six year old can be trusted to sit quietly with a tablet for 10 minutes while their parent pops out, I don’t think that’s at all unreasonable or dangerous.

PuttingDownRoots · 11/04/2023 20:34

Where would you be?

It used to take me 10mins to put all the bins out sometimes (they had to go to the end if the road) but you couldn't do it before 7pm which was their bedtime... so yes I'd leave them to do that (from 4&6)

Driving a mile away? No chance.

liveforsummer · 11/04/2023 20:35

Depends a lot on the context and the individual child. As of was many years ago probably much more acceptable too

Georgig · 11/04/2023 20:38

Im sure 6yo's walk to school on their own in most European countries..so I'd leave a 6yo for 10 minutes to pop to the shop. Unless you have a particularly unruly child I think most 6yo would be perfectly fine for 10 minutes on their own!

aSofaNearYou · 11/04/2023 20:38

To go where? I'd leave them alone to go in the garden, but not properly away from the house.

OhMyCherriePie · 11/04/2023 20:40

Ok just saw the drip feed, was pretty normal to leave young kids home alone in the 80s/90s I know my mum use to but things have changed since then and I wouldn’t hold it against her 🤷‍♀️

TheYearOfSmallThings · 11/04/2023 20:43

No, my DS has no sense at all.

But I wouldn't compare with the 80s, it was a different time. Children had more freedom and were raised to be more independent at an earlier age.

Snugglemonkey · 11/04/2023 21:00

Depends on where I was. I would stand outside and chat to a neighbour, or garden. Though my son tends to be outside when I am. If I were close enough for him to shout to, maybe, but I would not leave our property.

itsmylife7 · 11/04/2023 21:07

Massive drip feed there OP.... the 80s were a completely different time and the things that were done then, no way would/should they be done now.

KittyAlfred · 11/04/2023 21:08

Of course it’s wrong to leave a 6 year old alone, but things were different in the 80s. It’s a bit like saying “would you drive without a seatbelt” . Obviously now I wouldn’t, but back in the 70s it was normal.

MyFaceIsAnAONB · 11/04/2023 21:12

Ha OP these unanimous Nos are applying to today and not really relevant to your actual query though.

BCBird · 11/04/2023 21:15

No. I also think that woukd be scary for the child.

BernadetteRostankowskiWolowitz · 11/04/2023 21:16

No.

No one should.

Namechanger355 · 11/04/2023 21:18

Not a chance if you are going to leave the house. What if something happens on your way back?

ok if you just want to go to the garden or something

6 is tiny. Wouldn’t be able to cope or know what to do if something unexpected happens and heir understanding of the world is still minimal

NoraLuka · 11/04/2023 21:19

No. I only left them to put the bins out across the road but left the door open and it wasn’t much different to being in the garden.

Gooseysgirl · 11/04/2023 21:24

No way. I began to leave my extremely trustworthy and sensible DD when she was about 9.5 for 10-15 mins. She's now 11 and has her own phone so can be left for longer and walks home from school by herself (10 mins walk).

OhMyCherriePie · 11/04/2023 21:26

Are you trying to use this as a reason to be mad at your parents as lots of things were different back then, I was a child of the 90s and my mum use to work and we would walk home from primary school alone (year 3/4) to an empty house and often my mum wasn’t in and we had to sit in the garden and wait for her sometimes she would be gone hours, but now my kids school won’t let kids walk home till year 6 and that’s with the expectation that they have an adult at home (or at least have a key!) times have changed!

MobyJeff · 11/04/2023 21:29

I stayed at home whenever my parents were working when I started school. And at eight I caught a bus outside my house to my grandmas in the next town during the summer holidays if I got bored of “playing out”.

SpringOn · 11/04/2023 21:32

No

But times have changed. My DH did a daily 1.5 mile walk home alone at age 5, let himself in and had a snack till his sister came home half an hour later. 70’s.