Arranging childcare for year 7

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Secondary school but year 7, they can't be home alone on their own can they? Ds is my eldest, just turned 12. Would it be weird of me to ask work if I can work from home for the next 2 weeks, or is it expected that year 7s can be on their own? He is sensible enough but it will be a lonely day for him, just feel like he is too young for this. No online lessons till w/c the 11th.

I’d say old enough to be left.

Old enough to be left alone if trusted. I loved it at that age.

What does he feel? How long would he be alone for?

Aren’t you supposed to be working from home anyway if it’s possible?

As for the request, it’s reasonable. Only you will know if your boss is the reasonable type though.

I would say old enough to be left too....I left all of mine at that’s age in holidays.....but you know your own child Best

My dd is 12 and safe to be left on her own. I'd say only primary children may still need parental supervision. Just teach him how not to burn house down, how to use kettle/microwave/leave him a butty for lunch etc and he'll be fine.

Maybe wfh 3 days and leave him for 2? Practice for the summer holidays!

Good point. How did you manage in six week hols or previous school closures?

My DH is a teacher so gets holidays off. Do both parents need to be key worker for access to school? Thinking of emailing school for clarification of key worker status, will send DS in if they accept him. I work at uni in a technical role, lab work half of the time and admin the rest,so I can do some work from home but not all.

I would leave him at home and have regular zoom call check ins with him. If you can do some work at home so maybe ask if you can do your admin at home then he won't be at home alone all the time.

Technically old enough but a bit lonely, depending on the kid.

If I were you I would ask to structure if poss to do admin at home a couple of days or half days?

FWIW DS1 would have been a bit sad and fed up, but DD would have been in heaven, together it would have been murder.

I would think he can go in as Key Worker. My DS is.

My DS is 12 and in year 8.

He’s sensible enough however whenever I’ve left him home alone (usually less than hour) he ‘experiments’. As in, he goes through my bathroom cabinet and cleans his ears with 20 earbuds. He makes a cup of tea and adds a cup of sugar. He makes himself some food - pasta and ketchup and forgets to turn off the hob.

I did the same at his age. You’re home alone, you have the house to yourself, you want to do things your way.

I’ll be preparing him a packed lunch and in no uncertain terms is he allowed to use anything in the kitchen unless it’s tap water.

And he knows I’ll know something is out of place, missing, burnt etc. Because I always know.

He’s a key worker child. I believe it only needs one parent

I have 3 in secondary, Years 7, 9 and 11. They will be home while I am in school. There's a reason secondary schools aren't opening on time for most; I don't want mine in there right now. Heck, I don't want to be in next week, but I don't have a choice.

what did you do during the lockdown in march when presumably he was in year 6?
old enough to be left I'd say but not unreasonable to ask to leave early/wfh some days so that he's not literally on his own all week.

It depends. My dd can be left easily year 10. And we do often but I also want to support her so I'm working at home 2 days a week. Can you do a mix?

As you say you can do some admin work at home, then why not ask your work if you can do that while he is off ?

I agree with most, a 12 yr old / Yr7 should be fine for a day or so (training days etc) on their own, but it will probably feel like a lot of long days on his own with nothing to do and nowhere to go, so - if your boss, and your dh's boss's agree then why not try and mix it up a bit and make the number of hours your ds needs to be home alone, fewer ?

He's likely fine as in not going to burn the house down but unlikely to get anything much done and very lonely. I'll be sending my DS, also y7 into school the second week when I have to be back in teaching.

My 12 year old Ds would be really lonely on his own for a long work day. He would be ok if his elder sister was here with him, but on his own, he wouldn’t like it. I’d also struggle to trust him (similar to @unefoisauchalet above).

I’m a childminder and have been asked several times over the years to look after year 7s.

I don’t think it would be weird for you to ask to work from home, I’d have thought lots of parents are asking employers this at the moment and if you can do your job at home, surely it is better for you to be at home than risking going in to the work place.

I agree i wouldn't feel comfortable, I leave my 11yo whilst I do the food shopping or something similar but all day I'd be worried its too much. If your DS is not used to being left alone its a huge thing to go from never/rarely being left alone to suddenly going to multiple long days alone, normally as parents we build up the amount of time they are left alone in the house don't we.
Does a family member/friend live nearby DS can call on in an emergency? I leave my yr9 dc home alone but he has GP and Uncles who live literally round the corner who could be with him in minutes if there was an emergency. Is their any family or even one of his friends parents nearby that would be willing to be an emergency contact should he need it?