Leaving children in a hotel room by themselves

[toxicwaste]

Hi,

I am hoping someone will be able to clarify the legalities surrounding leaving a 7 and 10 (nearly 11) year old in a hotel room by themselves. The hotel itself is a small, family run hotel. The boys will be taken out to dinner, possibly taken to the pictures and then put to bed around 9/9.30. I would then put them to bed, leave them to get to sleep and go downstairs.

I have put it on this forum because I don't want this topic to become a discussion about the ethical or moral factors of leaving the children in a room by themselves;I am perfectly certain that they will be safe and capable of making the decision for myself. I'm only really interested in what the position, legally, might be should my ex-partner decide to have a problem with this.

Thanks in advance for any help.

This information may help, it is about leaving children alone at home rather than in a room in a hotel, but does list the type of factors that should be taken onto account:

nspcc

Thank you, Cats. I have looked at the website and I am going to give them a ring.

Presumably both boys sleep upstairs alone?
presumably they are capable of using a mobile phone?
Assuming they are reasonably sensible and the door will be locked....id have no problems with it - they are not babies,you are not leaving the building and its their 'break' too a little time to watch their fave dvd or play on their ds will be a relaxing end to what sounds like a lovely child orientated evening.

Just realised you wanted 'legal' views

The is no legal age as such, it all depends on circumstances. If something went disasterously wrong, played with matches, climbed on wardrobes etc and they were injured, I suspect you would get hammered by SS. They sound too young imo to be left unsupervised if you were leaving the premises, but if you are just downstairs I think that would be seen as responsible behaviour, especially if you popped up to check on them at regular intervals.

I do not think there is any UK legislation about when children can be left unsupervised (whether at home, in a hotel, or elsewhere).

But if anything happens to a child you are responsible for when they are alone, you can be prosecuted for neglect. Age of the child and exact circumstances of event would be relevant in deciding whether to prosecute.

I think with regular checking they are at no more risk than they would be in their own home (assuming you leave them upstairs while you go downstairs) and no there are no legal issues.

You could borrow a baby alarm so you can listen in to them to cover yourself belt and braces