Leaving children home alone

[lyssie29]

Just out of curiousity what age would you think would be ok to allow a child to stay home alone while you were at work for example?

It would depend entirely upon the child, how used they were to being left alone, how long for and what sort of help was available in case of emergency.

I was 12, my mum used to have a 2 hour job in the morning. She used to leave at 8am and be back by 11am and id just be waking up lol

Depends on the child. I was seven but by then was going to the shops, had a key, and walked to and from school/friend’s houses myself.

I left mine at 10&12 but I worked 3 hours only 5 mins drive away. Sometimes for a change I dropped them at the local museum if there were kids activities or the library. They did kids club before that but dd1 was too old at 12 and wouldn't stay alone (her little is very mature because dd1 has asd and she grew up fast, the good thing about dd1 though is she doesn't break rules, to the point of ridiculousness!)

Soooooooo dependent on a whole raft of circumstances.

Personality / Confidence / how far away parent is / how easy it is for parent to be contacted / how easy it is for parent to walk out from their job / what hours parent is working / what other support there is around (neighbours or friends or relatives) / what previous experience the child has / how often this is to happen / even what the alternatives are ~ sometimes where something isnt ideal, itis still the best available option.

Mine may get left for a day over the summer (nearly 11). He wants it, certainly doesn't want any of the alternatives of childcare, knows other people on the street in case of emergency (and they are happy to have him round, likewise I've had neighbour kid come round when parent was away longer than expected), I've tested him on telephone use and lots of 'what if' scenarios.

He'd only be alone from about 9.30 to 4, 2 or 3 times. Younger sibling would be elsewhere. Given how much he is dragged out when he doesn't want, a few days of solid computer games won't hurt.

I have an 11 year old and we are starting to leave him for a little while (no more than an hour) recently just to test him- he’s extremely sensible so trust him. We lock the front door but have the back door with the key in. We tell him not to answer the door.
As long as there’s WiFi he’s fine lol xx also have iMessage to chat to him too xx

My friends have a 17 year old daughter who refuses to be left alone in house. We don't go out socialising with our friends due to this and friends have to arrange for daughter to go to grandparents after college. But I'm beginning to wonder if daughter is playing some sort of game as the other week, me and friend arranged to go out for the day and once we were out friend got a phone call from daughter saying she didn't feel well and wasn't going to college so stayed at home all day by herself.

Out at work is for quite a long time usually. I think last year of primary for a half day but started secondary for a full day.

My ds is 10. I don't think he will be ready for that for a few years. I might try leaving him for short times when he is nearly 12. For a whole day I think it won't be until he is 14 or 15. He is an anxious child so I need to be careful he is very prepared for it and for what to do in an emergency.