What is the law around leaving your child home alone?

[Chalatte]

Curious what the rules are in this country for leaving your children unattended at home,if, say they are 10, nearly 11,and you leave them for short periods of time. For instance, 15 min for a school run or for a trip to the shops?

What are the rules with leaving them with a younger sibling for the same amount of time? Periods of time 15-30 and never exceeding an hour?

In this instance the child/ren in question are neurotypical and comfortable with being alone.

here’s the official advice

https://www.nspcc.org.uk/keeping-children-safe/in-the-home/home-alone/

There is no law. You just have to base it off your own judgement. DD would’ve been totally fine to leave at that age - always a very sensible child. I wouldn’t leave a child to look after their younger sibling. That’s your job as the parent.

There technically is no legal age you can leave them I believe, as in you can leave them whenever you are happy they will be safe

Legally there are no set limits/ages, but if you do something that would be considered negligent you'd be in trouble. Useful with no goalposts!

I think at 10/11 it's fine for a short period. Depends on how old the younger sibling is.

I left my children at that age for about an hour or so.
My main rule was not to answer door or eat..I choked aged 21 involving medical help!!

The law is that neglecting your child is illegal. This is a good way to do it as it allows flexibility wrt NT vs ND, confidence of child, time you are gone, where you are gone to.

So most people would feel (I would anyway) that it is fine to leave a 10yo for 15-30 mins while you go to the shop, take their sibling to Brownies, and similar. Equally many ppl would be fine with that child walking a short safe distance to school alone, or walking to the park or a friend's house (distance/road dependent).

But most people equally would agree that it just as it is no OK to leave a (say) 3yo on their own at all, it is also not OK to leave the same 10yo overnight.

This is why the law in the UK is much better IMO than a law (which there is in some countries I gather) which says you may not leave your child alone until they are xx age (12, 14, 16?). By degrees and with the child's agreement is the way to encourage independence in my view. HTH

There are no actual laws just guidance but a 10 year old left for 15 minutes during the daytime sounds fine as long as the child feels confident.
My DD is 10 and I leave her alone to go to the corner shop occasionally- no more than 15 minutes.

The NSPCC thing is their own guidelines, not the law, and is not realistic for many people. At 11 many children are going to and from school alone and staying home alone when parents are still at work.

You know your children best, and the kind of risks there might be at home. I started with short periods and lots of rules plus contactable neighbours.

No this is not the official advice. It is the advice of a charity that says don't leave anyone under 12 alone. I think it is dangerous and wrong. It also btw if followed limits employment opportunities for, let's face it, women, as there is zero childcare for an 11yo at secondary school so according to this someone needs to be there when they come home from school at 3.30pm.

The NSPCC is a campaigning charity, it can have its own opinions but they are not statutory.

I should say tho @Chalatte that I wouldn't personally leave a 10yo looking after a younger sibling (unless I would also leave that younger sibling – so say a 10yo and a 9yo perhaps, but not a 10yo and a 5yo). If that is what you are also asking.

In my state (QLD) you are not allowed to leave a child under 12 for more than short periods. Once they hit 12, it's open season, and there's no longer even any vacation care options.

As far as I know there's no actual age in the rest of the country (unsure) but you'd be in strife for leaving kids alone too.long.

See to me that makes no sense. How long is a short period?

So you cannot leave an 11yo to go to the shops for 30 mins (?); but once they are 12 you can go out for the evening and leave them from 7pm to midnight – when they have never been alone in the home before for longer than 10 mins (or whatever a short time is)?

I saw those guidelines but what is the law? What do many people do?
I was a latch key kid growing up (90s kid sigh) I was responsible and it helped me learn to be by myself.

I don't think this can be done now in the same way but I'm thinking starting to leave your kids for short times would help them gain independence and be more confident.
Obvs don't wanna get in trouble with the law! I think if it's more flexible and "use your judgment" then it's a reasonable thing as each child is different. Mine are nearly 11 and 7 and are really very mature for their age.

There’s no age in law, but you shouldn’t put them at risk. So you can leave a responsible 12 year old, but not an irresponsible 14 year old, for example.

Where we are, in London, almost all children travel to secondary school alone, often travelling over an hour across the city, and there aren't many childcare options for over 11s. So I think it's normal for kids to be at home alone by age 11, waiting for a parent to return from work, or during the school holidays. I don't think I've ever heard of a prosecution for neglect for leaving a child alone in a house at that age. I'd say waiting until age 12 is impractical for most working parents.

Most 10 year olds would also be fine, but it depends more on the child and they might feel lonely and want company, even if they are technically safe.