What age would you leave kids for an hour or two?

[nadine90]

I’m sure this has been hashed out a million times on here but I’m unsure and would appreciate opinions.
I’m a single mum to a 14 and 10 year old and they are in my care 100% of the time. We have some family who can help with childcare occasionally, but they don’t live close enough to mind them regularly. As a result of this my fitness has taken a nosedive over the years as I have had no time spare to go to the gym. There is a gym with a pool about a 15 minute walk from our house. I’m debating whether they are now old enough to be left at home alone a couple of times a week so I can go and work out, attend a class or swim. It would only be worth joining if I could do this as family childcare like I said would be available once a month at a push.
Wwyd in my position? Would you wait another year or two? I’ve no worries about the eldest as he’s been home alone before/after school since starting high school, but the youngest has never been left home before (though he begs every time we have to go shopping to stay home).
Thoughts?

It would depend on how mature the 10 year old is and how they behave together, given your 14 year old sounds fine themselves home alone. My older child is fine alone but my 10 year old is like Tigger and also fights with the older one, so I wouldn't trust them home alone yet!

Yes it totally depends on the children rather than the age as such. If they're both sensible and get on, an hr would be fine.

Single mum here and I would absolutely leave a 14 year old and ten year old alone whilst you go to the gym. I have started to leave my almost 13 year old in charge of my ten year old for short periods at a time. The eldest has a phone so I can check in on them regularly and I can also ping them my location. I give them rules about not answering the phone, not eating anything too choky shaped (if going for a while I will give them appropriate shaped snacks that I am not worried about! I realise this might be OTT of a worry) and not doing anything with fire or the oven. They have been fine. They DO need to start having some independence.

My children are 11 (3 months from 12) and 13. (in year 7 and year 8)

I've just started to leave them for a couple of hours, occasionally.

For about a year or so, I've been happy to "nip" to the petrol station or co-op etc without them.

It depends on the kids. I think 10 is old enough generally to be left at home alone for a couple of hours. I'd be more worried about leaving both of them together if they fight/egg each other on to be silly.

The ten year old is old enough to come to the gym with you though and sit in the cafe with a book while you're in a class or swim with you in the pool.

Thanks everyone. I probably am overthinking it. They both have consoles in their rooms and would probably just stay on them if I were to go out. I’d make sure they ate before I went out so no need to go in the kitchen etc. Eldest has a phone and could contact me if needed.
I might try working up to it by going on a few solo walks nearby first. Thanks for the sense check - this is one of the hardest things about single parenting, no other parent to talk through these things x

We’ve just started leaving our younger two together, they are 14 and 13.
They've been left individually for a while now but due to bickering I haven’t felt they could be left together for more than about 20 mins. They seem to have matured a bit in the last 6 months though and have some common interests so we’ve left them together and it’s been ok.
Although I’ve had the odd text grumbling about one eating too many biscuits or the other kicking footballs in the house!

I would leave my 12 year old for an hour or two (and have), but where we live is very safe. I wouldn’t have left her that long at 10, but I would have left her to run to the shop or do the school run (just not for an hour or two).