Leaving 16 yr old home alone

[familyissues12345]

Hello, at what age would you consider leaving a sensible child (no chance of a party) home alone over night?

Parents will be 30 mins away, older sibling 25 mins away. No other family nearby.

Does 16 sound reasonable? Or too early? When did you leave your children alone overnight for the first time?

Before anyone points out, he has an older sibling so what did we do with him - he was this age through Covid, so was 17.5 before we really had a time we needed to leave him/was able to travel

thanks!

I think in reality most 16yo can cope with the individual elements - be alone for several hours, feed themselves, leave for school on time, lock the house up etc.
It's the combination and the unexpected events that can cause issues - wake at 2am because of a strange noise, smoke alarm goes off, water leak, they become unwell, have asked a couple of friends round who have invited a couple of friends, and then can't control them/get rid of them, etc.

IF the 16yo is used to be alone, and is happy and confident, then address the what ifs and have a plan.

I was driving home from visiting a friend and called to let my then 13 yo know I was on my way. He wandered downstairs while on the call and then said "Mum, there's water coming through the ceiling".

10 mins isn't a long drive, but 10 mins of water through the ceiling is!
I was able to talk him through and then told him to get our neighbour.

My DD stayed on her own when I was abroad with my two other children. My DH works shifts so he was in work from 7pm until 7am two nights a week. DD had just turned 15 and she loved being on her own.

It's more than fine. If they make a mistake they'll learn from it. Allow them to grow. You can't control every aspect.

At 16, I stayed in London for 2 months in a house share as I did a placement with EY ahead of starting my A Levels.

You need to get a grip.

Honestly, how will young adults be ready for the real world if parents keep treating them like children.

Yes I definitely would. Don't be so sure about the no party thing though.

What's EY?

Ernst & Young

I stayed a couple of days and nights home alone when parents went to see friends during the summer hols. It depends on the child but make sure you remind them of the essentials before you leave such as locking and unlocking doors, turning on and off the cooking devices etc.