How old would you leave your child home alone?

[Howdoyoulikeyoureggsinthemornin]

My l/o is 9 and it's just us at home. We live on a quiet estate, full of families. They're able to keep themselves occupied and stay out of trouble.
Ive been feeling extremely down about myself lately, middle age spread is creeping up and I can feel myself becoming really run down. My mental health and confidence is really starting to deteriorate, as I have no free nights or time to myself, as well as perimenopause making its changes.
I'm hoping to attend a gym class in the next few months, it would be 45 minutes long twice a week. I know there are no laws regarding leave your child at home as long as they're mature enough, but I'd like to know at what age people began leaving their children at home for small bursts of time.

Thank you .

It wouldn’t just be 45 minutes would it, how long including travel time? I wouldn’t leave them at this age, is there any seating outside the gym where he could sit and read/play on an iPad?

In that case I would probably take child, iPad, books and a snack with me and pop them in a waiting area.

9 is a bit young for that imo.

Our older 4 were all between 12-14 before we left them home without an adult and they were rarely home totally alone.
Will probably be similar for our older two but definitely not before they’re at secondary school

@Noverium the gym is 7 minutes from my house. So no it wouldn't be 45 minutes, would be just over an hour.

They'll be 10 in February so as said in post, will be in a few months.

9 is too young for me personally. Would it also be evening?

My friend leaves her 9 year old home to go to the gym (though she’s nearer 10) and my other friend leaves her 9 year son home to walk the block with the dog. Both happy to be left and it’s going well.

My 9 year old has some sort of internal
alarm system that if I even nip to the garage, she’s coming too so it’s a while off for me.

I was left from 8 years old and was completely fine and I’m now very independent.

i think if the child is up for it, it’s great!

A couple of my local sports centres do a class with a soft play/gymnastics set up for the kids with childminders on the opposite side of the hall. Might be worth seeing if there’s anything similar local to you.

Or try and something you can both do together like swimming or cycling

@ArtSandwich they don't allow children unsupervised unfortunately. That wouldn't be an option.

I would not. 9 is far too young. I would think more 14/15.

14 and not for long - 45
mins whilst younger ones are picked up

Neuro-typical and sensible probably aged 10-11 for up to an hour with strict instructions in case of emergency, phone on me at all times etc.

@StarDolphins thank you for this. They'll be 10 in Feb.

@Bearybasket this isn't offered in my area, as I've previously researched this. Would make sense to obviously look at an option like that first. They do clubs 3 days a week after school and wouldn't want to go biking in this weather.

I don’t think well over an hour is a ‘small burst of time.’ A short burst of time would be about five-ten minutes.

Secondary school age (or the summer leading up to starting) so 11+

It depends on the child. One of mine was fine to leave at that age whereas the other wasn’t at all.

We started leaving DD at home around April, just after she was 10. To start with it was only 5/10 mins while we dropped DS off to an activity. Now I’d leave her for a couple of hours if needed. She has a phone now and knows how to contact us if needed, not to answer the door, etc.

14 is crazy old.
I would leave a nine year old but only to go to the post box or drop a parcel to the neighbours. Year six I think to leave for an hour.

14/15 is wow 😱 I’m guessing your kids are still very young

14?! Wow, around here 11 year olds have to do an hour on the bus on their own to secondary school and most have to let themselves in as Friday is a lunchtime finish!

I leave my 9yo for up to an hour fairly regularly. He's fine with it. He's sensible, can use the phone, has other ways to contact me, knows the neighbours and I'm never far away. We've built up to that over the last 6 months or so and I wouldn't leave him any longer than that.

But it depends on the child. Some aren't sensible enough, some would be too anxious.

Depends on the child. A sensible 9 year old would be totally fine, I reckon, & you’ll be very nearby throughout. Just make sure you’re contactable if need be & that they know exactly what to do in different possible scenarios.

@Digdongdoo mine could go hours without knowing if I was home or not when they're having a gaming day with their friends! Only for the fact I check in and bring sustenance, they wouldn't know if I was dead or alive haha. Thank you for commenting. They'll be 10 in Feb, so maybe I'll start now going for a quick walk around the block etc.

They start walking to school in y6 in our area so i would say around that age

i started to leave my 9yeat old at that age, but not for that long. I’d also be worried if I was driving and got caught in traffic and it was even longer. My eldest is now nearly 11 and I probably would now.