What do secondary (Y7) kids do after school?

[Vicky13]

Sorry for the silly question, but I really don't know. Can 11 yr olds be on their own after school for up to 2.5 hrs?

I have a daughter currently in Y6. She is now at after school club 2 days a week and I work at home the other 3 days but my boss has asked me to work full time in the office from next September. She is assuming that then all my childcare worries will be over.

Can't help thinking though that DD at 11 will still be too young to be home until 6pm on her own.

What do secondary kids do age 11 when parents are at work? None of my friends are in that position - all either work PT or don't work. I know there won't be an after school club at secondary.

I'm worried if it's 5 days a week she'll find it lonely / boring / scary being at home all that time. She's fairly sensible but still at 11 what if she loses her key, hurts herself, has someone knocking on the door and doesn't know how to deal with it. I'm worried I'm going to be a nervous wreck.

Is it normal for Y7 kids to walk themselves home and be in on their own? If not how do you get childcare?

Instead of a childminder .. does your DD want to learn a skill at home???

My neighbour employs a local 6th former to come home with her Y7 DD 2 nights a week to supervise her piano practise for an hour.

I don't know if this an option in your job, but what I did for the first year of secondary was start half an hour early and work through my lunch break which meant I left work at 3:30 rather than 5 but still worked a whole day IYSWIM.

Now they are in year 9&10 it's easier as they have various after school activities etc so we all get home around the same time and if they aren't doing anything after school they are happy to come home and start homework until we get in.

I think the beginning of year 7 is a bit of a tricky time for DCs anyway so it might be a bit much for her to stay at home on her own at the beginning.

I had a grandparent at home so both mum and dad worked FT...but at secondary school there was loads of stuff that happened - from bullying to minor sexual assault - that I should really have been discussing. My parents weren't uncaring, but because they thought I was independent & mature for my age (which I was) that I was fine, and there wasn't an open dialogue there. I just think it would have helped to have at least one parent around a bit more immediately after school. Sometimes it's good to just be there.

I had a key since year 5 and was at home till around 5.30pm (teacher dad and long commute home mum) I was absolutely fine and my parents incorporated the time I was at home with my pocket money, i.e I had to Hoover or tidy or whatever so I could get my pocket money at the end of the week

Their biggest worry was me being blonde and losing the key at school so in the end they tied the key to a string which I was forbidden from removing round my neck at school all day

I think she'll be fine at home at that age and will probably appreciate the new trust you're giving her!