What age is appropriate to leave children at home alone?

There is no magic formula to measure a child’s readiness to assume self care at home. Very often, circumstances drive the issue; daycare might become unavailable, cost-prohibitive, or unsatisfactory, or there is no neighbor nearby to provide supervision along with their own children. A latchkey child should want to stay alone, and be comfortable assuming the additional responsibility. Some experts suggest that an excellent way to find out is to ask your child -- most children will tell the truth. If your youngster is prone to be a worrier, has nightmares, or is nervous or anxious when he or she is alone, they may not be ready to stay by themselves. There are children, on the other hand, who will welcome the opportunity to demonstrate their maturity and will take pride in being allowed to take charge. In most cases, however, it will probably take a considerable amount of family discussion before a decision is reached.

The other issue intertwined in whether or not children are allowed home alone, is are the parents ready to leave their youngsters unsupervised at home. The first question to ask yourself is, “What is going to give me an acceptable level of confidence about this?” In other words, what do you need to know about the safety of your child being at home that will allow you to do whatever it is that keeps you away from home in the first place?

Consider your children’s maturity level. Do they understand -- and follow -- safety instructions? How do they do when it comes to making decisions under pressure? Do they think clearly and make the choice you would want them to? Do you have any first-hand information about how they would react in an emergency? How safe is your neighborhood? Do you -- and your child -- know your neighbors, and trust any (or some) of them to come to your child’s aid if necessary? Do they know about calling 9-1-1?

If you can’t answer these questions with confidence, perhaps more time is needed to reach a decision. Another important thing for parents to consider is the law. In Texas, for example, under the section covering “abandoning or endangering a child,” a person commits an offense if, having custody, care or control of a child younger than 15 years, he intentionally leaves the child in any place under circumstances that expose the child to an unreasonable risk. It is the position of Child Protective Services that a school age child may be left in the home alone if he or she has the mental and physical ability to react in an emergency situation. Contact your local police department to determine at what age you can legally leave a child unattended.

I was a latchkey kid when I was in 3rd grade (about 7 yo) but I also had a 13 year old brother and very nosey neighbors who watched us liek hawks.

It depends on the maturity of the children and the laws in your state. Some states do not allow children that young to be left alone for any amount of time.

I was a latchkey kid from the time I was 7 years old and I was mature enough to handle it. Of course, this was 25 years ago. I don't think I'd leave my son home alone for an hour at that age.

It's not about age (aside from the law). Would your children know what to do in an emergency? Would they know how to handle a stranger at the door or on the phone? Would they know how to detect the smell of gas or what to do if the carbon monoxide detector went off? Would the spend the entire time watching TV, eating junk, and not doing their homework? Would they fight with each other? Can they memorize phone numbers and their address? Could they speak clearly to a 911 operator? Are they mature enough to be trained in first aid?

Those are the things I can think of.

I personally think they are still to small even if is an hour, you know accidents could happened in seconds and even if they can get out the bus a enter home.. there are persons or even neighbors can be watching and can report you to the police or I don't know at what age you can leave your kids alone with out a problem and then make a decision from there... Just make sure if you do leave them alone that they will have a list of emergency number and make sure that they will be aware of not opening the door, not answer the phone and if they do don't give information or say that mommy is taking a shower etc. Just to prevent any kinds of problems or accidents !!! GOOD LUCK if you do !!!!

9

11 or 12

I think it depends on your kids. Children mature and learn responsibility at different ages. If you feel like that they can handle it, then they probably can. Do you have a neighbor who is home that you can ask to keep an eye out on the house for the first week or so? Make sure they know not to open the door to strangers and have all the emergency phone numbers in case something happens.

I was first left home alone with my younger brother and sister at age 9 (each three years apart); however not all 9-year olds are ready for that type of responsibility. For instance, my little brother would not have been ready to stay by himself at the age of nine, let alone watch somebody else! (He was forever losing the house key.) However, I enjoyed the responsibility and was very mature for my age, so it just depends on the maturity level of your children.

I think it depends on how mature the children are. I was 10 when my parents started leaving me at home, but I was quite mature for my age. You know your children better than anyone, so if you feel comfortable leaving them now that's up to you. If you feel like you would worry all the time, I wouldn't do it.

Maybe start giving them a few more responsibilities a little at a time and see how well they do with that.

I think that legally, at least where I live, you aren't supposed to leave a child home alone until they are at least 12 yrs. I wouldn't go by age (accept for any legal limitations). I would go by the maturity of the individual. I would also make certain that they know 1st aide & what to do in case of a fire, earthquake, power outage & stranger danger - and have them committ to memory all your contact information & the contact information of a "safe" relative or neighbor....'ya know, you only get to be a parent for a very short period of time.....

I would have to say 15, 9 and 7 are still to young to stay home by themselves. and its good that they are going to the bus and that and using there keys to come in. but still leaving them home alone even for an hour can be dangerous, if something happens.