Leaving a 16-1/2 Year Old Home Alone for 3 Days (friends, chores, activity)
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Location: Prescott Valley,az summer/east valley Az winter
2,061 posts, read 4,127,343 times
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Glad you decided to trust him. I went on vacation when my boys were about that old~ was gone for a week and 1/2. no great thing~ they went to school. My brother and I also sent a crew to do a construction job and they were gone for 5 days. Yes, my 16 yo son was the foreman of that crew and job got well done on schedule. Second son was also running a construction crew at 16. If they haven't learned not to burn your house down by 16 how will they ever be able to adjust to weeks and months on their own by 18?
Glad you decided to trust him. I went on vacation when my boys were about that old~ was gone for a week and 1/2. no great thing~ they went to school. My brother and I also sent a crew to do a construction job and they were gone for 5 days. Yes, my 16 yo son was the foreman of that crew and job got well done on schedule. Second son was also running a construction crew at 16. If they haven't learned not to burn your house down by 16 how will they ever be able to adjust to weeks and months on their own by 18?
This is very true. I remember freshman year of college and the foolery that went on in the dorms. You would have thought the kids were 11 having their first sleepover. Food fights? Really? The conditions of the bathroom, abominable. I couldn't believe they were really TPing stuff and pulling "Jackass" like stunts in our common hallway with all those cute new girls on campus. Definition of doing it wrong. I think a healthy dose of freedom for teenagers prepares them for a more mature young adulthood.
Update: My wife and I are now on the same page and we are going to let him stay. This was important as we wanted to discuss this with him as a united front. We believe he'll do fine. He's working at his internship full days and he'll be home three nights - the next day he will meet us for the rest of the vacation. We have friends checking in with him every night he's at home (including parents of his friends) and they are supporting our decision as they find our son to be responsible enough. Our son was relieved and thanked us for trusting him to do this. It was a great conversation!
Anyhow, thanks to everyone for your opinion. Vacation is next week and I'll let you know if we made the right decision.
I say if he's mature enough to drive, and can cook and do housework, he should be able to stay home. 16 is pushing it for staying home for three days but he's just 1 1/2 years away from being able to live on his own.
This is very true. I remember freshman year of college and the foolery that went on in the dorms. You would have thought the kids were 11 having their first sleepover. Food fights? Really? The conditions of the bathroom, abominable. I couldn't believe they were really TPing stuff and pulling "Jackass" like stunts in our common hallway with all those cute new girls on campus. Definition of doing it wrong. I think a healthy dose of freedom for teenagers prepares them for a more mature young adulthood.
And you know what? Some of that stuff goes on for years! I hardly think leaving a 16 yr old home alone for 3 days will prevent some of the above.
My husband went to a very prestigious college, I won't say which one to avoid embarrassing him should he ever see this. I'm talking hard core academic. Anyway, one time in the alumni newsletter, a graduate sent in an account of his wedding where, according to said grad, they had a good old (insert name of college) style food fight! Mind you this is an educated person in at least his early 20s. DH denied that such things ever happened there, but I don't believe him.
My husband went to a very prestigious college, I won't say which one to avoid embarrassing him should he ever see this. I'm talking hard core academic. Anyway, one time in the alumni newsletter, a graduate sent in an account of his wedding where, according to said grad, they had a good old (insert name of college) style food fight! Mind you this is an educated person in at least his early 20s. DH denied that such things ever happened there, but I don't believe him.
Lol. Since I know that college..... Oh, yes. They are known for some wild good times. As are their graduates. I worked with some when I was in my early 20's (most of them were as well) and I never failed to be amazed at how good they were at enjoying themselves.
They might have invented the motto "Work Hard - Play Hard". If they didn't invent it, they perfected it. Goodness only knows what they were like as teenagers.
And you know what? Some of that stuff goes on for years! I hardly think leaving a 16 yr old home alone for 3 days will prevent some of the above.
My husband went to a very prestigious college, I won't say which one to avoid embarrassing him should he ever see this. I'm talking hard core academic. Anyway, one time in the alumni newsletter, a graduate sent in an account of his wedding where, according to said grad, they had a good old (insert name of college) style food fight! Mind you this is an educated person in at least his early 20s. DH denied that such things ever happened there, but I don't believe him.
LMAO that was probably my school, messed up I didn't get the wedding invite. But I don't like sitting through weddings anyway.
Update: It worked out very well. Son was home alone Sunday through Wednesday met us for the rest of vacation Wednesday night. He completed his usual chores and even got the trash out for pick up! Yes, he had a few friends over to cook out on the back deck one evening but neighbors reported no unusual activity. I am so glad we went with our gut and didn't over react. Thanks to all for the reasonable advice I received here.
Update: It worked out very well. Son was home alone Sunday through Wednesday met us for the rest of vacation Wednesday night. He completed his usual chores and even got the trash out for pick up! Yes, he had a few friends over to cook out on the back deck one evening but neighbors reported no unusual activity. I am so glad we went with our gut and didn't over react. Thanks to all for the reasonable advice I received here.
I am glad it worked out well! Thanks for the update.
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