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Location: In a little house on the prairie - literally
10,202 posts, read 7,922,771 times
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In our jurisdiction, the law says:
There is no law in Alberta that specifies at what age children can be left alone. When considering leaving a child unsupervised, age and maturity are important factors in assessing whether care and supervision is adequate. Many Albertans expect families to arrange care or supervision for children left alone under the age of 12.
If a child is in an unsafe situation, a child intervention worker has the ability to investigate and support the parents to take action to ensure the child is protected. If you believe a child is unsafe, refer the matter to your local Child and Family Services Authority or to the Child Abuse Hotline (1-800-387-5437).
You need to be 12 to babysit someone else's children.
When our son was 8, we left he and a 9 yr old buddy at home for 2 and a half hours. Upon return, the inside of the toilet bowl was covered with soot. They claimed to have no knowledge, which I failed to believe. After lengthy quizzing, my son finally confessed how they piled tissue as high as they could and set it afire, then flushed the toilet. They hadn't noticed the soot. At least it wasn't done in the middle of the floor, but clearly it was the wrong choice for us to leave them alone.
It's also illegal in many states to leave kids that young home alone. Why on Earth would you even consider leaving an 8 and 9 year old home alone?
It's also illegal in many states to leave kids that young home alone. Why on Earth would you even consider leaving an 8 and 9 year old home alone?
I'd leave an 8 and 9 year old home alone if they were mature enough. Probably wouldn't leave any matches or lighters around though....
I leave the 7 year old I look after at home for half an hour while I pick up my kid from daycare, she's fine, just plays with the neighbour kids (and its ok with her parents) and I leave the door unlocked for her so she can get in and out (she generally plays out during this time) but I do have lots of neighbours who all look out for each other's kids, in another area it would be different.
If you read the whole thread, you would see that it was just an overnight, we left him at 8pm and were home by 10am. We were also 15 miles / 20 minutes away from him, IN TOWN.
I (read: me and my wife, his mother) would do this again.
What I was talking about here was an "all weekend" situation. We would leave after work on Friday, return late sunday, so it would be 2 whole days and 2 nights. AND be out of town.
I agree with mighty mom. I have very serious concerns about you. Being negative about this stepson in the other thread and then leaving him alone overnight, that is way too young, 13 or 14 years old. Child Protective Services could come pay you a visit especially if the biological father finds out you are doing this. It's considered child neglect in some states.
Not in my state... Moderator cut: delete
Last edited by Miss Blue; 10-04-2015 at 11:57 AM..
Reason: Calling another poster is not allowed and use the dm or report to notify a mod
I never heard of anything like that here. I understand Finland is a bit more progressive in some things and kids maybe more mature overall than American kids.
Some states have school choice, but more so involves where the parent works vs where they live....i.e. if parents work in a bigger city and live outside of town they may want their kid in the schools where they work for ease of pick up and drop off, etc.
I graduated high school @ 17 and moved out on my own. I could have done the same thing at 16. Not much difference. I started babysitting at 12, and had summer jobs by the time I was 16. Permanent full time jobs by the time I was 17.
What you claim to have done hasn't been the norm in recent history. Are you 100 years old, or something?
Remember the good old days when a 10-year-old could drop out of school and work in a factory all day? They're so coddled nowadays.
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