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My girlfriend leaves her 10 year old son home alone sometimes, and I just thought that was too young. Of course, I don't have a 10-year old yet (my oldest is 7), so maybe they go through this major maturity spurt that I don't know about.
What do you think - at what age are/were you comfortable leaving your kids home alone?
I know back when we were younger, kids were left home alone starting at 8- the term "latch key kids".
I just started leaving my older son alone this year; he is 12 years old and in 7th grade. By the time I was 12 I was babysitting, so I figure he was good to stay alone. Plus, he is a good kid, very calm, so I know he wouldn't burn the house down. Of course I taught him not to go to the door, only answer the phone if he recognizes the number, and so on. We also have a big dog, which would deter anyone from trying to come in. He's not allowed out when we're not home-that's a definite.
It does depend on the child, but personally, I wouldn't even think of it before 12.
It depends on the children. It also depends on the laws in your state -- some don't allow below a certain age to stay alone.
As far as the kid goes, he may very well be capable of staying by himself for a while. My daughter would have been perfectly good at that age. My son -- oh hell no. It all depends on the kid, their level of responsibility, etc. Of course this is not taking in any factoring of other people, which is what I worried about most with my children. I didn't leave my daughter alone before she was at least 12...my son I didn't leave alone until older than that because he would just get into mischief.
I think in Ohio, the age is 12, but if you know your kid and if he is comfortable with it, I think earlier is still OK...especially if there's a neighbor close by who they could turn to in case of a problem.
Like everyone said, it all depends on the child. I was left home alone for until my older siblings got home from high school. I was only 10 at that time and I had to call my mom every day at the same time and go to the door and check the door was locked with her on the phone. We had our special ring so I knew it was her calling (caller ID wasn't around then) and the only thing I could eat were things that required the microwave. Not tooting my own horn but I was a very responisble and mature little girl. With that being said, my parents would never leave my 15 year sister home by herself b/c she wasn't nearly as responsible as I was (still not!).
Times have changed since then, people are meaner and neighbors don't look out for each other like they use to. Now that I'm a mother of two young boys, I can't see leaving them alone anytime soon. I will have to wait and see how the prove themselves over the next few years. That will be the determing factor for me. I don't think there is a "magic" age.
Yep, totally depends on the child. We would leave our son home along at 10 if we needed to run around the corner to Home Depot or something. We would use our cell phones and call him. We also have amazing neighbors.
At 12 we were leaving him longer to go out to eat or something. Having cell phones makes a huge difference as well - we were always reachable and we could call and check on him.
It all depends on the maturity of the child. There are some kids, who even at an older age, should never be left alone!
My girlfriend leaves her 10 year old son home alone sometimes, and I just thought that was too young. Of course, I don't have a 10-year old yet (my oldest is 7), so maybe they go through this major maturity spurt that I don't know about.
What do you think - at what age are/were you comfortable leaving your kids home alone?
IMO, 10 is too young. In today's age there are just too many freaks out there waiting for opportunity. I know one cannot live in a state of fear & raising your child in fear does more harm than good, but I just think that is too young.
Personally, about 12-13 yrs of age is appropriate. Depends on the maturity level of the child, also.
I agree with everyone here. It depends on the child. And unfortunately, everyone's right about times changing. My parents left me alone when I was about 10. Before that (about 8) I was also able to run around the neighborhood playing with friends and come home when the lights came on... But of course, you can't do that now. (At least where I live)
When I got home from Junior High (10 years old) I would walk home since I lived across the street from school and I'd be alone (with about 3 or 4 friends ) until about 6:00 when my parents would get home from work. There's NO way I'd do that with my kids now. Not that I don't trust my kids (they're not old enough anyway, only 4 and 7) but there's too many weirdos now. Even in the "high-end" neighborhood I'm in, I still wouldn't do it. I think trust in a lot of places have died out. Children aren't safe from anything these days.
Sadly, only Maryland and Illinois currently have laws on the books stipulating what age children can be left home alone. (12 in both states). However, according to the National Safekids Campaign NO CHILD UNDER 12 should be left home alone. It is really not a matter of how mature you think your child is on a normal day to day basis, it is about how your child will react in an emergency situation. It doesn't matter if your child won't answer a door to a stranger, if the door isn't answered the stranger may break in thinking the home is unoccupied. It only takes one snip to render a phone useless. Also, leaving a child home alone usually results in hours of television "babysitting" so what kind of influence is that having? Do you allow your child to use the stove? Even I, an adult, have been know to forget a pot on the stove, let alone a 10 year old child. If I could guarantee that life would go as I planned it and no unexpected things would occur, I could have left both of my older girls home at even 8 or 9. However, life seldom goes as planned and there is no way that you can anticipate everything that goes through a childs mind and what they think is a logical solution to a problem may send chills down your spine. Have you ever seen the Oprah show where they test children who have been left home alone by parents who swear their children "are soooo responsible and mature". Everyone of them opened the front door!!!
My oldest is 13 and we started leaving her alone for a few hours last summer. She is "very mature" (aren't they all???) but she is not allowed to cook, swim, use the computer etc. and we are never more than a few miles from home.
I went through this situation when my oldest(now 19) was younger. I actually asked our local police dept. if there was a certain age. the police chief said that there wasn't a standard age and that parents need to make the determination on their own. some kids at 10 are mature and understand responsibility, others don't. He recommended just starting out with the 15 to 30 minutes for a near-by errand. and to progress from there.
I realized that in the past, i had hired 12 or 13 year olds to babysit my kids at night, so when our oldest was babysitting age, I would pay him to babysit and pay our younger son to be good. (they are 6 years apart) We never had any problems. you just need to make sure that you give them all of the safety info that they might need.
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Ditto
) until about 6:00 when my parents would get home from work. There's NO way I'd do that with my kids now. Not that I don't trust my kids (they're not old enough anyway, only 4 and 7) but there's too many weirdos now. Even in the "high-end" neighborhood I'm in, I still wouldn't do it. I think trust in a lot of places have died out. Children aren't safe from anything these days. 
