What age to stay home alone?????

[Hangin Wit My Peeps]

According to the law here a child has to be 12 years of age and not more than a few hours home alone. I started out leaving my kids on their own at 12 for only 2 hours at a time at first. They ended up getting scared after only an hour and called me to come home

it was day time too.

 

[Chickenaddict]

My how times have changed... I was left alone to babysit 4 kids at the age of 9 (heck of a first job) but it paid well back then

 

[whitecra]

You need to check to see if there is a law about the age they can be left. I know we have a law here in OKlahoma for that.
Chris

 

[key west chick]

My son was 12 when I started leaving him to go to the grocery store. Don't open the door for ANYBODY, don't go outside unless the house is on fire, no cooking stuff, and rules like that. He just plays on the PS3 or watches TV.

 

[horsejody]

The law in our state is 12 years old. When my son was 12 and my daughter 8, they were on their own after school until DH and I got home. In all honesty though I think it was more the 8 year old watching the 12 year old. We live in a rural area. We have no crime, and my kids were very mature (especially DD). If they had behaviour problems or if there were kids in the neighborhood that were trouble I probably wouldn't let be alone. Also, they had strict rules. No friends over. No messing with the livestock, etc.

 

[country freedom]

It does depend on each child's maturity level.
I have 6 children - ages 20 thru 12 - and the earliest Iv'e allowed any of my children to stay home alone was 13 yrs old. We've known some of our neighbors for over 8 yrs. and my children know whose house to go to in case of an emergency.

My 20 year old was the youngest minded of all - around 16 yrs. old was told to stay home and keep house while we went shopping/pay bills, we came home to open doors (literaly open doors - screens and main doors), while he was down the street and out of view of our house, playing b-ball at the playground court. He told us he was airing the house out because he tried to bake a frozen store-bought pizza, on the racks, with the cardboard still under the pizza!

My husband's family was in the habit of allowing my oldest, aged 11, to watch his siblings ages 10-5, while we were going thru all the negativity. Once they told me they found all of them outside and down the street with the front door open. CPS was helping me out and they were told by my children what happened. That's when Family Services and CPS planned for me to move from Virginia to Kentucky. I made the move to Indiana.

Children on their side of the family are allowed to stay home around 10 yrs old and they take their first bus ride downtown by themselves (after being shown at least 2-3 times), and they catch it back home also.

So yes, it does depend on each child's maturity level.

 

[Picky Chicky]

It depends on the child... well, preteen, but I'd start off slow... usually at 12 or older (and just check your county laws... sometimes you can't leave them home alone any younger than 12). So leave them for a quick trip to the store... then extend the times gone - see how it goes.