At What age would you leave your kids alone

[Unicus]

I think thats too young. i think no younger than 13/14 definately and then it totally depends on the maturity of the child.

 

[mrsraggle]

I used to make my own way to secondary school and back at 11 and so family used to leave me at home alone if I wanted to while they went to Grandparents etc.

 

[tasha41]

Here I think it is legal for a child of 12 to be home alone, but to babysit I think they need to be older, though I'm not positive on that. I think it will depend on how mature Elyse turns out to be and the neighbourhood we live in, among other things.. but 12 on her own IMO will probably be about right, maybe 14 to babysit a child out of diapers and somewhat independent.

I think an 11 YO babysitting a 5YO for hours at a time in the evening is too much - I don't think that it is right for an 11 year old to have responsibilities like making sure another child has dinner, gets ready for bed, and goes to bed.

 

[mamalove]

I wouldn't leave my kids under 16 alone,not even for short periods of time.
and i certanly wouldn't let them babysit younger siblings.

 

[Mervs Mum]

My eldest would be alone in the house for around 20-30 mins when she got dropped off by the school bus after school. I finished at 4pm and was home for 4.15 and she got home just before 4pm. She did this from about 12/13. Other than that I didnt leave her alone for any length of time until recently - she's 15 in a couple of weeks. I only leave her alone if she asks to stay home while I go shopping or what ever. I think it can also depend on the child. Some kids you wouldnt want to leave alone for other reasons. My DD is very quiet and tends to want to stay home to do school work. Even up until she was 12/13 I wouldnt go out on an evening and leave her - she would go and stay at my mums.

 

[sarah1989]

I got my own house key at 14, and even then I was only ever home for about 30 minutes until my Mum came home from work. I started babysitting at 15.

 

[helen1234]

i think it depends on the maturity of the child and how long they are left, rosie has walked home from school let herself in till i got home from school 1/2 hrs later she felt too old for a childminder at that age.

she's 15 in january and she's fine with the toaster and a tin of beans.

siblings left at home is different i've seen many a scraps happen when i was a teen.

 

[bailey98]

I've left abbie alone while i pop down the shops a couple of times recently, she's just turned 10 and thinks she's all grown up! Saying that im only gone for 5-10 mins and i never leave the little ones with her, could not imagine giving her the responsibility of looking after them, i think looking after herself is enough at that age!

 

[Elli21]

Whats a latch key kid???

And answering the question, i wouldnt leave my kids until they are 12-13, but if they were responsible for their smaller sibling, not until they were 15-16.

 

[KA92]

my mum left me alone when i was around 11, same time as i got my own key...iv been told im very mature for my age and have been most of teen years. At 14 i was able to cook and iron no problem...my younger brother gets left alone at 12, hes now 13, i get left at night alone but i dont look after my younger brother over night. It has made us both super independant!

I think it depends on how an indvidual feels and how mature a child is but in my opinion 13 or 14 sounds fine if you, as a parent, arnt comfertable with it before

 

[kiki]

I started leaving Kirsty for around 30 minutes when she was 13. Now she is 14, I would leave her for a couple of hours and sometimes she lets herself in after school if I am at my mums.
I wouldnt entertain leaving her alone at night yet and definitely not in charge of Caidan.

I believe it is actually illegal to leave your child alone if they are under 14,although I would imagine that's more to try and prevent people leaving very young kids on their own

xxx

 

[KerryanneJ09]

this is interesting :L
ive seen some people on here say that they wouldnt leave a child under 12/13 alone etc. i totally agree that it depends on the maturity of the child, because anything could happen if they just didnt care.
ive obviously grown up learning how to look after children, because i have 8 siblings, i really had no choice :L
ive had a door key since i was 9, for when i used to play outside because i knocked on the door every five minutes, and i had it on multicoloured string around my neck xD
i personally also think that is much too young, but i was a "responsible child" until i was around 13 and never really got in with a "bad crowd" or anything like that.
but now im 16 (and some of you may think thats just about old enough), i have a 9 month old and another on the way. i was fourteen with my first (which of course is wrong on so many levels) this wasnt my fault in any way, but i wont go into that.
i now live by myself with hayden + soon to have another. i know being a mother kinda changes things but not all 14 year olds are so irresponsible.
sorry for such a long stupid post that makes no sense. i dont understand it either if it helps
lots + lots of love, Kerry, Hayden + Bump
- xo

 

[morri]

Yea I think so too that it depends on the maturity of the child . But I think it is possible to leave a 11 yo child alone for maybe 1 or 2 hours.

 

[nievesmama]

My eldest is 13 next year, the only time i leave her home alone is if shes off school ill and i have to take my 5 yr old to school. I would never leave her in charge of my two little ones.
I know she is responsible enough, but i worry about things, if something went wrong and she was left there xx

 

[tiggerlix]

i will leave my 12 and 10 yr old while i pop to the shops,but never in charge of a 5 yr old,and never late at night.If i happen to pop out for the evening then my 16(alnmost 17 yr old)will watch his 2 younger brothers while im out and he charges me a tenner lol!

 

[xxxjacxxx]

I will leave my 13 year old (14 in jan) alone for a few hours...ive even gone off shopping and left him in the house for most of the day I will allow him to watch my 11 year old for an hour at most, but rarely will I leave him in charge of my 6 year old and never with Leo and NEVER overnight.

 

[xXhayleyXx]

My 12 year old daughter has her own door key due to the fact that she finishes high school at 3 and i am usually out having to pick her brother and sister up from their school which dont finish til half 3. Both my eldest daughters who are 12 and 10 are very responsible when it comes to staying at home with eachother. If i have to go shopping then i give them the option to come with me and if the 10 year old doesnt want to then unless her 12 year older sister stays with her she gets dragged along lol. To be honest tho i find when i go out they get on better than when i am home... typical! lol
Very occasionally if i am only going to be 10 minutes at the local shop and its raining i will often leave my son who is 5 with them and they are all good as gold usually sat watching tv or playing the xbox. As for my 18mth old she will only get left with my 12 year old if she is asleep and im gone 5 minutes.
My eldest 2 do so much for my 2 youngest even when i am home without me having to ask including nappies lol that i know they are very much capable of looking after them if an emergency was to arrise and i HAD to go out anyway.

 

[aimee-lou]

I was left on my own from the age of 8...... which was IMO too young - I would say 13/14 for a full night or senior school for 'latch-key' kind of scenario - but I was an only child, hated my babysitters and was very responsible. My mum and dad were musicians an would be out 6pm-2am every Friday and Saturday night on gigs. They would leave me with the TV and a box of tunnocks teacakes......happy as larry! lol At 10 I used to be at home all day while they went to work and would do the ironing, vacuuming and walk the dog too...... wouldn't dream of leaving Earl alone for 10 hours at 10 years old tbh!

 

[MartaMi]

7-years-old girl comes home from school 12am and is alone until 5pm or 6pm. I don't worry at all about leaving her home alone. Her brother is 4-years-old and also stays home alone or with sister when needed.
I really can't imagine that I should babysit a 7-year-old or worse a 10-year-old or older.

 

[taperjeangirl]

7-years-old girl comes home from school 12am and is alone until 5pm or 6pm. I don't worry at all about leaving her home alone. Her brother is 4-years-old and also stays home alone or with sister when needed.
I really can't imagine that I should babysit a 7-year-old or worse a 10-year-old or older.

Are you kidding?!