Would you leave your 9 year old alone in the house for 20 mins???

[shazmos]

I was just wondering at what age you would consider leaving you child alone for a short period.

I had to drop my OH at work today and my 9 year old son didnt want to miss 'Match of the Day'. So i suggested he stay home alone while i dropped him off.

I was gone for 20 mins, pulled the curtains and told him to not answer to door to anyone and gave him my mobile so he could phone me on my partners phone.

Is this wrong??? He is very grown up and sensible for his age.

I was just wondering when is a reasonable age to allow this.

I apprieciate your opinions on this
xx

 

[smelly07]

I went on a child protection course a few months back and one of the questions we were asked in a test was 'When can a parent leave their child at home alone legally'?.... answer: there is no legal age. Parents can decide when they feel it is appropriate to leave their child home alone.
It's a tuff one and i am not sure when i would leave my kids home alone possibly secondary school age x

 

[Boony]

yes thats right there no legal age however if anything happens to the child whilst home alone you can be prosecuted.

I think the first time i was left home alone was secondary school age but i had an older sister and i was left alone with her when i was at primary school but only for an hour or so.

 

[smelly07]

yeah....i think there definitely needs to be a legal age because i know of parents dropping their older chidlren to school and leaving babies at home asleep....madness...and a 6 year old in my area died in a house fire she was left home alone

 

[babe2ooo]

i have a step son that is 9 and we have a local tesco 5mins down the road and sometime he doesnt want to come shopping so we leave him at home playing x box, i tell him not to answer the door or phone and he has his mob so he can ring and we are only 5mins away by car and i dont see a problem with it.

 

[xxembobxx]

I think it depends on the individual child.
I have a child who is almost 11 years old and I wouldn't like to leave her alone for any length of time although she does go out to play, sometimes out of sight.

My friend used to leave her 9 year old son alone while we went shopping for an hour or so. But he was very mature for his age and she knew she could trust him.

You know your child and if you believe they can be trusted for a short period then I don't see a problem. I'd love to have that faith in my daughter lol.

 

[kiwimama]

It depends on the child. Some would be mature enough at 9, others wouldn't be. I would be asking myself of situations that may arise, and do they know how to handle that. If a small fire broke out what would the child know what to do? If the phone rang and someone asked for their parents would they know how to answer? etc. etc..
You know your child best and if they are capable of handling that responsibility.

 

[xprincessx]

personally i wouldnt because i worked in a school and most of the 9 year old seemed pretty irresponsible and immature (im not in any way suggesting your son is) just personal experience so i wouldnt risk it myself x

 

[sparklydee]

It ALL depends on the child!! Mine are 12 and 10 now and I'm a single parent. I will very occasionally leave them if I have to pop to the shop for 10 mins, but never any more than that.

9 would probably have been too young for me to even think about it - my oldest could probably have handled the responsibility, but my youngest no way!!!

 

[cinnamum]

hard one...
i think 12 is a better age to leave them alone, if anything happened! OMG it doesn't bare thinking about. (just shook, me up after i just read above... ''6yo in fire home alone'').
though i do agree that it depends on the child in question.
i dont know any 9yo's to compare notes with but when i was 9 my mum never left me without an adult/babysitter.
but to add to the situation... i do have a younger brother who has aspergers syndrome.
i do believe that this made my mother less trustworthy of me and over protective, especially of my DS & DD.

 

[A3my]

my daughters are 9 and 10 and sometimes when I have to go somewhere quick and they moan about coming I wonder when I will confidently leave them. I agree with the other mums that its down to you and your child. I think I will wait until secondary school age. I want to get the balance right between helping them gain independance but keeping them safe. They get a bus home from school somedays and one day my sister was collecting them for me and she was late. My eldest has a mobile and she called me and I got hold of my sister who was on her way so I called Emily back and talked to her for 5 mins until my sister arrived. The bus drops them in a pub carpark. My eldest was Ok with the situation and I thought she handled it well but my 9 year old was really upset about it. I think I cried most thinking of them all alone and scared. Its put me off leaving them for a while yet x

 

[mommy43]

i personally wouldnt but i have 3 very close in age when the oldest was 9 i also had a 8 & 7 yr old so it would of caused a 'thats not fair' arguement lol
my oldest is now 16 my others are 15 14 & 12 so they are usually out at mates houses i also have a 7yr old who plays at a friend of our house with her children n i take izzy everywhere i go, occasionally my 16yr old will look after my 7yr old
if i have to go out quick but if its planned the 7yr old will come too
i really think it depends on the child how mature they are if u can trust they will follow rules when your not watchhing n you know your going to be quick i dont see why not its just not something i would ever of been able to do having so many kids

 

[Yazz_n_bump]

It's fine, as long as he's mature enough to know to not answer the door and basic things then it's fine.

My parents used to leave me on my own at 9 when they used to go food shopping.

 

[MissMandieMitz]

Total personal opinion here... but I'd never consider leaving a kid of any age at home alone. Whether it was 9 or 16. I feel that the saying "Idle hands are the devil's workshop" fits very well to kids who are left alone.

I'd either make my child go with me (YOU are the parent after all), or wait until he/she is in school to do what I need to do.

 

[suzib76]

personally, no. i have a really sensible 9 yo but i wouldnt leave her even to pop round to the shop which is a 3 min walk max

while i trust her i would hate for an emergency situation to arise and for her to have to deal with something beyond her years

as for wanting to watch motd, i would of just said tuff

 

[Mummy2B21]

I always thought there was a legal age of 14 before it was legal to leave them home alone?
When i was a kid my parents used to say to me if i didnt want to go somewhere that they want allowed to leave me alone till i was 14 or it might of been 12 cant remember now lol.

 

[Mummy2B21]

Just read there is no legal age :/ wonder what my parents were playing at unless it was there rules lol or its changed.

 

[coccyx]

did i read someone wouldn't leave a 16 year old. Good grief they could be in the army at that age

 

[A3my]

Just read there is no legal age :/ wonder what my parents were playing at unless it was there rules lol or its changed.

I think there's a law about not leaving a child under 16 to babsit another??

 

[MissMandieMitz]

did i read someone wouldn't leave a 16 year old. Good grief they could be in the army at that age

Yup, you read right. I would if absolutely necessary (like emergency with another kid, or spouse) but wouldn't leave him just because it's convenient for the kid or me. You see people all the time leaving their teenagers home alone and then they wonder why their teens are getting pregnant, drinking, smoking, doing drugs, etc.

After all, a 16 year old is still legally a child.