Home Alone . . . Acceptable at What Age?
When is it considered okay to leave a child home alone? Ten? Twelve? Sixteen? That was the central question in a recent New York Times story which asked a number of parents and “safety experts” what they thought. Many of the parents quoted in the story began leaving their children home at around 10-11 years old, but took pains to say that it really depends on the maturity level of the kid. There’s no real agreement on the matter and both sides often get pretty heated.
A friend of mine, who is starting a new job next month in a high school, is planning on letting her grade school-aged boys stay home alone after school for the 20-minute or so gap in between the time the bus drops them off and the time she gets home from work. If she’s in a pinch, she knows plenty of parents in her neighborhood who could pitch in if needed. Given the temperaments of her boys, she believes this arrangement will work out well.
However readers commenting on the Times story were all over the map about their thoughts on this subject. For every person who said that he or she was left alone when they were 10 or older and that we have to stop coddling this generation of children, there were comments like this one:
“Yes, please leave your children home alone. Also please leave your internet on all the time so they can chat with whoever about whatever. And give them a little freedom to the booze and pills so they can learn what it’s like to be an adult.”
What do you think about leaving kids home alone? Is there a certain target age at which you think it’d be okay? Does a kid’s maturity level play into it, if so, how much?
Author and columnist Meredith O'Brien gives you a peek behind the picket fences of modern day life and parenting in the 'burbs. With humor and candor, it's her take on real parenting in the real world.
[...] Meredith O’Brien talks about a friend who has decided to let her grade school-aged boys stay home alone after school for the 20-minute or so gap in between the time the bus drops them off and the time she gets home from work. [...]
Pingback by Home Alone: When can I stop paying the babysitter?! « PRmom: Where’s the Manual? — August 15, 2008 @ 9:20 am
I had older sisters who were supposed to watch me after school. I can remember at 10 years old getting off the bus and rushing home to watch Luke & Laura’s wedding on General Hospital because my sisters were watching it.
I also babysat for two small children every day for an entire summer when I was 12. The mom worked and didn’t have a whole lot of options. Now that I am a mom I can’t imagine doing that, but I also don’t remember enough about her situation.
I think you do what you have to and every parent, child and family is different. When school gets out at 2pm, most working parents are just getting back from lunch. The schedules simply don’t sync.
Comment by Erin — August 18, 2008 @ 5:48 pm