At what age could your kid be alone/be alone after school?
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Anonymous
| Title pretty much says it all. We’re getting DD 10 (11 this summer) a phone soon, and as she goes into middle school next year, thinking about what age she could let herself in after school a night or two a week. DH and I can work our work from home schedules around this issue a bit, but I’m thinking there will be some evenings when she gets home first. |
Anonymous
| She’s a young 5th grader. I think it depends on how comfortable she is with it. I have a 10 year old and I leave him for a bit. Not sure I’d leave him from 3-6 daily. |
Anonymous
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DS1 - 7
DD1 - 8 DD2 - 7 DD3 - 9 (there were so many older kids around it didn't even come up until then). |
Anonymous
| 8 |
Anonymous
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I've been loosely following the Fairfax County guidelines (I say loosely because I have left my responsible 8yo home alone for a half hour here or there while I run her sibling to something):
8 years old and younger should always be in the care of a responsible person. Children this age should never be left unsupervised in homes, cars, playgrounds or yards. 9-10 years old may be ready to be left unsupervised up to 1.5 hours during daylight and early evening hours. 11-12 years old may be ready to be left unsupervised up to 3 hours during daylight and early evening hours. 13-15 years old may be ready to be left unsupervised more than three hours but not overnight. 16 years old and older may be ready to be left unsupervised overnight for one to two days, with a plan in place. |
Anonymous
| I think 11 is a really reasonable age for this. Pandemic and close in age siblings impacted my choices, but in the situation you describe if it’s usually not more than a couple hours and doesn’t involve cooking, I think it’s fine. |
Anonymous
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Make sure they know basic things like metal can’t go in the microwave *because it will catch fire or explode* or plastic wrap and to automatically lock the front door behind them. What they may not use ex. knives/matches/stove
If they are allowed to have friends over, go outside to play/ride bikes etc. These may or may not be things I did when I was left home alone at that age. |
Anonymous
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10-11 is a reasonable age to start being alone for short periods. Start small and work up. First, have her stay in the house while you go out for a quick 5-10 minute walk around the neighborhood. Then run a 15-20 minute errand (taking your phone with you). Once you and your DD are comfortable with that, try a longer excursion such as grocery shopping or meeting a friend for coffee.
By the time she gets to middle school, she’ll be ready. Set clear expectations around homework, snacking, screen time, playing with friends, etc. Review basic home safety and first aid. Have a list of neighbors and emergency contacts. |
Anonymous
| 11 for a responsible child who feels comfortable with it. For us this coincided with starting middle school/6th grade. |
Anonymous
Leaving 7 yr olds home alone could get you a CPS visit and a lot of trouble. Not safe |
Anonymous
| Once kids hit middle school there arent really many options except for kids to be home alone. |
Anonymous
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10-11 on a regular basis.
8-9 for more occasional occurrences and/or short time (getting home 20min before me and letting self in, for example) |
Anonymous
My 11 year old 7th grader was home by 2:45. He had no choice but to be home solo for a few hours. |
Anonymous
Totally not worried about it. Firstly, they are no longer these ages. secondly, nobody was paying attention to the point of calling CPS. You suburban people are such busybodies. |
Anonymous
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We leave our 11yo DD ( 6th grade) home every other Friday for 3 hours. She’s fine.
We need 2 additional days per week though and hire a sitter for those days. She had stated although she’s ok being alone sometimes she likes having the company the other days. We started leaving her at 8 for 10-15 mins and built up to 3 hours gradually. |