How old was your child when you allowed them to stay alone with a mild illness?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Till they're in college. It's an over-correction for my own mother who was never really "there" when we were young.

FYI, we mock you at work.

Employee 1 - "Where's Kate today?"
Employee 2 - "Jake ran out of breastmilk, so she went home."
Entire Office - Laughs

Jake is 17! He can stay home with his fever. Cut the damn cord already.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Till they're in college. It's an over-correction for my own mother who was never really "there" when we were young.

My mother was suffocating that way. I moved across the country from her and rarely talk to her.
My friends made fun of me. I recall one fun day where my friends bet me $10 I wouldn't cross the street (quiet side street in residential neighborhood).

[Anonymous]

10.

DH & I both call a few times & one of us comes home at lunch time to check up on her.

[Anonymous]

13

[Anonymous]

OP, thanks again. Honestly, I thought I would see many posts about how awful I was for thinking of it. As I mentioned, he will be 13 on Thursday, and is very responsible, so I am sure he'd be ok. Hopefully he will be well tomorrow.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, thanks again. Honestly, I thought I would see many posts about how awful I was for thinking of it. As I mentioned, he will be 13 on Thursday, and is very responsible, so I am sure he'd be ok. Hopefully he will be well tomorrow.

To make you feel even better-- I would feel comfortable at around age twelve. He should be fine and I was left much younger. (My mom was a single mom-- no choice except get fired). I was fine- tv and sleep all day.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Every kid is different, but we felt comfortable leaving DD home alone in this situation at 11 or so, and I believe most of our friends did similarly with their kids.

Same. DD was 10 and never minded staying home. I had already agreed to chaparone DS's school field trip that day, so I had to go for that. DD was fine.

[Anonymous]

20:51 here again... but it would totally depend on how sick the child at home is. If they are fine watching tv, then I'd be o.k. If they are not stable and need emotional care or physical care, then I wouldn't leave them alone at any age.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, thanks again. Honestly, I thought I would see many posts about how awful I was for thinking of it. As I mentioned, he will be 13 on Thursday, and is very responsible, so I am sure he'd be ok. Hopefully he will be well tomorrow.

I would be comfortable with it. I would call every so often if possible, and if DH could stop by at lunch, that would be good. If not, that is ok too. Leave food and a couple of emergency numbers for him.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:20:51 here again... but it would totally depend on how sick the child at home is. If they are fine watching tv, then I'd be o.k. If they are not stable and need emotional care or physical care, then I wouldn't leave them alone at any age.

OP here, totally agree. Today he needed me to do only basic things that I gladly did since I was home. No fever since 4 am so fingers crossed. I picture the flu or anything with vomiting or really high temp, and I'd take off, regardless of leave availability.

[Anonymous]

I pulled the below information from the following website: http://family.findlaw.com/parental-rights-and-liability/when-can-you-leave-a-child-home-alone-.html. It also includes information about assessing your child's maturity for the purposes of determining whether they are ready to be left alone.

Laws for Leaving a Child Home Alone

Only a couple of states have laws that specify the age when a child can be left home alone, including Maryland (age 8) and Illinois (age 14). However, most states have guidelines with the Department of Health and Human Services or other child protective agencies that test a child's ability to be left home alone. Factors may include the child's age and maturity, the overall safety of the surrounding area/circumstances, and arrangements made to secure the child's safety.

Below are general guidelines to follow when considering the age range for leaving a child home alone.

7 & under - Should not be left alone for any period of time. This may include leaving children unattended in cars, playgrounds, and backyards. The determining consideration would be the dangers in the environment and the ability of the caretaker to intervene.

8 to 10 years - Should not be left alone for more than 1½ hours and only during daylight and early evening hours.

11 to 12 years - May be left alone for up to 3 hours but not late at night or in circumstances requiring inappropriate responsibility.

13 to 15 years - May be left unsupervised, but not overnight.

16 to 17 years - May be left unsupervised (in some cases, for up to two consecutive overnight periods).

[Anonymous]

I left my 10 year old home alone for 3 hours yesterday. She woke up feeling nauseated and with a pounding headache but it had mostly subsided by noon. I had an important meeting at work so I went in for a while. She was fine and when I called her from the office she actually said "I think I'm ok to go to school" (!!!) I didn't send her in. Now, if she was still puking or with a high fever I would not have left her.

[Anonymous]

10. 2.5 hours. Not puking; just a very bad cold. I called twice to check in, he had my number and I was only about 6 blocks away from home

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I pulled the below information from the following website: http://family.findlaw.com/parental-rights-and-liability/when-can-you-leave-a-child-home-alone-.html. It also includes information about assessing your child's maturity for the purposes of determining whether they are ready to be left alone.

Laws for Leaving a Child Home Alone

Only a couple of states have laws that specify the age when a child can be left home alone, including Maryland (age 8) and Illinois (age 14). However, most states have guidelines with the Department of Health and Human Services or other child protective agencies that test a child's ability to be left home alone. Factors may include the child's age and maturity, the overall safety of the surrounding area/circumstances, and arrangements made to secure the child's safety.

Below are general guidelines to follow when considering the age range for leaving a child home alone.

7 & under - Should not be left alone for any period of time. This may include leaving children unattended in cars, playgrounds, and backyards. The determining consideration would be the dangers in the environment and the ability of the caretaker to intervene.

8 to 10 years - Should not be left alone for more than 1½ hours and only during daylight and early evening hours.

11 to 12 years - May be left alone for up to 3 hours but not late at night or in circumstances requiring inappropriate responsibility.

13 to 15 years - May be left unsupervised, but not overnight.

16 to 17 years - May be left unsupervised (in some cases, for up to two consecutive overnight periods).

These guidelines fit my kids who are all between 9 and 15. We recently had to leave our slightly sick 9 yo home alone during the workday. She was on the couch in front of Netflix and my DH was came home every few hours to check on her. She had the cordless phone next to her and called me at work whenever she wanted, which was about every 2 hours.

[Anonymous]

Me and my siblings stayed home with mild illnesses at 10 during work days and even earlier for an hour or so when my parents were off work but had stuff to do (buy groceries, run errands etc.) As long as someone is ready to come home when your kid asks for it it's fine - just make sure phones are charged, phone numbers are at the ready and have the kid rest.