Would you let your fifteen-year-old spend a night at home alone?
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Anonymous
| I was a good, quiet respectful kid. At 15 I had my boyfriend over after school when my parents were not home. I don’t think they knew I had boyfriend. Are you going to watch her on the security cameras 24/7 and does she know where they are? No way would I let her stay home alone unless grandma promised to do pop in surprise visits and you tell her that. Probably still wouldn’t. |
Anonymous
| Yes alone and double yes with a friend |
Anonymous
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What's she doing during the day?
I've done this when my husband had a medical emergency at 8 PM and I needed to take him to the ER. I left home alone my 15 year old and 12 year old for what ended up being all night. But I was home by dawn. The kids weren't home alone all day and night for several days in a row or anything. I would see if she could stay at her friends' house one night, and with grandma the other night. But where does she go during the day? She's just hanging around the house? I think a 15 year old needs a little more supervision than that. |
Anonymous
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Lol I was the friend in this scenario when I was 15 and I was a good kid. So was the girl I was staying with.
We were so drunk in the evening that we still were drunk in the am when we went to school no one suspected because we were straight A students and leaders at our HS. Good luck OP!! It was fun! |
Anonymous
| Instead of having a friend over why doesn’t she sleep at a friend’s one of the nights? Or both? |
Anonymous
| I was allowed to when I was your daughter's age. Actually, even younger. I typically opted for "home alone" as I always looked forward to having a masturbation marathon... |
Anonymous
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It’s technically illegal in Maryland.
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Anonymous
Yep. |
Anonymous
| I would first see if my DD could spend 2 nights at the friend's house. If that was a no, it would be fine for one of my children to stay home alone, and a not ok for the other. This is 100% child dependent. |
Anonymous
| I did. Got a call from the Police past midnight. |
Anonymous
Why? |
Anonymous
| Alone?? Absolutely |
Anonymous
| Yes I would. If she is a responsible kid and you know the friend, then it is fine. Have grandma check in on her a couple times a day or she goes to grandmas for dinner etc |
Anonymous
Really? For expected reasons, threw party, alcohol, pot, etc.. She invited a couple a friends, they invited a couple others, and so on... She did throw people out and by the time police came there were only 2 kids, she and he buddy(she and my dd were the bright ones who organized it) who was a bit older and also invited a few....One kid got so plastered, smashed my chandelier and ended up in the hospital. My basement reeked of weed, dd got a citation, had to take classes. You know, regular teen stuff. Like so many others here, I too was in disbelief as I was a goody two shoe in HS. |
Anonymous
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We just let our 15 and 17 year olds (rising senior and rising sophomore) stay home alone for the night for the first time. We were about 45 minutes away and we’re gone from 5pm until 10 am. Had a neighbor they could contact in case of emergency. Also, good (well behaved, nerdy, Rule follower) kids. We knew with confidence there would be no parties, etc. It was was fine. And I would have no problem extending then to 24 hours.
The summer they were 16 and 14, we let them stay alone until 2 or 3 am when we went to concerts in Maryland (NOVA based). The summers before that, from 14 & 12 upward, as late as 11-12 for a Wolftrap concerts, movies, etc. This progression has been very much in line with what their friends parents have been doing. I felt better because they were together. In fact, we moved our overnight so they were both home from camp. If you are in Fairfax County, I would be hesitant to do it at 15 because the Fairfax County guidelines are you can’t stay alone overnight until 16. They aren’t binding, but if something goes wrong, I’d be concerned about CPS getting involved. https://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/familyservices/children-youth/child-supervision-guidelines Otherwise, ask: how late at night has she been alone before, how often, how did she react, is she an anxious kid, is she trustworthy, how close by is grandma and can she come at 2 am in case of a problem? I’d this a reasonable step upwards in independence or too big? Is she ready? Asking for a friends implies she might be a little scared about being alone. Under no circumstances would I let someone’s else’s kid stay with my 15 year old. As PP said, grandma could stay at your house for a night or two. |