Age to leave child alone sleeping in hotel room to go downstairs?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We bring our Ring Stick camera and do this. Our phone is set to notify us of any motion or sounds. Super easy to keep tabs and check on them while they sleep. What else are we going to do for 3-4 hours when our kid goes to bed at 6pm when we are on the West Coast?

Oh, I don’t know. Read a book, have a drink in the room, be a parent. I know, hard to fill in those hours.

Some kids won't sleep if there is light or any noise in the room. So if your kid goes to sleep at 6 or 7 pm, that means you and your partner have to sit silently in the dark until you, too go to sleep. It sucks.

Though this is why, when our kid was that age, we either did hotel suites or got Airbnbs. We only did just a regular hotel room a few times and it was miserable. One of those times (kid was around 18mo I think) we tried to just sit and read in bed until she fell asleep. Ha! The excitement of the hotel room plus having a light on meant she was absolutely bouncing off the walls. We really did have to turn off all the lights and just go to sleep at 8:30pm or she was just not going to go to sleep. But that was when we were driving cross country and had limited options for where we could stay. If we had a choice at all, we'd pick something with more than one room. Or even just a balcony or something -- just somewhere we can go and talk and have a drink or something while our kid sleeps.

But I don't think OP is talking about little kids. I don't know anyone who would leave a baby or toddler alone in a hotel room and go down to the lobby. Once our kid was 5 or 6, we just let her stay up late when we stay at hotels. We'd go out to dinner and then walk around for a bit or get dessert somewhere, and by the time we got back to the room she'd be ready to pass out and we could still stay up and talk, read, even watch TV without her waking up.

Which is why you get a 1 or 2 bedroom so you don't have to sit silently.

[Anonymous]

Not spending every waking moment with your teen on vacation = not wanting to parent? Huh.

[Anonymous]

I know people who left a baby alone in a room with a phone line open (one phone left in the room and one with them at dinner). The kid was maybe 2. I was horrified. But I am likely to leave my tweens with a phone and grab a cocktail with my husband. They want to chill on their iPads and I want to enjoy the hotel. They can flip the deadbolt. It’s fine. Chill out.

[Anonymous]

There is someone (or maybe more than one) who takes almost any mention of alcohol as an opportunity to accuse someone of being an alcoholic.

Unfortunately, I've dealt with alcoholism in my immediate family, so I certainly understand if you have trauma related to drinking and know your pain. But the mere mention of a drink doesn't warrant you throwing out snide comments about alcoholism and AA. Or maybe you're a dry drunk?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There is someone (or maybe more than one) who takes almost any mention of alcohol as an opportunity to accuse someone of being an alcoholic.

Unfortunately, I've dealt with alcoholism in my immediate family, so I certainly understand if you have trauma related to drinking and know your pain. But the mere mention of a drink doesn't warrant you throwing out snide comments about alcoholism and AA. Or maybe you're a dry drunk?

I think it’s prob more the question can read that getting down to the bar seems more about parent wants (quiet adult time) than child safety. It’s worded in a way that people are finding different tones on it. TBH I think the answer is really kid/age dependent. A middle schooler and older will handle it differently than an elem or younger kid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:At what age can a person stay in a hotel room alone for a few hours? That is the question.

There are age requirements in many states that a child must be supervised. Maryland is age 13.

So that's a good age when you can let someone stay alone in a hotel room for a few hours?

[Anonymous]

Wow, I’m not reading 15 pages of this, but I can’t believe how uptight most of dcum is.

Didn’t you all go on class trips and stay in hotel rooms without adults? I recall being 11-12 in a room with friends. What’s wrong with that?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Wow, I’m not reading 15 pages of this, but I can’t believe how uptight most of dcum is.

Didn’t you all go on class trips and stay in hotel rooms without adults? I recall being 11-12 in a room with friends. What’s wrong with that?

No I did not go on class trips and stay in hotel rooms at that age.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Not spending every waking moment with your teen on vacation = not wanting to parent? Huh.

No one said spending every waking moment with your teen. Nice attempt at twisting it.

[Anonymous]

Some people on this post err on the side of hysterical.

Obviously, a 3-year-old should not be left alone. At a certain point though, it really depends on the child, but generally, I think 12 is fine, especially if there are some ground rules and they have a phone.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There is someone (or maybe more than one) who takes almost any mention of alcohol as an opportunity to accuse someone of being an alcoholic.

Unfortunately, I've dealt with alcoholism in my immediate family, so I certainly understand if you have trauma related to drinking and know your pain. But the mere mention of a drink doesn't warrant you throwing out snide comments about alcoholism and AA. Or maybe you're a dry drunk?

If a person cannot stay without a drink one night at a bar, I think that warrants an assumption of an alcoholic issue.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Some people on this post err on the side of hysterical.

Obviously, a 3-year-old should not be left alone. At a certain point though, it really depends on the child, but generally, I think 12 is fine, especially if there are some ground rules and they have a phone.

Or have a drink brought up to the room. There’s an idea!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There is someone (or maybe more than one) who takes almost any mention of alcohol as an opportunity to accuse someone of being an alcoholic.

Unfortunately, I've dealt with alcoholism in my immediate family, so I certainly understand if you have trauma related to drinking and know your pain. But the mere mention of a drink doesn't warrant you throwing out snide comments about alcoholism and AA. Or maybe you're a dry drunk?

If a person cannot stay without a drink one night at a bar, I think that warrants an assumption of an alcoholic issue.

It seems it's more about quiet time/adult time and less about alcohol. I am sorry you've been hurt.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:At what age would you feel comfortable with putting a kid to sleep in a hotel room and then going downstairs in the same building to get a drink or hang out in a lounge? Assume kid has a phone and knows how to call the adults in an emergency….

I did this with my kids when they were 8 or 9.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There is someone (or maybe more than one) who takes almost any mention of alcohol as an opportunity to accuse someone of being an alcoholic.

Unfortunately, I've dealt with alcoholism in my immediate family, so I certainly understand if you have trauma related to drinking and know your pain. But the mere mention of a drink doesn't warrant you throwing out snide comments about alcoholism and AA. Or maybe you're a dry drunk?

If a person cannot stay without a drink one night at a bar, I think that warrants an assumption of an alcoholic issue.

It seems it's more about quiet time/adult time and less about alcohol. I am sorry you've been hurt.

Never hurt, but nice try. Quiet time can come at an appropriate place and time. I am sorry you’ve been inconvenienced by your children.