At what age could your kid be alone/be alone after school?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Weren’t you all latch key kids?

I mean NYC kids take the subway to school alone by 3rd grade.

Middle schoolers babysit. Stop the coddling

Agree!

We give these kids phones with unlimited internet and social media, but don’t think they are old enough to be home alone?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DS1 - 7
DD1 - 8
DD2 - 7
DD3 - 9 (there were so many older kids around it didn't even come up until then).

I think it's fair for people to point out that it's illegal to leave a 7 yo alone at home. Because it really is illegal. I know people do this when they can't afford child care, but it's risky. If some emergency happened at the home and the police found out, CPS would have been all over it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Weren’t you all latch key kids?

I mean NYC kids take the subway to school alone by 3rd grade.

Middle schoolers babysit. Stop the coddling

Agree!

We give these kids phones with unlimited internet and social media, but don’t think they are old enough to be home alone?

Who are you even talking to? The only objections in this thread were about leaving a 7yo without a babysitter.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Weren’t you all latch key kids?

I mean NYC kids take the subway to school alone by 3rd grade.

Middle schoolers babysit. Stop the coddling

No they don’t. If grades 3-6 live more than a mile they get a school bus. They don’t get bus transportation if they are less than 1.2 mile.

Parents walk them the short distance to school. If not they will accompany their kids or arrange and pay for their own transportation. You will not see 7 and 8 year olds on the subway alone as a rule.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:11.

+1. My 11yo 6th grader comes home to an empty house several times per week. No cooking, no friends over, no TV.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DS1 - 7
DD1 - 8
DD2 - 7
DD3 - 9 (there were so many older kids around it didn't even come up until then).

I think it's fair for people to point out that it's illegal to leave a 7 yo alone at home. Because it really is illegal. I know people do this when they can't afford child care, but it's risky. If some emergency happened at the home and the police found out, CPS would have been all over it.

Kids are left home all the time. Single mothers going to work or to go get high. But accidents happen. Studies show that children under the age of 10 typically hide under their bed when they are scared. I would hate for there to be a fire or something and a child dies because no adult was there to take charge and get the children out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Weren’t you all latch key kids?

I mean NYC kids take the subway to school alone by 3rd grade.

Middle schoolers babysit. Stop the coddling

Agree!

We give these kids phones with unlimited internet and social media, but don’t think they are old enough to be home alone?

Agree. I, however, would allow my kid to go outside with friends if they have friends in the neighborhood. This worked for me as a kid, I can't imagine trusting my kid to be home alone, but not be with friends. I'd have them call me at work to let me know what they're doing though.

[Anonymous]

Oldest - 9/10 depending on how long. Not bc she wasn’t ready just with 2 kids it didn’t come up much that it was just her.

At 8 and 11 my two came home after school together.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Once kids hit middle school there arent really many options except for kids to be home alone.

My 11 year old 7th grader was home by 2:45. He had no choice but to be home solo for a few hours.

Not judging you because you know you’re kid. But there are always choices. I’m the above PP that pays a sitter. Yes it costs money but it’s what we do to not leave DD alone when she doesn’t want to be left that frequently.

Seems a little silly to pay a sitter for a middle schooler. If she wants company, seems like it would make more sense to have her do after school clubs/sports ?

I also think it’s ok to push kids to do things they might initially be uncomfortable with.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Weren’t you all latch key kids?

I mean NYC kids take the subway to school alone by 3rd grade.

Middle schoolers babysit. Stop the coddling

No they don’t. If grades 3-6 live more than a mile they get a school bus. They don’t get bus transportation if they are less than 1.2 mile.

Parents walk them the short distance to school. If not they will accompany their kids or arrange and pay for their own transportation. You will not see 7 and 8 year olds on the subway alone as a rule.

There are no yellow school buses in Manhattan.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DS1 - 7
DD1 - 8
DD2 - 7
DD3 - 9 (there were so many older kids around it didn't even come up until then).

I think it's fair for people to point out that it's illegal to leave a 7 yo alone at home. Because it really is illegal. I know people do this when they can't afford child care, but it's risky. If some emergency happened at the home and the police found out, CPS would have been all over it.

No, it's actually not illegal. Maybe it is where you live, but not where I live. And obviously I wouldn't leave my kids home alone at any age unless I thought they could handle anything that comes up.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Weren’t you all latch key kids?

I mean NYC kids take the subway to school alone by 3rd grade.

Middle schoolers babysit. Stop the coddling

No they don’t. If grades 3-6 live more than a mile they get a school bus. They don’t get bus transportation if they are less than 1.2 mile.

Parents walk them the short distance to school. If not they will accompany their kids or arrange and pay for their own transportation. You will not see 7 and 8 year olds on the subway alone as a rule.

Parent cards stop after 2nd grade and most kids just go with other kids and yes they are on the subway without parents. So they would be 8-9 at the youngest but still happen all of the time

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DS1 - 7
DD1 - 8
DD2 - 7
DD3 - 9 (there were so many older kids around it didn't even come up until then).

I think it's fair for people to point out that it's illegal to leave a 7 yo alone at home. Because it really is illegal. I know people do this when they can't afford child care, but it's risky. If some emergency happened at the home and the police found out, CPS would have been all over it.

Kids are left home all the time. Single mothers going to work or to go get high. But accidents happen. Studies show that children under the age of 10 typically hide under their bed when they are scared. I would hate for there to be a fire or something and a child dies because no adult was there to take charge and get the children out.

How many stories have your heard about a 9 year old died under their bed during a house fire. Your kid is 1000x more likely to die of an active shooter at school. Being at home alone is SAFER than school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Weren’t you all latch key kids?

I mean NYC kids take the subway to school alone by 3rd grade.

Middle schoolers babysit. Stop the coddling

No they don’t. If grades 3-6 live more than a mile they get a school bus. They don’t get bus transportation if they are less than 1.2 mile.

Parents walk them the short distance to school. If not they will accompany their kids or arrange and pay for their own transportation. You will not see 7 and 8 year olds on the subway alone as a rule.

There are no yellow school buses in Manhattan.

Since you won’t take my word for it, this comes from NYC.gov

[b][i] Students are assigned a Yellow School Bus if: The student is in grades K-6. The student lives in the same district as the school (if attending a public school) or the same borough

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Weren’t you all latch key kids?

I mean NYC kids take the subway to school alone by 3rd grade.

Middle schoolers babysit. Stop the coddling

No they don’t. If grades 3-6 live more than a mile they get a school bus. They don’t get bus transportation if they are less than 1.2 mile.

Parents walk them the short distance to school. If not they will accompany their kids or arrange and pay for their own transportation. You will not see 7 and 8 year olds on the subway alone as a rule.

Parent cards stop after 2nd grade and most kids just go with other kids and yes they are on the subway without parents. So they would be 8-9 at the youngest but still happen all of the time

You are saying nothing. “most kids just go with other kids”. What kids? How many? What percentage? Which subway do you ride that see all these small children riding alone.