How long do you allow your 9.5 year old to stay home on their own?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Zero minutes. Too young. Started at age 11.

Same here, but we seem to be in the minority.

Same here. 9.5 year old DD who is very responsible and we do not leave her at home alone at all. Neighbors with similar aged kids are the same.

[Anonymous]

1-2 hours. We have a landline and there are a lot of neighbors he could go to if needed.

[Anonymous]

Older one loves being alone so no real limit on how long. He came home from school and had a couple hours on his own most days from about 8 on. He gets the choice to stay home or come with us for grocery runs or whatever and always chooses to stay home.

Younger one hates being home alone. She is now almost ten and if she is home alone she will FaceTime her grandma or an aunt or someone to talk to her until someone gets home. She always opts to come with us. I am waiting for the day she is okay staying home alone! She is a non stop chatterbox and a Costco trip by myself would feel like a 5 star vacation some days!

[Anonymous]

I will add that while she doesn’t like being home alone, she is out with her neighborhood friends most of the day on weekends. We might not see her for hours. There are 3 other girls her age and they play and go to the park and she is very comfortable with that.

[Anonymous]

I just started leaving my 8 year old for short 30 minute periods. I go to the grocery store which is a 5 minute walk away. I'm not sure I would feel comfortable driving somewhere while she is alone.

We live in an apartment building where we know lots of our neighbors. My child is on the tablet and has access to messenger if she needs to reach me and knows not to open the door.

[Anonymous]

Depends on the kid. What is their experience so far with being home alone - duration, circumstances, were they nervous or chill, any safety or behavior concerns? We could do about 2-3 hours with two of our kids at age 9-10, but one of ours was too impulsive at that age so we didn't go much over an hour. I would start slow and prepare the kid to slowly extend the time alone.

[Anonymous]

Never. Kid is not comfortable being alone.