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

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=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).
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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. [/quote]

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