I had no problem leaving my now 9 yr old home for an hour or two. She is very responsible and manages well. We do have a landline but she has never needed to call while alone. She has stayed home alone for short times for a year or so. Her younger brother will be 8 this fall and there is no way I can leave him alone unfortunately. He is impulsive and scattered and thinks after he acts. Great kid but not responsible. He is very creative....I can only imagine what I would come home to!

I stayed alone for a few hours from age 9 or so. By age 11 or so, I stayed alone with my younger sister (6 year age difference). We didn't do anything bad, unless you count watching excessive amounts of Bonanza reruns.

Anonymous wrote:pretty sure the age is 12 but could be wrong. For what it is worth, I was left alone at 8. Nothing good ever came from that. But lots of bad did.

source?

Depends on the child. I would not leave my 10 year old home alone at all. He wouldn't want to be alone for starters and I just don't think he is mature enough. That isn't to say that your 8.5 year old couldn't be left alone for short periods of time.

pretty sure the age is 12 but could be wrong. For what it is worth, I was left alone at 8. Nothing good ever came from that. But lots of bad did.

I have started doing this with my 8.5 yr old. I run to pick up the pizza (doesn't deliver to my house) and she stays home. I take sibling to his class and DH is expected home in a short time. Never at night. There was a time when she didn't want to be alone in the house (when she was 6, 7 yrs. old), but now she likes knowing that she can have some independent time.

I also factor in that she is a rule-follower and not a wild child. She's not necessarily super mature, but this is good practice for her to know that she is o.k. even if no one is around.

When I started leaving DD home alone at that age, she also did not have a cell phone, and we've never had a landline. But we knew our neighbors well, and she knew that she could always knock on someone's door and ask to use their phone. She did that a couple of times, and no one, not even neighbors we've had conflicts with in the past, ever refused her or gave me a hard time about it. (Nothing bad happened. I was a few minutes late and she got worried.)

This is a big part of why we still have a land line...

Yes, I'd say a phone is a must.

tks all.

would you say phone is a must? we don't have land line anymore and he obviously doesn't have a cellphone...

Anonymous wrote:30 minutes for an 8.5 year old is fine!

Yup. Totally fine, and probably good for you both to start "breaking her in" to being more independent.

If you and your child are both comfortable with the arrangement and s/he has contact #s and a phone in case of emergency, it should be fine, and a good way to encourage self-sufficiency.

30 minutes for an 8.5 year old is fine!

http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/dfs/childrenyouth/supervision_eng.htm

The following represent minimally acceptable standards for the supervision of children. These guidelines have been developed by social work professionals in collaboration with the community. REMEMBER, they are guidelines only.

There may be situations, even within these guidelines, when it is not safe to leave a child unsupervised. Parents are ultimately responsible for making decisions about their child’s safety.

this according to wikianswers... can anyone confirm? i'm thinking of leaving my 8.5-yo home for about 30-min while picking up my #2. tks.