I probably could leave my 3.5 yr old for more than a few minutes but I just don’t feel comfortable. He plays in his room for longer alone but it’s a single story and I’m outside his room.

I could put mine in a pack and play for up to 30 min (with toys and books and check ins) up until 24 months. But ... she never tried to climb out so that helped.

As far as playing in her room solo upstairs and me being downstairs? We started at age 3. And still have furniture secured to the wall and the upstairs generally child proofed (locks still on medicine cabinet etc).

It depends on the situation. We have a tiny house so we could hear everything and we baby proofed everything. But, even if they roamed they're never far.

Anonymous wrote:I turn my back for 30 seconds to change the clothes in the washer over to the dryer, and my 3 year old dashes into the kitchen, opens the fridge and get out a carton of milk, climbs the drawers to the cabinet and grabs the box of cookies, then opens the dishwasher to get a clean plate and a cup. Seriously. I don’t even know what he would do if I left him alone for 10 min.

My 18 month old is like this. I cannot leave that child alone for a minute. He is just too freaking curious. I'm kind of in awe at some of these other kids!

With my older DD, we were able to do this shortly after she turned 2. My younger DD isn't quite 2 yet, but she's a climber, so I likely won't be comfortable doing that any time soon with her.
This is very kid-dependent.