Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:8 seems to be the generally accepted age in all jurisdictions around here. Depends on the kid and in your case, sounds more than fine. My older one is 6.5 and I am sure by 8, I would be willing to leave him home for a short period like that but I have a feeling he will be too scared to be home alone even for 10 minutes! I look forward to not having to drag out a sick kid to take the other one to the bus, etc.

In Loudoun the age is 10.

Lots of SAH helicopters up in those parts I guess. I mean really, 10yrs old? Why are we babying our kids.

Anonymous wrote:I would NOT, not worth the risk.

More likely to die in a car accident than sitting on the coach for 10min watching TV.

But my guess is there could be a robber, a molester, a gas leak, lightning strike, the kid could have a seizure or heart attack, etc... right?

Anonymous wrote:A neighbor started leaving her 8 year old home every day after school from 3:30-6. Not a great idea but legal.

Why is it not a great idea? Has something gone wrong, or the kid needed to come to you for help with a problem or something? If so I agree that's definitely a sign that they're in over their head. Otherwise, if an individual kid is able to handle it, that seems reasonable to me. I wouldn't leave an 8 year old alone during the later evening or night hours unless they were asleep the whole time, but after school would have been okay for most of my kids at that age.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:8 seems to be the generally accepted age in all jurisdictions around here. Depends on the kid and in your case, sounds more than fine. My older one is 6.5 and I am sure by 8, I would be willing to leave him home for a short period like that but I have a feeling he will be too scared to be home alone even for 10 minutes! I look forward to not having to drag out a sick kid to take the other one to the bus, etc.

In Loudoun the age is 10.

And in Arlington it's 9. I know my 8 yo is more than capable of being home by himself for 20 minutes, but I stick with the county guideline because I don't need the hassle of some nosy nellie reporting me and having to justify why I didn't comply with their guidance.

OP, I think you were fine.

And really, you'd have gotten skewered on this site if you had done either of the following:
- Left your 8yo alone in the car for 5 minutes while walking younger kid into school (if you drove)
- Brought a sick kid into the school while dropping off the other, potentially spreading his illness to the other classmates

So really, you did the only rational thing. I've done the same with my 8yo.

A neighbor started leaving her 8 year old home every day after school from 3:30-6. Not a great idea but legal.

Anonymous wrote:8 seems to be the generally accepted age in all jurisdictions around here. Depends on the kid and in your case, sounds more than fine. My older one is 6.5 and I am sure by 8, I would be willing to leave him home for a short period like that but I have a feeling he will be too scared to be home alone even for 10 minutes! I look forward to not having to drag out a sick kid to take the other one to the bus, etc.

In Loudoun the age is 10.

We started letting her stay home alone for up to 20 minutes or so at age 9.

We had a lot of talks about being safe. While she is home alone, don't use the stove, don't stand on a ladder to change a light bulb, don't take a shower because you could fall and hit your head getting out of the tub. Don't leave the house. Just sit and watch TV or read a book.

And don't tell people that you are allowed to be home alone. Most people are nice, but if you tell your friend you are allowed to be home alone, the friend might tell their mom, who might tell her sister, who might tell her husband, who might tell their dog walker, who might tell their yard guy, and maybe the yard guy is a creepy bad guy who now knows that you are allowed to be home alone. So to be safe it is best to just not tell anyone.

We started at 8 in a similar situation. DS was so sick I didn't want to make him come on the quick ride to take his sister to school. It worked out fine and we slowly started leaving him alone during the day for other times we needed to drop her off or for quick errands. He doesn't answer the phone or door but knows my cell number. We have a land line and are in Fairfax County.

For 10 minutes while your poor kid is sick?! Absolutely fine as long as both he and you have a phone. For a responsible kid at that age, I'd say up to an hour... but, really, you know your own kid. (And, if actually feeling poorly, kids are less likely to get up to mischief, so that probably helps.)

Obviously you are a caring parent otherwise you wouldn't think to question this decision. As many other commenters have said, check with the laws in your area. If you are following the law then you will not have to fear neighbors, Child protective services, etc. if it is legal, you must use your parenting intuition. If it makes you uncomfortable for whatever reason, don't do it. Outside of the law only you can know how to best parent your child.

With our younger child, I would be comfortable doing what the OP did. With the older child, I would not. She's impulsive and generally a tougher child to manage behavior wise.

We started at 9, and our son is special needs. We started out slowly, but now as a teen, he stays alone for a couple hours at a time.

I leave my 8 YO at home for 15 or 20 minutes to pick up younger child or run to the grocery store (right around the corner). Totally fine. I also run all the drills about whom to call, don't open the door, etc. I think it builds their confidence to have a bit of independence.

8 seems to be the generally accepted age in all jurisdictions around here. Depends on the kid and in your case, sounds more than fine. My older one is 6.5 and I am sure by 8, I would be willing to leave him home for a short period like that but I have a feeling he will be too scared to be home alone even for 10 minutes! I look forward to not having to drag out a sick kid to take the other one to the bus, etc.