Being a latchkey kid is fun
She gets to have free time at home

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I hated being a latch key kid at that age. Three hours felt SO long. I didn’t want my kids to suffer. I pay for SACC through 6th grade.

In most jurisdictions in the DMV, middle school starts in 6th grade so afterschool care provided by the school isn't a real option. You obviously live in Fairfax. Some have an afterschool program but literally a handful of kids attend and it's not anything robust or real.

Our middle school has after care but it's only used by kids with significant intellectual disabilities.

I doubt that.

Why do you doubt it? I don’t doubt it at all. None of the middle schools here have after care, I’ve never heard of that. After care at the grade school my kids went to - very few 5th graders went. It was mainly k-3rd.

I do think a lot of people have one parent working at home and older kids occupy themselves better. My kids came home on their own in 3rd and 5th grade together, and then the next year 4th grader was home 45m-1 hour before her sister got off the bus. My husband worked nights and was home sleeping (so available for emergencies I guess) so it was a little different but it worked out just fine and went well

We are planning to get an electronic (not wifi!!) keypad on our front door for DD next year (who will be in 7th) to avoid having her stress out about a key. She already has an Apple Watch, so no worries about communication.

PP - adding per seeing other comments, absolutely NO FRIENDS over if parents aren't home. That would be a huge mistake imo. Also I would not want my child at a mother's kids house without adults.

Yes mine comes home alone also 6th grade. When I was 6th grade, I was along with my 2 little brothers. It's fine. Make sure she gets around and knows the route well etc for walking home.

At this point, I would get her a dumb phone with SmS. I also would create a protocol with her. She sends SMS just before leaving school, goes straight home with no stops, then sends another SMS when she is in the house and doors are locked.

Also, we do not answer our doorbell unless we are expecting a visitor and always look to verify who before opening it n

Anonymous wrote:I mean my 4th grader comes home alone since i went back to the office..its been fine. I did get a house phone just in case, but no issues. I would have zero qualms about a 6 grader.

Not all 4th graders are responsible enough to do that. Sadly, or 6th graders.

I mean my 4th grader comes home alone since i went back to the office..its been fine. I did get a house phone just in case, but no issues. I would have zero qualms about a 6 grader.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A lot of posts about independence and how they did it. I’d worry more about her quality of life. Go home alone every day. Sit in the house every day alone for three hours. Parents come home. Eat dinner. Get ready for bed. In the meantime kids are going to fun activities or riding bikes or hanging out with family.

I wouldn’t do that to a child.

There in sixth grade, if they have neighborhood friends, it should be ok for them to go outside. If you trust them to be home alone, they should be trusted to go outside. At least that's what my parents did for me.

When you live in a neighborhood with houses in acre lots and no sidewalks kids aren’t running around. They are usually doing activities or mothers are driving them around.

This is why we deliberately did not move to a neighborhood like that.

Anonymous wrote:Our DS was latchkey starting in 6th grade. He loved it. He’d come home and have a snack and do homework, and sometimes have a neighborhood friend over or play video games on line with them. One of us was usually home within a couple hours of him.

The kids being together in school all day and the kids hanging out after school are two very different things, both being important. Playing video games are more of a social activity with a friend next to you than being online.

My 7th grader has an Apple Watch for comms and we have a keypad so she never forgets a key.

Our DS was latchkey starting in 6th grade. He loved it. He’d come home and have a snack and do homework, and sometimes have a neighborhood friend over or play video games on line with them. One of us was usually home within a couple hours of him.

Anonymous wrote:A lot of posts about independence and how they did it. I’d worry more about her quality of life. Go home alone every day. Sit in the house every day alone for three hours. Parents come home. Eat dinner. Get ready for bed. In the meantime kids are going to fun activities or riding bikes or hanging out with family.

I wouldn’t do that to a child.

Most kids have a better imagination than that. Most adults too.

It's not like Slingblade where they just "kindar sit there and stare at the ground Mhmmm".

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A lot of posts about independence and how they did it. I’d worry more about her quality of life. Go home alone every day. Sit in the house every day alone for three hours. Parents come home. Eat dinner. Get ready for bed. In the meantime kids are going to fun activities or riding bikes or hanging out with family.

I wouldn’t do that to a child.

There in sixth grade, if they have neighborhood friends, it should be ok for them to go outside. If you trust them to be home alone, they should be trusted to go outside. At least that's what my parents did for me.

When you live in a neighborhood with houses in acre lots and no sidewalks kids aren’t running around. They are usually doing activities or mothers are driving them around.

Anonymous wrote:A lot of posts about independence and how they did it. I’d worry more about her quality of life. Go home alone every day. Sit in the house every day alone for three hours. Parents come home. Eat dinner. Get ready for bed. In the meantime kids are going to fun activities or riding bikes or hanging out with family.

I wouldn’t do that to a child.

There in sixth grade, if they have neighborhood friends, it should be ok for them to go outside. If you trust them to be home alone, they should be trusted to go outside. At least that's what my parents did for me.