OT: Leaving kids alone

A little off topic but here goes...
At what age is it appropriate to leave your kids alone? My son is 11 years old and very mature for his age. He is very street smart and well informed and educated about strangers and rules etc. He will be alone for 2 hours today over at my mom's house. He's been left alone before for short periods of time and fully trust him. He was flying at 6 years old by himself on a court ordered visitation to see his dad when he was little. (It was a 1 hour flight non stop from So Cal to Nor Cal). Anyway, as I sit here at work I wonder if 11 years is too young to be alone for 2 hours? I think it's just my hormones going crazy. He's almost 12. I know when I was that age I would be left alone for short periods of time as well. He is fully comfortable and confident about it. And I wanted to add that every child is different and I do know some 11 year olds who definately shouldn't be left alone at that age. I guess I just answered my own question. LOL

Personally I think it is what you are comfortable with. If you are confident that he will be fine I think that is okay. My mom started leaving me alone at home around that age (but I wasn't allowed to walk home from school alone...about 13 blocks until I was in 7th grade lol). We just had set rules...don't answer the door, dont tell anyone who called I was home alone, dont use the stove (only microwave was okay), no company, and if anything happened I had a long list of contacts I could call besides the obvious parents.

So overall I think it is fine if your confident he will be fine and he doesnt mind being left alone. He'll prob jus****ch tv or play video games the entire time anyways lol.

Simone

When I was thaat age, I was left alone and walked to school alone.

I have an 11 year old. He will be 12 in February. I haven't left him alone yet. I feel like I could, but it's law in my area/state (not sure which) that he has to be 13.

Hi Jaime,

My son is going to be 11 in June.  I have left him alone many times.  He knows not to answer the door or the phone unless it's me.  The law in our state is 10 years old.  I try not to leave him alone for long periods of time, but it has happened.  He has been fine and he will call and check in with me every so often. 

Bambi

The babysitting class in our state is for kids 11 and older so I think he should be fine. My state does not have a rule it just says that they need to be responsible.

I have 3 ten year olds, I have left then home alone together and individually, it seems you really trust him, so I don't  think 2 hours is too long. Just trust your mommy gut!
Beth

I started babysitting when I was 10 years old as I was mature for my age as well. I think it all depends on the child and it sounds like your son is responsible and mature so I think if you're ok with it, then it's probably fine.

Check this out! It may help you decide if your son is ready or not.

http://www.sierrasaccoalition.org/homealone.pdf

-Ashlie

In my state, the counties dictate what age they can be home alone.

In my county it says
7 and under- no time alone
8-9 yrs old= 2 hrs
10-13= 12 hours
14-17=24 hours

But obviously this is a rough guide, and some children may not be mentally able to be alone for long periods of time. My son is 9 and even tho he has had to be alone on occasion for 1-2 hours, I know he won't be ready for longer than that by the time he's 10. There was also a class that we took, that helped kids learn how to be home alone, planning for emergencies, and things like that. I think it was a very good class, and you might want to check if there's anything like that in your area (We found this in a community ed brochure that came in the mail).

HTH!

Lisa

Might want to check your state laws as to when you can legally leave them alone.  Here in Washington they can be left alone at 12 and can legally watch other kids at 13.  My 13 year old is okay alone and with his 12 year old sister and 8 year old brother but we take the 20 month old to grandma's house.