Is Your Child Ready To Be Home Alone?

Having a child that has finally reached the age where they require very little from you the parent, is quite an accomplishment. Pat yourself on the back as you have achieved the potty days, terrible twos, attending school and perhaps even built a little athlete in the process, but is your child ready to home alone?

Making the big decision to allow your kids to stay home alone is something to think over before just permitting it. Some states have their own laws that all parents must abide by or they can face charges or even having protective services step in and get custody of their little ones. It is always best to know the law locally before making this decision. Most parents generally consider it when the child is at least in the double digits. Some are comfortable leaving an eleven year old home for a short time, others not until the child is fifteen.

The way you can make a clear assessment to go ahead with it or not should be based on what type of personality your child has. If your child is sixteen but extremely irresponsible, then you have your answer. If your son is very reliable and doesn't generally get into trouble at thirteen, then you can probably safely leave them unattended for a bit. Think of the time frames you will need to be leaving your children home alone unattended as well. As far as going for a quick run to the store locally, you can most likely get away with that for a child as young as twelve. For heading to work for the day and leaving your son or daughter alone all day long for ten hours or so, you really should make sure you are leaving one that is old enough to get through the day.

Carefully review the rules that your children will need to abide by while they will be left unattended. This may equate not having friends over until a parent is home, not using the oven, not going swimming etc. You must ensure your kids will be safe, even if they object to these "home alone" rules. The last thing you want on your conscience is to hear your child had an accident, broke something or burned something in your home when they were unsupervised. In the event those things to occur, especially more than once you may need to reconsider leaving them alone even if they seem old enough. Life is not the way it once was when you were a child, and some kids take a bit longer to mature. If you cannot afford a nanny and have no family around to help with your kids after school or during the summer months, look into hiring a neighborhood kid to help out. This can be very cheap and the kids will have someone close by should there ever be an emergency and you cannot get to them in time.