What age to leave children home alone?

There's rules about leaving them overnight IIRC. Depends on the maturity of the kids. After Mum went back to work I had keys to the house and was bringing my younger sister back home from school... until she got home a couple hours later. I'd have been top juniors, so 10 probably.

Is everyone dropping their 11 year olds off at secondary school nowadays?

At 14 they should be mostly self sufficient. Just lock up the booze! ;)

Edit
The law : https://www.gov.uk/law-on-leaving-your-child-home-alone
 
Deluxe1 said:
Depends how you have brought your kids up, if you have molly coddled them all their lives and done everything for them then 14 43 may not be old enough.

There was a time when kids were out of school and earning a living at the age now some aren't capable of staying in a safe environment on their own.
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Fixed for you! :D
 
Pretty sure I was left alone for mornings / afternoons from around the age of 10/11. Perhaps younger but I don't recall. Never came to any harm. Probably on strict instructions not to play with the oven or answer the door.

I also used to walk home alone from school from around the age of 6, 7? Probably about half a mile distance. I would think that is more dangerous than sitting at home reading my books or watching cartoons.
 
String said:
I don't think stories of how we were brought up are entirely relevant, I'm more interested in how we as parents treat our kids today. It seems early indications are that most wouldn't think twice about leaving a 14 year old home alone regularly.

Fair enough, if that's how it is.
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I find it frankly bizarre that kids are having sex at 14 and that is expected, but the idea that they'll kill themselves if left in a house at that age is treated seriously.
 
Depends on the children but i had no issue with my daughter at 14 staying home. Was pretty normal all my childhood from about 10 both parents working was shown how to cook from a young age just like i have shown my kids.

All this was pretty normal unless you only had one parent working or on benefits.
 
We happily leave our 12year old home alone, he’s got both our numbers, knows next door is listening out for him (by agreement prior to us going out) and I’ve got two White German Shepherds that would happily die protecting him should someone break in and try it on,we don’t leave him alone if either neighbours or dogs are not available.
 
What is wrong with society. Off topic but why on Earth did neither the kid nor the parents decide they should call 999 instead of waiting until the parents got home?

Also reading that article and the descriptions are so weird,the morning after an incident your child had where 'the hall was looking distinctly Quentin Tarantino' and 'Carpet, presents, tree were all covered in a fine spattering of blood.' yada yada yada....

I'm sorry what, you're son literally had a 10cm gash on his arm 'visibly deep enough to see bone, with strips of flesh hanging off'... your entire house is plastered in YOUR CHILDS blood yet the media has ****ing vivid details of the entire situation the next morning? Jesus wept absolutely psychotic. Anything to get a news article and a chance to drop some novel-esque descriptions to make your life interesting eh.

Also how do you trip over a Christmas tree? Do the upper class employ Ents to fill the role now and this one was particularly rowdy?
 
String said:
It's actually a bit of a cop out they there is no legal minimum age; that's a bit bizarre.
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The law is against irresponsibility. Setting a fixed age would negate human judgement of a given situation. For laws like this, they issue guidelines rather than make the law specific.
 
I'd say 12 is an ok age to be left at home for the day, at that age children are in high school, making their own way there by public transport and generally going into town on their own shopping etc, if they can do all that they can certainly be left alone in a safe environment for a few hours.
 
Earlier today I saw a couple of young kids (10/12?) trying out their new (Presumably Christmas presents, since one actually wished me a Happy Christmas :) ) Bikes.

Anybody considered old enough to cycle alone on the public highway should certainly be considered old (Responsible) enough to be alone in their own home for a couple of hours, or even days!

Home hazards and dangers pale into utter insignificance compared to those presented by the public highway.
 
Orionaut said:
Earlier today I saw a couple of young kids (10/12?) trying out their new (Presumably Christmas presents, since one actually wished me a Happy Christmas :) ) Bikes.

Anybody considered old enough to cycle alone on the public highway should certainly be considered old (Responsible) enough to be alone in their own home for a couple of hours, or even days!

Home hazards and dangers pale into utter insignificance compared to those presented by the public highway.
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Are you nuts? :rolleyes:

Longest my 11 year old is left on her own now is 9 hours tops, she is very clever and astute. She also has loads of numbers she can ring and who ever she rings would be there like a shot., and that's in 9 hours left alone.

Never ever left alone overnight not even for 1 day/night.
 
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