What age should kids stay home alone?

How old until you leave your child at home? My husband would be home during lunch to check on her and works 5 minutes away. I live I Wisconsin and there is no law so I’m just asking mama opinions. Thanks in advance. :blush:

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I’d say around 13-15. It really just depends on maturity.

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How old is she? I wouldnt leave any child under 12 alone for more the 15 minutes!!!

Depends on the kid. Ours were around 11-12.

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Just depends on maturity if she knows what to do in an emergency situation etc.

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That really depends on the individual child.

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my brothers are 10-12 and they stay home alone for a bit . although my cousins are 13-14 and cannot be trusted alone so i think it depends on the child.

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I wouldn’t leave any age home alone every day. Even teenagers get lonely and need someone around.

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12 for us
Depends on the kid :heart:

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Its 10 where I live. If they pass a home alone class. 12 otherwise

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Depends on security issues.Safety issues. Her maturity.

It depends on the child. We don’t have a set age here either.

I was 12 before my parents left me home alone for the day (pretty sure that’s law in NC). You have to base it off of maturity of said child, but even that close, I’d stay no younger than 12. Start slow. Leave her home for a quick trip to the store. Discuss safety issues (don’t cook, don’t open the door, if there is a landline, don’t answer unless it’s _____).

10 and up depends on the child. My youngest has high functioning autism so it took longer to leave with my oldest.
And not an everyday thing. Once in awhile thing and only for up to a few hours or less

I would say 11 as long as they are mature for there age!

I was 9 but very mature & only like an hr

I was 9 or 10 when I got left home alone, but I was more mature at that age. I baby sat my brother. Then I started babysitting at the age of 12 for other people. I can tell you my oldest is 12 and I wont leave him alone.

I was 11 and even babysat my 2 little soblings at that age.

13-14 if leaving for a shift, IF they are mature, and no overnight leaving

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How old is the child and how mature?

Depends on her age and maturity.

I think it depends on the kids, and make sure u talk about it with them. I was 9 babysitting for my brother for a little bit. Make sure they have a phone to be able to call you, know how to work a microwave and not answer the door for anyone. Its important to have a plan that the child is comfortable with and take some test runs

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My child actually babysat 2 boys overnight when she was 12 and a half. They did well.

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I was 9 when I stayed at home by myself. I had a cheap phone to call my parents, and I had neighbors just in case anything went wrong and I needed help.

Depends on their maturity level, but I believe the law in my state is 12 to stay alone, and 14 to babysit younger kids.

I dont even leave my 13y/o…

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11 with Safe Sitter course and depending on the child.

I was 9 or 10. It depends on the maturity level of the child.

My son is 10 and stays home 8 to 9 hours alone. He has a phone and can text or call. He leaves the house locked and is not to use anything other than the microwave. He is pretty mature for his age.

I would say around 10 considering someone is 5 minutes away if anything happened.

I was 9 and staying home and babysitting my younger siblings.

9 or 10 for no more than 2 hours.

I say it depends on the child. Have you communicated emergency plans for a variety of situations so they are aware what to do? Do you trust your child to be alone? How well is the child able to care for themselves ie: meals, ect.? … just know there is no guarantee of safety. Good luck😁

My eldest has been staying home alone since he was 8. Very mature for his age. I wouldn’t leave my 5 year old alone for two seconds. You know your child are they mature enough to do what needs done in case of an emergency

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My son was 9. Depending on age and if the child feels comfortable and not scared and maturity level.

9 or 10 years old and only for a few hours. If they have food and stuff to do

It was 13 for my oldest son. My oldest daughter is more mature at 12 then he was at 13 but i feel differently leaving my girl alone. Idk. My eldest son is very big and intimidating. Lol

Depends on how mature your child is, where you live & how safe it is. The law says 13 I believe. If your child gets hurt & you leave them alone too young, you could face charges. That being said, I think my daughter was about 11 or 12. I worked 2 miles away & was off work 45 minutes after she got home. She did keep a cell phone on her at all times when she was alone, just in case something happened.

In this day and age. I would say 15.

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Every child matures differently and where some kids are comfortable being left alone others are not.
If she’s not 100% ok with being home alone I sure wouldn’t do it!
At the end of the day, you have to ask yourself, if something happens to my child am I going to be okay with the decision I made?

Definitely depends on maturity but i would say 12 or older

It honestly depends on how mature they are for their age.

The world and kids r different now. I was staying home alone in the 1st grade

Depends on the child. My son was 9 when he was allowed to walk home from school and be alone for a few hours, and I could leave him on weekends for a few hours too. My 2 daughters who are now 9 and 11 though, have only just started being responsible enough. Really does depend on the child and their maturity.

I say 10 if they know not to cook while there home alone and not to let anyone in the house and have a phone

I start staying home at 12 by myseld

I leave my 11 year old home alone. She occasionally watches her siblings for no longer than 2 hours. But she has also taken the safe sitter course. We have gone over rules and emergency plans I have phone numbers and address written down for her for emergency purposes as well. She is also only to use microwave when an adult is not home. All doors and windows remain locked and door is not to be answered even for relatives. We also do a code word as a precaution in case there is an emergency where I am unable to communicate with her and need to send someone else to her.

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So for a full 8 hours for me would be 13. If it was like 3 hours between the time they got off school and I got home from work I’d say 11 but it’s all about how mature you think they are. We have an alarm and cameras now so if we have those when they are older I’d have more peace of mind.!

Each child is different. I also have camera’s so I can see everthing. So 10 for us.

https://www.urmc.rochester.edu/encyclopedia/content.aspx?ContentTypeID=1&ContentID=3051

I was 8 but I was taught all that I needed to know especially to never answer the door because she had a key and so did grandma.

It depends on the child. Is he or she a responsible child or not? Can you trust her/him not to do something that can hurt themselves. Start a :fire: or let a stranger in the home. These are the Questions you need to ask yourself. :thinking::thinking::thinking:

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I was 11 and red Cross certified in CPR was baby sitting neighborhood kids for parents on weekends… depends on the child and maturity.

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Depends on the child. I have a couple kids who were ready to stay home around 11 or 12…and a couple who are definitley NOT at the same age.

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Soo I’ll be blunt( not trying to be mean just wanna prove a point) 5 mins is literally enough time to break in scare or even kill a child and be out before you’ve even realized they’re in the house even though ur only 5 mins away at work. You’d still have to get a call or text and get to the car and drive home… Can she adequately defend herself AND call for help? Does being only 5 mins away suddenly feel like alot of time for something to happen with no adult home with her? If does then she’s not old enough…

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10-12 depending on how mature they are…

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Depends on how responsible or if you can trust home by themselves but I would wait at least until 12 to be safe

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How many siblings to fight with while you are gone? Keeping the kids from harming each other is a big job that no one talks about.

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I’d say it depends on the maturity of the child I was being left alone at home at like 8

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I was 14 before my mom let me. But I think it depends on the area you live, the maturity of the kid, how responsible and trustworthy they are. I would also probably get a couple home security cameras to log in and check in

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I think it’s 10 yrs in Ohio. Basically if daycare doesn’t have that age bracket any more what else can you do?

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How mature is the child? That’s what I would go off of.

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I think u asked because u are worried and if I was gonna worry I might would wait. U know your child better than anyone trust your gut

You need to check the law in your state. If the child isn’t old enough don’t do it

Afraid to say children are harmed all the way up to teenagers

  1. :joy: my baby is 3 and I can’t even think of this yet! Lol

I think it depends on the kid and the area you live in. My brother and I stayed home for short periods of time at 10 and 8 but all day, I would say at 12-13. And I’d want an alarm system too with them being there by themself

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I have a almost 13 and almost 9
I’ll leave them home with strict instructions…for short periods…shes mature …live in a small town…and their grandpa lives behind us

If no law, maturity of child. You know her best.

Depends on the child. My son is so laid back I could’ve left him home, with snacks out, at age 8 and he would’ve been fine playing his games. Lol.
My daughter is 9 and if we’re not here when she gets off the bus at 4, she’s never here more than 15 mins alone. She’s spacey so it’ll probably be when she’s in middle school before she’s allowed to be home for an hr or so.

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I started staying home with my sister when I was 7 she was 12 give or take a bit on ages. I started staying home alone by 11. I have 13 nieces and nephews and started babysitting them up to three at a time by the time I was 14, however I also had several neighbors within a mile radius of my home at this time who would check up on me or if I needed them just a call away. I believe it depends on maturity for sure, but also wouldn’t go any younger than 10-11 no matter how mature they are. 10-11 to me is old enough to know what to do in case of emergencies and if you’re into owning guns tasers any sort of weapon 10/11 is a good age to know just how to use them safely and only in emergencies. But overall yes definitely go off maturity.

25… lol. Just kidding

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I started staying home by myself when I was 7 or 8 and we lived out in the middle of no where. It all depends on the maturity level of the child.

I just left my 8.5 year old home alone for MAYBE a max of 30 minutes today. I only drove about 10 mins away. We have a house phone for emergencies (literally the #1 reason we got a land-line), she knows the rules and knows where to go and what to do if there’s every an emergency. I am in NC and the minimum age here is 8. Personally, I wouldn’t leave her for more than 30 mins or so, and I wouldn’t leave her with her younger sisters.

Maturity of child… my baby is 3 and is mature enough to stay home alone(even knows how to use the microwave n wash dishes) but no way am letting him n don’t think I will till he’s atleast 14

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Mine is 12 soon to be 13 and baby sits her younger brother who is 10 she is so mature if you think she is mature enough and can handle look at it as there first babysitting job and pay them if you can not much I do 10 a day it’s a win win

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12 and over if they are ready

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If you can afford to and can trust your child a child type phone is always. A good option as well! One that only allows select handful of contacts and that way every half hour or hour something like that you can call or text to check in…also can use the location tracker if available on the phone to verify they’re at home

I would say it depends on their maturity and their level of understanding how other people can be. I wouldn’t do any younger than 13 though

My 11 and 8 year old will be home alone a couple days a week but they are more than capable and each have phones. Depends on the kid really. We live in MN

Too many veriables. I hate when people say… she acts mature… yeah around you. You dont know what theyre capable of when youre not there…

Then theres all the other possibilities… house fires… falling down steps…

Nope… my middle daughter is 15. I just started leaving her alone. With strict rules and no longer then an hour. My youngest daughter is ten… no way… no how…

My job as a parent is to protect them. I do not go anywhere my kids cannot go… except work… and i only work while theyre in school… too much craziness in this world…

Just my opinion…

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11-12 doors locked, stay inside. As long as they are mature and responsible

I live in wi too. This can gi against parents, because of the no age rule. In something happens, you’ll still get ticketed because “that child clearly isnt mature/old enough”. Just be careful.

I allow my 11 year old son to stay home for up to 4 hours. I do call and or text him to check in on him. If you feel as though your child is mature enough and can handle it then I’d say you should be fine.

my daughter was 10 and I was 5 minutes away. so she had doors locked and didn’t answer the phone other than from me or her dad

I was home alone after school for 2 hours starting in 2nd grade. I’m not sure what age that is. I was fine- had a snack and watched “Alex & the Chipmunks,” and “Dennis the Mennis.” Lol. Then my mom was home and it was homework time.

I was in 4th grade and my brother was in 6th when they started leaving us home for like 2 hours after school

not under 12 and then depending on how responsible they are

As long as they know CPR, how to dial 911, not to answer the door and cook without burning anything. :+1:

Each kid is different and mature differently. Id say at minimum 10.

My sons rules were, at 12 he was allowed to be alone an hour. At 13, 2-3 hours. And now he’s 14 and I let him go places alone and be alone for 4-5 hours. He doesn’t use the stove. If it’s at a meal time we order in or get him something he can microwave. He can cook, but he doesn’t do it when we’re not home.

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Depending ds on the child. My oldest I could leave him alone for a few hours when he was 10. My youngest is 26 now and I still dont like to leave him home alone, lol.

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Nowadays I don’t really know. It was so different when we were little. 8, 10, 12. The world is so different

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Never. Jk maybe when she’s 14ish

I think your childs maturity is important, l raised 4 and no one stayed without supervision under 13.

12 but my state doesn’t have a law either

In my opinion it’s when they act like they are mature enough to stay home alone. If she knows what she can and can’t do and you trust her being there nobody else can tell you that you are wrong.

I live in a state that there is no age also. I based it on a case by case basis with my kids. Depending on maturity etc… All 3 of mine were different ages when i let them stay alone.

Depends on the level of maturity

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I was 5ish and my brother was 7ish the first time we were left at home by our self…but I don’t think I’ll be leaving mine at home till at least 11 or 12

I started being alone at 7… my dad would leave at 4 am and worked an hour away so I would be alone from then until like 4 or 5 when he got home… so like 3 and half hours in the am (I would get myself up and ready for school) and then i got home like 3 330 from school…