At what age would it become okay to leave your child at home while you go to the shops?

Question

Since times are changing, things don't seem the same as when I was a child. I remember probably being about 10 when my mum popped out for about half an hour or so to go to the shops. At what age these days would it be okay to leave your child to pop out for a while? Now I am a mother, I am not so sure. Mind you I would never leave my children at this present time as they are all under 5yrs. I am however curious as to when other parents decied it was okay to go out when the kids are at home. I am mostly talking about day outings, not night time ones. I am thinking about 13 - 14 yo's. What do you think?

Answer 1

It depends on how the parents have brought up the child. If a parent allows their child to do whatever they want when they are 10 years old then I wouldn't say it is advisable to leave that child home. I started babysitting from the age of 12 for family and friends and I look back now and think that was too young for that responsibilty to be placed onto me. 13 seems like a reasonable age to leave them home but for no longer than 2 hours. It depends on how well you know your neighbours and the suburbs around you. If you live in a high crime area well then maybe it's better that the children go with you wherever your going. I don't think children should be home alone at night until theyre 15/16 and still only for short periods.

Answer 2

I remember being around 11 or 12 when my mum would go out for a bit. As long as they know the basics and know they can't ring everyone they know when you're gone, it should be fine

Answer 3

If I have to just nick over to the servo (at the end of my street) for bread and milk, and will only be gone for about 10 minutes TOPS I will leave my 9 year old at home, but only if she doesn't want to come.  (She usually does want to, coz she hopes I'll buy her a treat! hahaha)

I put my mobile number next to the phone - deadlock the door and tell her not to answer the phone.

I'm not comfortable with leaving her home for longer than that though - I'm pretty paranoid! LOL  

Even if I'm just driving down the road to the servo I still worry about "what's going to happen if I have an accident" or "what if the house is on fire".  Pretty silly as my daughter is very mature and I have my phone with me!

Answer 4

i think i was about 7 when mum had 2 go out for an emergency

but i was a pretty mature 7 year old + mum could trust me and stuff

for day outings, i think i was about 12 - 13, + i had a younger brother 2 take care of

i guess it ultimately depends on the child maturity

Answer 5

At 10, a child knows whats around him and know what to stay away from and even knows how to avoid things. So for twenty minutes it wouldn't bejbad if you leave a child home that has a age of ten or over

Answer 6

My daughter is almost 10 years old and I have left her twice at home while I went to the shops, maybe for 15 minutes max, and also with instructions not to answer the door and my hubby's mobile so she can call me, even so, I was still worried about her. She likes to think that shes old enough to stay at home but I would never ever leave her for more than 15-20 mins.

Answer 7

Having 3 all girls we have left them all home alone as of 2 yrs ago for short periods of time and gradually got longer time period at home alone, now at ages of 16,14 and 10 yrs old - their fine as long as they know and remember the routine , do not answer the door or the phone ,ring us if u need us.....

Answer 8

I would agree about 8 y.o, but it does depend on the child too.

if they are obedient and don't answer the door to strangers or anybody for that matter.

Does depend on if there are other siblings too....when Mums away the MICE will PLAY! Could hurt each other/fight etc, And not too mention they could  burn down the house in the mean time. but the older the better.

Answer 9

For a 20 min trip to the shops one of my friends leaves her 8 yr old with instructions not to answer the door to anyone and her mobile number on redial.  She lives in a very suburban area where if there was a problem the neighbours would be on hand.  

I think any longer is too much and agree about 12 years old would be about the right age.

Answer 10

10 year is enough I think. No need to worry just tell him that if anything happens he must call you.

Answer 11

Yep, 13 - 14 is good. It's a feeling more than anything. You just know when they will be ok, and you can trust them.

I only go out for a couple of hours, but never worry too much. The house hasn't burnt down yet, and no wild parties so far.

Answer 12

My parents left me home to go to the store when I was 3, but the thing is my parents cared about me a lot and were always good parents, but looking back they did some wreckless things. If I have kids of my own they will not get out of my sight.

Answer 13

I have a friend who is a police officer and legally in Canada they should be at least 13 and left no longer than an hour , two tops. Saying this, I leave my 10 year old and 8 year old alone in the house if I am in the garden. I remember being 8 or so and mom and dad leaving to go out for a few hours but laws have changed since then. Contact your local police department or child welfare office and find out the legal ages you can leave your children in case something do happen.

Answer 14

my mm started leaving me home alone at 10 so yah

Answer 15

000, not 911!

911 is in America.

I was left alone when I was about 10 or so, but I agree that it really depends on the individual child's maturity level.

Answer 16

You will probably know when the time is right. Trust that you have  trained them well to cope with emergencies that may come up. I worried most about fires and choking, so I made sure that they knew that if there was a fire, that they had to get out immediately and that it was ok to smash a window to get out if needed. Also I didn't like them to eat while I was gone. So you see if a panicker like me can eventually leave her kids at home, you'll be fine. Mine are now 20,17 & 13

Answer 17

at 13 , so you can go feeling relaxed and not worrying about him so much, you can leave him for hours , its just a matter of 3 more years until he's out of the house , he should be responsible enough  at this age.

Answer 18

Not an 8 year old I wouldn't leave an 8 year old for 5 minutes sleeping to go to a neighbors and I live in a town of 1500. 11 would be safe but not for long, if you got caught you would be in trouble I know someone who's parents were reported and got in trouble for leaving their 11 year old turning 12 in a month home alone.

Answer 19

my mum used to leave my older brother, about 10 in charge of me and my little sister (i would have been 8, she would have been 6) she would always tell the neighbours she was gone and tell us to not open the door, answer the phone, she made sure we could always contact her and our dad and if there was ever a problem we would go next door. id do the same thing for my kids, like 10 is a reasonable age i think, for a short trip like 10-30 mins like my mum, anything longer id take them with me (like my mum). alone for a few hours or even a full day, yeah id say that if the oldest is 13 id leave them at home.

Answer 20

I think it often depends on the child, more than the age. I have 3 soms-aged 11(and a half...cant forget the half), 8 and 18 months. The oldest has stayed at home while i've gone to the shop since he was just under 10 years. He has also watched his baby brother for the 10 minutes it took for me to pick his 8 year old brother up from school. He's very responsible and mature and knows not to answer the door and not to say i'm not home if he answers the phone, just to say i'm busy. My 8 year old however is a human tornado who I wouldn't leave at home alone! This is all in the day-the longest I have left my eldest was about an hour and a half when i did the weekly shop. He felt very grown up and behaved the whole time. (well, the house was in one piece when I got home anyway!). I wouldn't leave them alone at night until the youngest is in high school (age wise, i'd be able to trust the eldest or middle one with the house by then). My eldest also went into town with his mates alone for the first time last week! Makes me feel terribly old though lol!

Answer 21

9

Answer 22

My parents left me at home startign when I was 10. There is no problem. Just tell them not to answer the door to strangers and call 911 if there is trouble.

Answer 23

I left my children at home for short periods from about 8 years old but that said, every child is different. I think if its for a short time ie. 30 mins or less, then from about 8 it's ok

Answer 24

i think either 10-12 depending on the childs behavior at age 10........if their are mature, yes, if they are wild, no,..

Answer 25

I was left for an hour maxium at the age of 12.

then by the age of 15 i was left for hours on end on my own.

when my older brother was around it would be over night some times too.

it depends how grown up you feel your children are and if the oldest can cope with the younger 2 if they were to fight ect.

Answer 26

I think right at the point where they go from elementary school to middle school (6th to 7th grade is the right time to be looking at leaving them to their own devices for awhile.  What's true is in our school district, that's the point where aftercare disappears, so by default they end up alone for about 3 hours afterschool until mum (and dad, if there is one in the home) can get home from work anyhow.  I do think an 8 year old is too young to be left alone for anymore than a quick run to the shops for milk and bread.

Answer 27

It depends on the child i think.

I used to stay at home by myself with my younger brother at about 8-9 while my mum would pop to the shop or something.

It depends whether your child is responsible and trustworthy enough though.