How old were your kids when you first left them home alone?

[CdnCarrie]

1 girl started age 7 for less than a half hour. Gradualy increased. She loved being a lone. She was mad she wasn’t a latchkey child.

Times have really changed. I was babysitting for neighbors at night at the age of 12.

Kids babysit here at age 12. What age do they start where you live?

 

[AuntieMe3]

I did not leave her with the younger kids until she was 15-16 maybe but that comes from being the oldest myself.

Reading the rest of your comment sounds like me growing up. I was IN CHARGE of my siblings, even if my parents were home. I did baths and homework on nights my mom worked and my dad was home. I was only 2 years older than my brother and 7 years older than my sister. I remember having to take my brother to school when he was in 2nd grade(so I would've been 4th), kicking and screaming, because he hated his teacher. Literally dragging him behind me as we walked and my parents were at work.

Alot of my "issues" with so much responsibility so young definitely affected how I parented my DD and her "responsibilities" growing up. (she's an only so no siblings to have to worry about.)

 

[olwyngdh]

Since we have spent most of our lives living on a Military Post, our kids were not allowed to stay home alone until they were 12. They weren't allowed to play alone in a fenced back yard until they were 5 either...that one was the rough one to follow.

 

[Eeyore daily]

I think my parents left me home alone when I was maybe 8. I can't remember but I was the youngest so my siblings had all moved out of the house by then. This was how it was during school breaks, so not for just an hour or so.

 

[Colleen27]

My older kids were maybe 9ish when I started leaving them alone for short errands (usually dropping the other kid off at some practice/meeting), and DS was probably 10 or 11 when he started watching his sister for short periods of time. My youngest was a lot older before she was home alone, but not by design - between two much-older siblings and, by the time she was the age where I'd have considered leaving her by herself, two other teens living with us there just wasn't any "alone" in our house at all when she was 9/10yo.

 

[DLgal]

My situation is a little different because my kids are both autistic. I started leaving my older son home alone for an hour or so when he was in 7th grade (around 12/13). I started leaving them both home alone during the day when the oldest was around 15. The younger one was 13 (he is lower functioning). At 16 and 14 and we started leaving them home for a few hours at a time, including at night.

I would have probably started around 10/11 if they were neurotypical and responsible kids. 9 and 7 feels too young to me, personally. I was hired to babysit kids those ages for a couple hours after school back when I was 16. A lot of parents here also ask for sitters for elementary kids those ages after school on our FB neighborhood page.

 

[wenrob]

Reading the rest of your comment sounds like me growing up. I was IN CHARGE of my siblings, even if my parents were home. I did baths and homework on nights my mom worked and my dad was home. I was only 2 years older than my brother and 7 years older than my sister. I remember having to take my brother to school when he was in 2nd grade(so I would've been 4th), kicking and screaming, because he hated his teacher. Literally dragging him behind me as we walked and my parents were at work.

Alot of my "issues" with so much responsibility so young definitely affected how I parented my DD and her "responsibilities" growing up. (she's an only so no siblings to have to worry about.)

Same! I was only two years older than my sister and (step) brother but was 9 and 10 years older than my brothers with my mom. I am also the oldest cousin and the oldest of all their friends kids. I was literally in charge of someone else’s kids my entire youth. Like you said even if the parent was there. I was never asked to babysit it just was. I can’t tell you how many times I had plans and would have a bunch of kids dumped on me instead. They’re all a bunch of ungrateful little brats too.

 

[Schneewittchen37]

8 or 9ish in 80s.... Was definitely a latch key kid by 10.

My own kids, we started leaving them home alone at 9ish for a few hours. They're 9 and 11 now, never get in trouble or do anything I would disapprove of. I'm actually really proud of them.

 

[mrodgers]

My oldest was 10 when my youngest in 1st grade was a munchkin in the High School play Wizard of Oz. Had to take her to practice and going home would only be turning right around to go back to pick her up so let the 10 year old by herself. We lived out in the country with Grandma and Papa only 8 miles away.

 

[dez1978]

My oldest was 10 when my youngest in 1st grade was a munchkin in the High School play Wizard of Oz. Had to take her to practice and going home would only be turning right around to go back to pick her up so let the 10 year old by herself. We lived out in the country with Grandma and Papa only 8 miles away.

I do think the area where you live plays a big part in it. If we still lived in town there's no way I'd leave my kids alone. But living out in the country it feels safer. Also I trust my neighbors a lot more where we are now vs where we lived in town.

 

[mi*vida*loca]

I would say my son was 10 and he would stay with my daughter who was 4. That was for quick runs to the store. Nothing more than 30 minutes to start with.

By the time they were 11 and 5 they stayed home alone some days during summer vacation. But my grandma lived two blocks away. They would go to her house around lunchtime a few days a week.

In 2nd grade I walked home from school with my brother who was in 1st grade. I had a key. I would let us in and make us lunch and we’d watch tv until my parents got hold. My mom would call the house and let the phone ring twice, hang up and call again. Then I knew it was her and I could answer. The late 80s.

 

[AlohaNow]

Mine were 9 and 6 the first time we left them home alone. We laugh about it now because I wasn’t real keen on going out to dinner that night, but DH prevailed. As he noted, we lived on the 37th floor of an apartment building so no one was going to climb in a window. You had to have a key card to swipe on the elevator that let you onto your specific floor and there were only four apartments on our floor. I think we left them with bowls of mac and cheese, a cell phone, and cartoons on the TV!

 

[DVC-Don]

Son was 11 and daughter 10. I told them I was going to the gas station 1 1/2 mile away. Son called me just as I was getting out of my truck 3 min. later and asked when I was going to be home as I had been gone so long.

 

[Sleepy425]

We started when my oldest was 9, but only if he was going to be alone. Not with the younger siblings. Now we leave my 11 and 9 year old alone during the day for a couple hours at a time. My 7 year olds have delays, so it may be quite a bit longer before they can be alone, and they're a bit much for the older two to deal with.
ETA: In my state there is no law about ages for being home alone. It is at the discretion of the police, which means that if something happens one officer may not bat an eye, and another could arrest you. The age for being left alone in a car is 12.

 

[design_mom]

I was fortunate enough that my sister lives 3 doors down from us in the same neighborhood. When I first started leaving the kids home alone, I would always check to make sure she was going to be home so there'd be someone "close" if they needed it. (And she did the same with me when her kids first started staying.)

I don't remember the age they were when I'd leave them home for a few minutes at a time (<15) to run over to a neighbor's to pick something up/drop something off. They were probably 9-10 when I'd start leaving the neighborhood, but only if my sister was going to be home and it wouldn't be for very long. Gradually that extended... but I probably didn't leave them for a whole evening or anything till they were in high school.

My son liked staying home alone. I don't really think my daughter does. (She's 17 and we'll give her the option "do you want to come or do you want to stay?" and she'll almost always choose to come.) I also never left the younger one "in the care" of the older one. The older would not have been a good babysitter... and the younger would have totally pushed his buttons. They didn't stay at home together until I could trust each of them to stay at home separately.

 

[aprilgail]

mine was in 5th grade so 9 years old.

 

[deserrai]

My older DD was probably 14 when I started leaving her alone after school (she is 27 now). Younger DD is 12 now. I've been considering leaving her to run to the store quickly, but have not done so yet. Mostly because she does not have a cell phone yet and we do not have a landline so she would have no means of communication.

 

[DLgal]

My older DD was probably 14 when I started leaving her alone after school (she is 27 now). Younger DD is 12 now. I've been considering leaving her to run to the store quickly, but have not done so yet. Mostly because she does not have a cell phone yet and we do not have a landline so she would have no means of communication.

The phone thing was a consideration for us as well. We didn't get my older son a phone until middle school and we have no land line and I was not comfortable leaving him home until he had a phone to call us, 911, etc. We got my younger son a phone last summer after he turned 14, and at that point I was comfortable leaving him home alone when the older one wasn't there.

 

[dez1978]

My older DD was probably 14 when I started leaving her alone after school (she is 27 now). Younger DD is 12 now. I've been considering leaving her to run to the store quickly, but have not done so yet. Mostly because she does not have a cell phone yet and we do not have a landline so she would have no means of communication.

Does she have a tablet? There are some text apps you could add that she'd be able to text/call you thru just using wifi

 

[leahgoogle]

I was a latch-key kid at age 7. Came home to an empty house after school and took care of myself. Ah, the 80s…

Some states have laws in place about this. You can look up your state here:
https://apps.washingtonpost.com/g/page/local/latchkey-children-age-restrictions-by-state/1555/

Me too! Those were the days