Would you leave your 9-year-old alone

iVillage Member
Registered: 10-31-2003
Would you leave your 9-year-old alone
14
Fri, 04-04-2008 - 11:59am
Would you leave your 9-year-old alone in the city?

Meredith Viera recently blogged http://meredithtoday.ivillage.com/entertainment/archives/2008/04/getting-home-alone.html

Pages

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-15-2004
Sat, 04-05-2008 - 8:12am
Averey is the same way. She never really was a kid who got "into things" when little. & even now, sometimes, especially on a weekend when i have to work at 7pm, I go to bed at 3 in the afternoon, & she entertains herself - movies, drawing, computer, etc.

Photobucket

iVillage Member
Registered: 05-13-2005
Sat, 04-05-2008 - 9:10am

yes - my DS is this way, too. He has had to learn to entertain himself while I am busy working at home and he is careful. He sent me a text message yesterday from his dad's so I would remember he has early release at school and to pick him up on time. He is careful and quiet. I started leaving him to go to the store - go and come back within the hour. And I can ride my bike in the morning while he is sleeping. We started in little bits with the same rules - no cooking, no cutting with knives, no climbing on chairs, no kids in, no kids out, no phone unless it is me. With the dogs it is good because it is never like either one of us is alone.

BUT OMG - to allow any kid to be by himself on a subway in NYC at that age - I think that is just crazy and do not really believe that story. We are suburbia types anyway - so a whole different world. Clean, coddled, cozy and I like it that way!

iVillage Member
Registered: 04-24-2006
Sat, 04-05-2008 - 7:27pm

Heck, I don't even like my 18yo riding public transportation anywhere! Not that I'm so afraid that something will happen to her...more afraid she will get lost! She has her cell phone (we are a cell phone family too, LOL) but if I'm at work and don't hear my phone ring, I won't know she is lost and how to help her get home. We went to Old Sacramento and decided to take the lite rail to get there (to save on gas and parking) and it was scary coming home! There was a stabbing right around the corner, something happened to a lady sitting on a bench and they took her away via ambulance, and because of the stabbing, the train refused to stop so no one could get out of there! Mind you, this is probably the busiest stop this city has...and all this happened!

I can't remember how old my first three were when I let them stay home alone, but can remember that my oldest started out walking home from school and was only there about half an hour (we lived on the same block as the school) before I got home. As for my youngest, I wonder if I will EVER trust him to be home alone...too afraid he will burn down the house or something!

Kristy

iVillage Member
Registered: 06-03-2006
Sun, 04-06-2008 - 4:23am
there's no chance he would let me leave him alone. i can't step on to the back porch for a cup of coffee without him tagging along. he stands on the porch watching me put out a bag of trash. if he brings the trash out i have to watch him through a window. i'm shocked he takes the school bus this year. i walk him to the bus stop. until this year i had to drive/walk him to school. if i'm in the shower and he forgets i told him i was taking a shower, he calls my folks to tell them i disappeared and he doen't know where i am. obviously

Pages