QOTW: "Home Alone"
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QOTW: "Home Alone"
| Mon, 02-05-2007 - 8:03am |
(Thank you to the board member who submitted this topic idea)
QOTW: Our board question of the week is about our 10-14 yr olds staying home alone.

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I drive both kids (age 12) in the morning to a specific location where they both walk to school with friends. I pick both kids up from school.
They stay home occasionally if I have errands or want to go out and walk. It's usually no more than 45 minutes or so. My rules - don't answer the door, microwave use allowed only (no cooking on the stove), no friends over, they have to remain in the house, and they are to contact me if anything comes up.
They are capable of staying home alone for longer periods of time, if need be, but it just hasn't come up.
Lynn
QOTW: Our board question of the week is about our 10-14 yr olds staying home alone.
There may be no specific laws in your state Caroline. Not all states or provinces have strict age limits. In Ontario you must not leave a child alone if they will be in danger. That leaves it open to interpretation. If you just said at 11 you can leave them alone, someone could leave a severely handicapped child home alone but not be charged because they are over the legal age limit where they could be in grave personal danger. Also that doesn't take into account that some 13 year olds should not be left home alone. So you may not find a nice tidy law that makes it easy to determine.
These are the guidelines from our children's aid society, but as always it is open to interpretation and each case is different.
Children aged 10 to 11 years old may be occasionally left alone at home for up to 1 - 2 hours provided they have no fear or anxiety staying home alone and the child's level of maturity matches this arrangement. Children in this age group should not be home alone for any period of time during overnight hours or be expected to take care of younger siblings or friends. To ensure a child's safety, parents should teach them general safety rules (for example, who to contact in an emergency, how to use the telephone, how to react in case of fire, etc.).
Children 12 and older should not be left alone overnight. Children in this age group are often able to babysit younger children. They should be able to demonstrate that they can follow safety rules. A babysitting certificate is a great idea to help learn basic health & safety procedures. A 12 or 13 year old babysitter should not be left in charge of more than 2 children; should not be responsible for cooking; supervising swimming of, or the bathing of, children. It is generally recommended that they do not babysit for periods longer than 4 hours per day.
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