http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-36834807

I know a few parents who are going to be leaving quite young kids alone these holidays.

Only just started leaving ours at home alone while we nip to the shops etc. Still no late nights out or anything like that. Ours are now 14 and 11. Anything much younger than the eldest is a bit reckless imho. In the event of a fire has always been my main worry for some reason.

As long as they’ve got enough fags and cider its not a problem

Leaving mine home alone whilst we clear off to the alps for 2 weeks again soon. He his 20 though.

They’ll only fight…

Rachel

I wouldnt leave my 9 and 5 yr old home alone if I went out to the pub.

I need them to come with me to drive me home.

Hmmm, I started being left alone aged 10/11 ish while my parents went out for the evening, didnt do me any harm…

although given I remember sleeping with several knives and a loaded air-gun under the bed it must have made an impression 😳 😯

I was a latch key kid at the age of 10 – best part of the day, telly to myself and unlimited toast, I’d walked two miles home along an A road too from the slate mines “school”. Summer holidays we left the house after breakfast and weren’t seen again until it was dark. This was ruralest Cumbria, mind. There was always somebodys mum/granddad/elder sibling at home even if it wasn’t you’re own so you got fed and stuck back together when broken. This was only the late eighties as well and not some heartbeatesque mis-remembering. Key thing was we were never (or seldom) alone, even if it was just other kids. Think it’s more reflective of a breakdown in community rather than neglect on individual parents part. i.e. the person in the piece who reports the kid on their own to social services who is a relation, why not just have them round your house?

Being a parent now it does seem more difficult for kids to socialise outside of school, parents setting up “play dates” is almost a formal process and it seems to take a weeks planning for someone to come round for tea. We just used to live in each others houses and wherever you were at tea time was where you got fed. Grumble grumble, better in my day, grumble

I really wanted to take my son to the Bontrager 24/12 this coming weekend. He’s love the kids race and the whole event Despite the fact there will be friends surround my pitch I can’t bring myself to leave him alone 24hrs while I’m riding my bike and if shit myself at night with worry.

My son is 13 and I’ve left him to it today. We sat down last night and looked at what he could do. He was going to be coming into Edinburgh with me but he has been busy with diving competitions for the last two weeks so I let him sleep. He’ll probably end up having a lazy morning but was talking about going to the cinema about lunchtime and by the time he gets the bus home his mum and sister should be home. I’m only doing this because he’s sensible and I trust him. Monday to Friday he has training after school so for the last two years he has gone home got his stuff together and got the bus to training on his own. When we went to his first parents evening at secondary school all his teachers commented on his maturity and ability just to get on with his work.

Depends on their upbringing and maturity. Plenty of cultures where kids are working at 10 or 12 years of age or walking an hour to school at an earlier age than that. We used to leave ours for a few hours/all day from 13 or 14 but they had a “plan” in case of emergency, no opening front door etc.

Certainly never left them at home for holidays until they where much older, late teens etc

I have 3 kids aged 13,11 and 9.
The oldest is very trustworthy and responsible and I will often leave them by themselves for 2-3 hours during the day.
I have also left my 11 year old home alone for an hour or two. Not happy to leave them in the evening or night though but may do when my oldest is 14.

Depends on their upbringing and maturity

I agree, my youngest whose almost 11 has been at home during the day over a half term – if she’s sensible enough to get the bus home and cross main roads, I think it’s fair to say she can stay indoors with her iPod/TV!

I think most people know their kids well enough to make that call.

… if she’s sensible enough to get the bus home and cross main roads, I think it’s fair to say she can stay indoors with her iPod/TV!

My 13yr old daughter is fine with getting buses, crossing roads, going out on her own.

But being left all day – that’s when boredom would sets in and the ‘oooh, that’ll be a good thing to try’ ideas kick in. She wouldn’t stay in the house either, she’d want to be out with her mates.

So do we send her to my mothers to be bored or let her stay at home the odd day!? 😐

And we’re both out the house from 7.30am to 6pm.

We have a very competent 15yr old and we happily let her babysit our 9 and 6yr old boys. She takes them out for a walk with the dogs and that sort of thing. We’re in a nice everyone-knows-everyone village though.

I’ll leave the boys alone in the house for up to 10-15 minutes while I pop to the village shop. Not longer than that though so far.

aleigh – Member

Depends on their upbringing and maturity

I agree, my youngest whose almost 11 has been at home during the day over a half term – if she’s sensible enough to get the bus home and cross main roads, I think it’s fair to say she can stay indoors with her iPod/TV!

I think most people know their kids well enough to make that call.

No doubt, my eldest will be 11 in Oct, if I tried the same it would end in some sort of fire. He’d certainly run straight out the door leaving it both unlocked and wide open and not return for a few hours if he saw one of his mates in the street, or a teenage girl, I can’t tell if he’s going to be a fag-stag when he grows up or a bit of a swordsman, but he loves chatting up girls a few years older than him.

My 12yo walks to and from school every day and then is at home for about an hour before my wife gets in from work. And we’ve left her at home for up to about 3 hours if we both need to be out at the same time.

My 10yo still goes to a childminder or afterschool clubs after school, but we’re toying with sacking that off after this year. Her school is only 400 yards away, no main roads to cross other than the one with the lollipop lady outside the school gate, and she’d barely get home before her sister anyway.

The issue is if the eldest stays for afterschool stuff, or gets random detentions, then the younger would be going home alone and then at home for an hour or more before my wife or her sister get back, and I’m not happy that’s OK for a 10yo. What do others think?

Real problem is that we can’t really do ‘in between’ – childminders want a term in advance ‘contract’ for fixed days and while we could book and pay and then not use them, you can’t just ask them to step in, and while other stay-home parents will help on a random basis when it stops being random and becomes part of the plan then it feels like pisstaking.

As long as they’ve got enough fags and cider its not a problem

Yes – because legally they’ll not be able to replenish stocks, and that could leave you in a difficult position when you get home.

The issue is if the eldest stays for afterschool stuff, or gets random detentions, then the younger would be going home alone and then at home for an hour or more before my wife or her sister get back, and I’m not happy that’s OK for a 10yo. What do others think?

If you think your 10yr old is sensible enough to be potentially at home for that period of time, then yes. As a parent these decisions are difficult to make but once you get past it and it works out ok, it makes life so much easier 🙂

As a parent these decisions are difficult to make but once you get past it and it works out ok, it makes life so much easier

Or if it doesn’t work out OK, then they’re taken off your hands anyway. Win win, I’m convinced!

I was left at home whilst my mum went to work from about the age of 7. She worked part time so was normally out of the house for about 4 hours each morning.

I spent most of that time building lego towers or working on my scalextric lap times. When I heard her putting her key in the door I would hide somewhere to make it look as though I’d gone missing whilst she was out. Happy days.

My 13yo only gets half day at home on her own, can’t be trusted not to do something stupid, rest of the time she comes to work with me.