I’m talking about ten minutes whilst you nip to the paper shop or something similar, not a full blown night on the razz. Some people we know (kids of 11 and 8) are quite happy to walk the dog etc leaving the kids at home, we’re not all that sure.

11 is fine for brief trip out

11 and 14. Left all day sometimes. It’s not about the age, its about the kid. I know 20 year olds I wouldn’t leave alone.

Our daughter is 10 & we left her in the house for 20 mins recently for the first time and she was fine. I think its a lot down to the personality of the child, but we were happy enough, having told her not to answer the door or the phone

There is a law about this, use that as a guideline.

The law being 14? I genuinely don’t know?

I live opposite a pub. I worked out that if I stood at the far end of the bar the baby monitor still picked up a reception from the littleuns bedroom. 😀

Well he was only 5 months old and I only picked up a pint and took it home. I wasn’t gone for more than 2 minutes and its no different to being in the garage with the monitor is it!

Our youngest is ten and got his own key to let himself in when he walks home alone from school. It’s just over a mile. It will depend on the child, but ours walk the dog and go to the paper shop at 10. When the eldest got to fourteen we stopped hiring babysitters and let them get on with it themselves. They have to grow up sometime, you have to trust them, but also teach them how to deal with an emergency.

12 yr old daughter – couple of hours after school some days, doors locked when she’s in, and walks the dogs if its not raining (her rule) or dark (mine).

The boys – no chance.

No law as such:
http://www.nspcc.org.uk/help-and-advice/for-parents-and-carers/parenting-advice/home-alone/home-alone_wda90761.html

Personally I agree with CHB…

There is a law about this, use that as a guideline.

No there isn’t. Not one which defines a specific age anyway.

Depends on the kid. If you left my friend’s 16-year-old at home alone he’d sell the TV.

12 is OK to nip to the shop imo. Am aware of neighbors doing same for 10 year old.

Am not sure there are any age specific laws, just ‘reasonable’ care.

Having found a 4yr old wandering the streets having been left home alone… maybe 5?

I was catching the tube then bus then walking to school at 10. I reckon that was fine and I was certainly fine home alone for a while too at that age.

You’re doing it wrong. When they get to the age they can be left, you send them out to the shop and walking the dog!

10 fine if the kid is up for it. I remember being left for a few hours when we were 10 or so, no massive issue really.

Things seem to have changed though as my sister in law’s kids can’t manage more than 10 mins (one is turning 13) and she wont even send her to the shop round the corner etc.

Ours are soon to be 11 and just 8, the 11 yr old will be walking to “big school” come September, so we thought it was time to give her a bit more responsibility.

My daughter who is 16 has watched her Bro and sister 11 and 9 for the day , When I say watched she has her headphones on and Is on Facebook / Twitter. My youngest son and daughter both have keys and let themselves in till my eldest gets home 20 minutes later.

My lad started walking and sometimes cycling home when he was 10, cycle path all except the last 200 yards. He’s 11 now and one or two days a week in the holidays we’ll give him a lazy day where he gets up after we’ve gone to work and either amuses himself or goes to see one of his more local friends. BIG emphasis on letting us know where he’s going.

I seem to remember that me and my sister were 11 and 12 when we were first left alone at home.
that was 20 years ago though and the world is a much worser paedo-infested hell pit these days isn’t it?

I used to ride to and from school on my bike at the age of 10 going on 11 in… South Africa, of all places! I’m surprised I didn’t get shot/ maimed/ abducted/ mauled…

My parents let me get the tube into central London to meet them after work once when I was in year 6 of primary school I think it was, so 10 or 11.

High School (11+) I was getting public transport to school all the time.

Based on the above, I’m assuming I was left at home a fair bit younger than that. I was definitely allowed out to play unsupervised around the neighbourhood (North London) when I was in primary school.

10 + 7, they walk together a mile to school.

We will happily leave them home together for an hour or so during the day. They are good together.

From the age of 7 I got a bus into Leeds, then walked a bit through the town centre, before a second bus to school on my own. From the age of 10 I cycled there instead of the bus. 8 miles each way iirc. Kids today eh?

my god what if their face falls off?

I used to get the train home, walk two miles home from the station, light the fire and start to put tea on when I was 11. Folks then home about three hours later. But then we would also be left in the car with a bag of crisps and a can of coke when my folks would go for a drink in the pub. Times have changed but then so have perceptions of what is right and wrong.

I was walking to school on my own from about 7 or 8. By 10 I was off out on the bike cycling round the local estates for hours on end.

when i were a lad…………

Not got kids but i was left on my own from about 7. Was given instructions about not opening the door to anyone. I spent my time building huge lego constructions then I’d hide behind the sofa when my mum got home so she’d think I’d been abducted.

When I was 6 I used to disapear out on my bike. I rode from Hudds to Brighouse and back knocking on two doors for a glass of water.

Makes you shudder when you think what your parents allowed in the 70/early 80’s compared to now.

3 more years and zach will be doing that….

edit: and what’s with this 70s rubbish? We all know you mean the 60s

From the time I started junior school I was walking home alone all of 300 yards but then I was locked out alone till my mum got home from work about an hour later this “care”broke down when the school shut due to snow and I ended up spending the day in the garden shed. Once I had learned how to brake into our house they gave me a key and changed their security .

Theres a 17 and 9 in my house, I dont like to leave the 17 home alone for too long.

I was 9/10 when I started going/was sent the 3 miles to the shop if the mother needed bits and bobs, for a fee enough to buy sweets/pop with 🙂

Depends on the kid IMO

Makes you shudder when you think what your parents allowed in the 70/early 80’s compared to now.

I know. It’s a lot safer now, how did ANY of us manage to grow up? 🙂

Things seem to have changed though as my sister in law’s kids can’t manage more than 10 mins (one is turning 13) and she wont even send her to the shop round the corner etc.

Seriously? Wow. When I started secondary school, it was an 11 mile bus journey on a normal service bus, although there was quite a few of us, which I had to catch just after 8am, getting up at about 7.30 IIRC. When it snowed in the winter I looked after my younger brother and sister all day until mum came home, if we couldn’t get to school.
I don’t remember it being any sort of problem to anyone.
At the same sort of age (11-12) I took up fishing and used to get up as 3.30am every saturday, walk 2 miles with all my kit to the lake in the dark and be out until about 5pm. It was what we did, I was never a fan of TV.
In junior school I had a friend who’s family were farmers and we used to spend days on end playing on the farm and helping out, driving tractors etc.

double post

I know I keep going on about it but at the Strider/balance bike sessions at the BMX track you see the same few faces but when alot of children fall over the bars onto their face…you never see a few of those parents again. Also- halfway through the session -we switch over to the harder/steeper undulating track….theres always a few parents who never come over…

I imagine those kids will always be wrapped up in cotton wool.

It’s not the age, but how capable, responsible and mature the child is IMO.

My 6 year old is much more responsible than a friend’s 9 year old I know.

As already said the age is irrelevant but the little rockets were both 12 when they were given a front door key. The only condition was that they had to be instantly contactable by phone – no excuses.

Most of their mates also had a key around the same time and the stories they used to come back with about their friend’s ineptitude and carelessness were quite startling.