For Parents of "Older" Kids

JMO
I would wait to age 12-13 before lefted home alone.
It's good you have alot of others that are willing to check on her, can't any of them help you out?
I would be scared leaving young ones home, becaues if somethinbg happened I would feel it was becaues of the choice I made leaving them alone.
If there is more than 1 child, and they are watching each other I would make sure that it was a teenager, like 14-15 before i would leave them alone. And of course maturity is a factor but I have a 11 year old and I have never, ever, lefted him home alone and I won't until he is atleast 13. But thats me...

My son started staying home afterschool by himself when he was 9. I didn't like it, but we lived in Colorado at the time and daycare out there is $10/hr! I was a single mom and I could not afford that. I didn't feel so bad when he was 10 and we moved to a very small town here in MN. And that is when I started letting him stay home alone at night. That is the age I started baby-sitting (back in the 80s). Now he is 11 and a half and he has babysit his younger cousin a couple times. I feel that if you teach your child proper rules and have good locks on your doors that 9 or 10 is a very appropriate age for them to watch themselves. For instance, even at 11 Brandon is not allowed to cook anything on the stove while he is home alone, if he is hungry he has to use the microwave.

I've been thinking of the same thing although my daughter is a few years away from doing that. Daycare is so high I can't wait til mine is old enough. I know MN state law says they cannot babysit another child til they are 11 years old. As far as staying home alone I've heard there is no law it depends on several factors. Age,Maturity,Reason why they're alone, and Time lenghth that they are alone.

I think it's ok to leave to a 9 or 10 year old alone if mature enough for a short amount of time, (running an errand or something) I think if they are to be alone all day and fend for themselves probaly atleast 11. It's a definate plus that Grandpa and a neighbor are there for extra backup.

My best friend growing up was a only child latch key kid. She started staying home alone in 6th grade. Her parents paid me to stay with her. Which was weird but they felt better I guess. She had to call her mom the minute she got home from school if needed leave a voice mail message at her work, and could only leave the house for certain reasons at which she had to call when she left and when she got home. The constant phone calls continued well onto us being 16 years old. Her parents always knew where we were. We were not allowed to cook with the stove or oven alone til we were probaly 8th or 9th grade. I didn't like my house so I basically lived with them and only went home to sleep. They then moved out of state to Georgia when we were in junior high and every summer when my friend would be alone all day all summer(her parents were big shots) they would fly me out and I'd live with them every summer. Long story but maybe you could find a friend or someone that wouldn't mind staying with her. It worked out great for my friend and I loved it.

My little opinion too. I think it's more dangerous to leave siblings home alone than a only child. Everytime I was left alone with my brothers crazy things happend and the police were called or I was tortured.

Hi M.,

I think that you should also try it on a trial basis by only leaving her alone for maybe 5-10 minutes first and then gradually working to a longer period of time to see how she handles it. When I did it for my oldest, I called about every 5-10 minutes until I got home just for his reassurance at the beginning. I also gave them rules such as: Do not answer the phone unless you see it is me or your dad on the caller ID. Do not cook. If your hungry, eat a sandwich. Do not answer the door. Don't even look to see who it is. Keep all doors locked and the garage door down. I hope this helps! I personally don't do it unless I run to the store. That is only because of his maturity level though. It's different for each kid!

Be Blesst!

Go with your gut. If she doesn't mind staying home by herself and you feel she can handle it, give it a shot. Sounds like you have a great group of people nearby that can check in on her from time to time. We started letting our son stay home by himself between the ages of 8 and 9 while we went to the store or somewhere close by and we were always able to be reached by phone. Even though my husband and I work opposing shifts so one of us is always home, by the age of 10 I would have felt comfortable leaving him home alone all day if I had been working during the day. Hope this helps, good luck!

This is what I found when asking myself that same question:

There is no Minnesota law that states at what exact age a child must be before he or she may be left home alone or left under the care of another child. There are general laws, however, that require adequate and appropriate supervision of children. County child protection offices are required to investigate and enforce that general law. As a result, Dakota County Child Protection, a part of Dakota County Community Services, has adopted a policy, which defines those situations when it will investigate a report of children who may be inadequately supervised.

The policy is as follows:

IX. LACK OF SUPERVISION

A. The decision to assess the reports of unsupervised children will be made in light of the following considerations, according to Dakota County Community Services policy:

1. The maturity level of the children;
2. The accessibility of the parent, guardian, caretaker or responsible adult by phone or in person;
3. The physical or mental health condition of the children;
4. The behavioral history of the children;
5. Whether a young child is using a stove, iron or appliance which poses a danger because of their age;
6. Whether the parents have discussed an escape plan or held a fire drill with the children;
7. Whether the residence has a smoke detector;
8. Whether there are unusual hazards in the home;
9. The children's reaction to being left alone;
10. The ages of the children being cared for;
11. Whether the child has completed a Baby-sitting Clinic; and
12. The reliability of the person that the parent has chosen to provide supervision.

Section III. O-17

B. Considering the above factors, the following reports will be assessed:

1. Reports of children 7 and under left alone for any period of time
2. Reports of children ages 8 and 9 who are alone for more than 2 hours
3. Reports of children 10 through 13 alone for more than 12 hours
4. Reports indicating that children 14 to 17 are unsupervised while parents are absent for more than 24 hours will be screened, considering adequate adult back-up supervision.
Hope it helps!
J.

I dont have older kids but I remember my parents let me stay home alone when I was 8 years old. I acted very olc for my age. I knew how to cook and all that stuff. So I guess that it would be up to how mature your child is. We also lived next door to people that I knew so I could always go over to their house if I wanted or if I needed something.

When I stayed home by myself my mother always gave to chors to do during the day so I didn't sit and watch tv all day. But depending on how old you child is. I don't think its that big of a deal. Its when there is more than one when their little brains start comming up with "things to do." I hope this was helpful.

I have a large family, so it may be different for you. I started allowing my child to stay home for longer periods at 12. My parents did it when I was 9 but that was too young, imo. A lot depends on the maturity level of your daughter. I would not allow computer access while you are not home. I wish you the best in making your decision.