At what age did your parents/guardian allow you to stay home by yourself?

[cocopops]

DH and I were up late last night watching E.T. (sigh* I miss the 80's!)

We couldn't help but notice the scene where the mother left her son "Elliot" home alone at age no older then 8.

I was left home alone at age 7 or 8 as well and it never was a big deal. I knew exactly what I could do and what I couldn't. I of course got into my mothers make-up and clothes (dress up time) but I made sure I cleaned everything up and put everything back exactly where it was suppose to be. I got caught a few times but besides that the biggest thing I got in trouble for was making a mess!

Now a days people consider it a form of child abuse, abandonment, neglect, etc. What are your thoughts?

[karlatta]

I think I started staying home alone when I was 12. My brother was 10 and my sister was 5, and we stayed home by ourselves every day during the summer while my mom went to school.

I don't recall staying home alone any younger than that. Probably because my sister was so much younger than me. If mom was going somewhere, she needed a sitter for my sis anyway, because it's not like an 8 year old can take care of a 1 year old.

[Belm]

I don't think it was until I was 12, I had 3 younger sisters (we are all 2 years apart) and they were never gone for that long. Plus, they always made sure that my neighbors knew if/when they were leaving.

[ManteoChik]

I can't remember exactly but I know for by age 10. Thats when my mom went back to work after having been a SAHM. Granted, she worked down the street and I used to ride my bike from our house to her office after school all the time.

[salysaturn]

I was 8...in the 3rd grade. I had my own key, and let myself in, and locked the door, and watched TV til my dad got home, maybe 30 minutes later? I have an old sister and older brother as well. My brother is 7 years older and my sister is 11 years older, but at that time, my sister was in college or working, and my brother was at wrestling.

[thedoorchick]

I can't remember, but based on the house we were living in at the time, I think it was 12 or 13. I assume you mean during the day, not overnight.

7 or 8 is way too young. My parents wouldn't have dreamed of leaving me alone at that age and I wouldn't do it either.

[LDS Angel 19]

6th grade. I'd walk home from school with my sister who was in 4th grade, and we'd hang out at home by ourselves until our parents got home from work.

[PinkMartini]

My mom was -WAY- over protective and didn't leave me alone until I was like 13 (I had 2 younger brothers to watch). I also started baby sitting around then (but it was right across the street from my house).

DH said he was left alone (he's the oldest of 6) when he was around 10.

8,9,10 is way too young, IMO, these days to leave a kid alone. I would never think of leaving my DC that early...

[tertia]

I had older sisters so I got used to not having my parents around at home at a pretty young age. Dad had to work a lot and mom worked and went to school. My sisters are 4 & 6 years older then me. When they got into high school and extra curricular activities I started letting myself into the house and being there by myself for about a half hour or hour until my dad got home. I was probably in 5th grade by then though ...what is 5th grade?...10...11? We had a lot of close knit neighbors though who knew we were all home alone so they wached the house pretty closely and we knew we could go to them if needed.

[cocopops]

Called my mom :o and she says I was 9 (not 7 or 8) she was appalled that I thought I was 7 or 8 (like 9 is any better) lol! It was only because both parents had to work, older brother was 7 years older then me and had football or basketball practice after school.

I would get out of school at 2:30, walk home with my friends, get in the house lock door until 3 or 3:30pm when my dad got home from work. It was the early 80's and I lived in a very small town times were a little different back then. Now on the other hand is a totally different story!!

[Natasha]

I was 11 or 12. It would just be me, and for short periods of time. I remember a sitter coming over when I was 13 or 14, because my brother was 12 years younger than me and my step mom didn't trust me to watch him and keep an eye on my sister, who is 18 months younger than me. I think I was probably 15 when she started letting me watch my brother. She's just a tad over protective... :p

[tenofcups]

My mother went back to work when I was in third grade so I guess I was 9. It was only about 1/2 hour between the time that I got home and she and my sister got home, but I loved that 1/2 hour. I never did anything by myself that I couldn't do when other people were there, but I really enjoyed having the house to myself.

I think that's also about the age when we got rid of the babysitter for me and my sister, who was 3 years younger. I'm not sure, though, I might have been a little older. The first few times were just when they went next door or were in the neighborhood to make sure we were all comfortable, and after that, they started really going out.

It felt perfectly normal then, but I have a 9-year-old niece now and I know there's no way her mother would leave her at home alone, even for 5 minutes while she runs to the store. Different times...

[maxandmolly]

I was 8 or 9, and my grandparents were out of town during spring break. So, I stayed home alone that whole week with my brother who is 3 years younger than me while my mother was at work. By 10, she was going out for dates and leaving us home. By 12, when I refused to go camping, she left me home alone for the whole weekend.
Yeah, not an example I plan to follow with my someday-kids.

[Sarah]

5th grade, so like, 10? Latchkey kid here. :)

[IrishEyes]

Another latch key kid starting in the 5th grade (~2 hr after school). As far as my parents going out for dinner one night for a couple of hours, I was 11 or 12. I was babysitting by 13/14.

[Kanga]

I think I was 6 or 7? My mom must have taken my sister somewhere so it was just dad and I and he needed to run to the lumber store. I think he was gone for all of 10-15 minutes and I watched tv the entire time. I'm sure my mom would kill him now if she knew about it. I was in 5th grade when they started leaving me home after school until they got home from work. I had to practically beg them to let me "since that's what everyone else was doing" and I hated daycare.

I'm not sure when I'll leave my kids home alone for the first time. It will just depend on their maturity, the neighborhood, where we're going, etc. I don't see myself going back to work unless I have to financially there won't be much of a need.

[KristyK]

Well this is going to sound really far-fetched, but I was alone at 5-6. I had to walk to kindergarten by myself because it was afternoon and everyone else was in school. Of course, mom was right down the street at her work, she went back to work as soon as I went to school. We were latch-key kids from that time on. My mom always worked full-time as soon as I was in school full-time. Oh, the fights we had as children and the calls my mom got at work! :eek:

I was babysitting by myself for 3 kids by the time I was 10, and was allowed to even go to Seattle with a friend by that time. We were a ferry ride away from Seattle, and would spend the entire day there from about that age. We went to our first concert at age 14 by ourselves in Seattle and had to make sure we would catch the last ferry home (1am) that night. Wow we were given a lot of freedom, but then it was the 60's and 70's!

Now though, my son was not left alone until he was 12, which I believe is the age where you can't legally get into trouble for leaving a child alone, at least in WA. I would have never left him alone, nor would I have ever let him do something like go to Seattle alone! Hell, my son hadn't been to town by himself or with friends until he was 15, and that was only because I didn't know he and his friend were taking the bus into town, or I'd have freaked!

Times have just changed so much and I think that although children are more mature (or at least know more about sex) than when I was young, they are so unsafe in this world today. Its such a shame.

[diam124]

Well this is going to sound really far-fetched, but I was alone at 5-6.

Wow - that is really young!

I'm the youngest of 3 girls, so I can't really remember being home alone (without my sisters) until about 6th grade when my Mom went back to work and I was the last one home before my school bus came. I think I was alone for about an hour, maybe 1.5 hours. I would do silly stuff like eat microwave cheeseburgers and french fries for breakfast while watching TBS. I also routinely borrowed my older sister's clothes/jewelry/makeup. Most of the time I was home from school before they got home from after-school activities or jobs so I would be able to change out of their clothes and hang them back up without them ever knowing! ;)

[jesseybell]

My brother is 5 year older than me and I think my parents started letting him babysit in the evenings when I was 7/8 maybe. We weren't allowed to leave the house or let anyone in.
I think they started leaving me alone during the day on the weekends if they wanted to do something I didn't when I was 11. I started babysitting when I was 12.


Staying alone overnight....now that's a different story. I was in college before that happened!

[Wrighty26]

I was 11 or 12 -- and I watched my younger brothers who were 9/10 and 7/8. My mom worked from home most days, so the majority of the time there was someone there - but every now and then we were left to fend for ourselves for a few hours. There were strict rules we followed -- no TV/video games, we had to do our homework, and then we had to start prepping dinner. We definitely fought like cats and dogs when there was no adult supervision, but we were generally good kids and did what we were told.

[1_mommy]

i think i was in 4th or 5th grade when i would be left alone if my mom had to run to the store or something, by 11 or 12, i was babysitting

[Niobe]

During the day, starting when I was 7 (summer after first grade). My mom started teaching full-time that year and that included summer school. So the options were to either wake me up every morning of my summer vacation before 6 am to drop me off at childcare on her way to work, or leave me at home until she got home around noon. They chose the latter for me. I woke up around 9, poured a bowl of cereal, and hung out in the living room reading or watching TV until Mom got home to make lunch.

I think they gave up getting a sitter at all once I was 9 and my favorite sitter moved. I just came home, found a snack, did homework. If no one made it home by the time I wanted dinner, I found something to microwave. By 4th or 5th grade, I was running my own bath and getting myself to bed at my appointed bedtime on my own now and then.

FWIW, we lived in a REALLY low-crime suburb, with fairly attentive neighbors. And I was a very level-headed child. My mother didn't leave my half-brother at home alone until he was probably 11 or 12, as his behavior just wasn't very trustworthy.

ETA: Overnights didn't happen until I had my own car (I have no bloody clue why my parents felt BETTER about leaving me home alone with my car). Until then, they just preferred that I find a friend to crash with for the night/weekend, and really, I did too. But I think there were one or two times when I was 10-12 that I got left alone all night due to floods trapping my parents at work.

[Ali]

Age 6.

[hdewey]

I was definately in high school, but i was a bad ass :eek:

Yes i think children need to be at least 12 to stay home alone.

[kindermom]

I used to walk to my friends' houses. One was about 4 blocks away and another about 2 blocks. I was 5, and a very small 5 at that. I can not remember when I was left alone as I was the youngest of 5 and someone was almost always around. But my oldest sister was about 13 when she started to watch the 4 of use (5 to 11 in age). By 16 I was able to stay home when my parents went on vacation for a week.

[bookworm]

I started babysitting when I was 10, so I would guess 8-9. I didn't stay overnight alone until college.

[GroceryStoreWine]

My brother and sister and I were getting ourselves ready for school at ages 5, 7 (me) and 9 (brother). Not exactly an ideal situation. My younger sister had behavior problems and I had to take on a lot.

Probably around that same time we also stayed home alone on weekend nights as well. Mom worked at a nearby restaurant and would pop in to check on us. It wasn't a big deal, we got to pick a snack, even got to drink a pop. Then we'd crash on the couch watching movies all night.

I'd say the following year we were on our own for the summers. We had an extensive "to do" list that we had to do everyday. I assume this was to keep us out of trouble. My brother had a lot of freedon since he was a boy but I had to keep track of my sister, which sucked because she had all the behavior problems.

I was babysitting for other families around 10 or 11. We lived in very small town, middle class neighborhood. Very safe. Still, I don't think I would give my future kids that sort of freedom or responsibility. And most of the kids I encounter don't seem capable. I have a nephew who will soon be 6 and there is no way I could imagine him getting himself ready for school or staying out of trouble after school.

[kdotp]

I think I was left alone by myself for a few hours when I was 9-10 (mostly spent watching The Wizard of Oz and eating an obscene number of oatmeal creme pies). By myself overnight when I was 14-15 and by myself for an extended amount of time when I was 16-17.

I grew up in the country outside of a small town. By the time I was by myself for a week, I had my drivers license and had worked a part-time job for 2+ years.

In contrast, I have a coworker who still won't let her daughters, aged 21 and 17, stay by themselves. To me, personally, that seems a bit excessive, but I guess that's what works for their family.

[GroceryStoreWine]

(mostly spent watching The Wizard of Oz and eating an obscene number of oatmeal creme pies)

A bright spot in my childhood also - Little Debbie Snacks!!!

[myshel]

I was probably 10-11 years old when my parents started leaving me at home with my younger siblings. The summer I was 11, my parents left me at home all day with my siblings. Of course, our next door neighbor was home, and she would often drive us for swimming lessons or occassionally have us over for lunch.

[keska]

I don't remember exactly but I know I walked home from 1st grade on and my parents were not home. I did have a brother who is three years older but he did not walk with me or stay home to watch me. My mom was a teacher at my school when I was in 1st grade, so I sometimes went to her classroom and hung out to go home with her. After that, we moved and were no longer in the same schools. It actually really surprises me how much more protective parents seem to be of kids these days. Even my own half-brother, who is 10, has never been allowed to come home from school alone.

[diam124]

In contrast, I have a coworker who still won't let her daughters, aged 21 and 17, stay by themselves. To me, personally, that seems a bit excessive, but I guess that's what works for their family.

Is she afraid of what they might do if they're along (ie. parties)? DH's aunt and uncle won't leave their kids (17 and 20) home alone anymore because of the parties they have had in the past.

[kdotp]

Is she afraid of what they might do if they're along (ie. parties)? DH's aunt and uncle won't leave their kids (17 and 20) home alone anymore because of the parties they have had in the past.
Nope. Her kids don't party (seriously.) They are the "good" kids, almost to the point where if I were their age, I'd be annoyed by them, YK? (and I was a "good" kid in high school) She's a very overprotective mom, and I think they were "scared" to be on their own -- the 21-year-old less so than the 17-year-old.

[laura]

I have no idea when the exact time was. I'm the youngest of 5 and we lived in a very small town where my dad was a cop and my mom worked about 4 blocks away from our house. I remember being at my house in 5th grade; prior to that I went to my grandma's after school. It could have happened in 4th grade; my closest sibling is my brother who is 2 years older than me and we went from going to my grandma's to staying home at the same time. So around 9/10 years old. I stayed overnight by myself regularly once my parents got divorced b/c I lived with my dad and he worked midnights; I was 13/14 when that happened (a freshman in HS) and no other siblings remained at home with me.

Not so much what I would do with my kids now.

[beachlvr]

I was 11 and stayed home all day with my brother and sister while my parents were at work. My brother kept getting beat up at the daycare we were in and my parents must have figured better we were home alone than paying for daycare where we weren't safe. I remember it was the summer between 5th and 6th grade.

I have 10 year old and I leave home alone while I run a quick errand or to the store. I think he eats lots of Little Debbie's when I'm gone, too.

[Chimichanga]

My parents would run short errands and I would ask to stay home when I was in 2nd or 3rd grade (7 or 8 at the time). It was maybe for an hour or two. I usually just read a book or something. One time it started getting dark while they were out and it freaked me out after that I usually went with on the errands.

When I got left for longer periods of time/after school - I'd say I was in 5th or 6th grade. My sister would stay with me - she was 2 years younger than I. It would be for a few hours before/after school. We were generally good kids and would do our homework. During the summer we might go to a sitter once a week to be with our friends, but generally we stayed home. We lived in the boonies.

When I was a freshman/sophomore my parents took a week vacation and left us home. I had my permit and could drive. My grandma came out Thursday-Sunday but the beginning of the week we were on our own.

I was the good kid; my sister was the party-ier. So, once I left for college my parents didn't like my sister being home by herself.

[Kimberland30]

I stayed home alone (with little bro, 3 years younger) when I was pretty young, maybe 8-9 ish? But we lived on a dead-end street and I had family only 3 houses down, everyone knew everyone so I couldn't really do anything. Bro and I were latch key kids when we were in elementary/jr high school too, stayed home maybe 3-4 hours alone. We had a sitter who was in high school that lived around the corner that we could call, but I don't remember her actually staying with us at the house.

My DD was around 11 before I'd let her stay home alone while I went to run errands. I think she was 13 when I felt comfortable enough for her to be home longer. Again, we've known all our neighbors since I was a teen so we keep a look out, plus she has all their numbers should she need to get a hold of anyone quickly.

[DallasLady]

I was 12.

[cowgirl]

I know I stayed home alone at about 9 one day a week and then it was everyday. We lived out in country and it was only 3 hrs a day.

[Heidi9771]

I think around age 10, with my 8 year old, and 6 year old sisters.

[boilermaker]

I think it was right around 4th grade that I could stay home when my mom ran errands or I didn't feel well on Sundays and skipped church.

I started babysitting in 5th grade for some of the neighbors. Hard to believe they thought I was responsible enough for that!

[Daisy]

I can't remember that well, but it was probably around 3rd grade. I'm an only child and both my parents worked, FWIW.

[Tracie]

My parents first left me alone at age 6!!! Probably way too early, but I was a well behaved child, and all they did was drive two miles up the street to return a book at the library. I remember, all I did was sit at the kitchen table. It was fine, but I would NEVER leave my 6 year old alone!

I was probably 8 before they left me alone for longer periods of time. By that time I started doing little mischievous things - jumping on the couches, sneaking cookies, that type of thing.

[eponymous]

I was probably ten when my mother started leaving for 10-15 minutes to run to the grocery store for a missing ingredient. I was rarely left alone for longer than that because my mother was physically disabled and tended not to leave the house unless she had to take me somewhere.