Leaving your child at home alone??

My son turned 10 this year and the only time we leave him alone is when we take the short trip to the store. He knows what he's supposed to do and not supposed to do, he knows the emergency numbers & my cell, he knows not to let anyone inside the house. Still, I freak out when we do it, of course, but sometimes you have to let them prove that they are capable of it.

Same here... although I think it depends on the individual child and their maturity level.

I don't think I'd go by laws or a random number to decide this. I think when you get to that point, you'll know by your childs behavior and responsibility in other situations. If at that time his/her age is above what the law allows do it. If the law says it's okay but you know in your gut they aren't ready, don't let a legislated number decide your life for you. Most laws are limits top or bottom. Add your own common sense and there's no way to tell ahead of time either.

I think I was like 8-9 when i used to get the bus home and be alone till my mum got home at like 6pm so like 4 ish hours?
but i was always a very mature child

i was left home alone by age 8. however, that being said, we lived in a small town with very friendly neighbours who I knew and who were always home should there be trouble.

my parents would also call and check in especially since I was often babysitting 3 younger siblings (2 from 8-10 and then 3 from 10 there on). I was always a very mature child.

My child is also incredibly mature, and stays at home alone. I obey the legal laws for children in my area and I check in. My child also has a cell phone so if there is any distress, just even a little unsure, i can be contacted at any time and I will come home. There are uncles aunts and grandparents who all live within minutes of us and the family dog is always at home.

Had any of those support systems not been in place I don't know that I would have felt comfortable leaving them alone.

My mom had to go back to work when I was 11 and my brothers were in sports. So I was home about 2 hours after school. I will say I lived in a neighborhood with alot of my class mates and friends of my parents in case there was any kind of emergency.

My son turned 10 this year and the only time we leave him alone is when we take the short trip to the store. He knows what he's supposed to do and not supposed to do, he knows the emergency numbers & my cell, he knows not to let anyone inside the house. Still, I freak out when we do it, of course, but sometimes you have to let them prove that they are capable of it.

Same here... although I think it depends on the individual child and their maturity level.

This right here!

My son was about 10/11, but he was very mature at that age. Now my daughter just turned 12 and I JUST started leaving her alone while I run to the store, etc... Different personalities, maturity levels, etc...

I think my parents started leaving my sister and I alone for short periods of time (ie, a trip to the grocery store, taking one kid somewhere, or occasionally the time between the end of the school day and one parent or the other getting home from work) when I was 8 and my sister was 6 (but my sister had to be with me). However - I was a pretty responsible kid (I was already cooking and doing laundry at that age!), we knew all the neighbors, we had a list of family/friends we could call if anything happened, and we never really got up to much trouble anyway.

That said, it *definitely* depends on the kid. I'd say 10 is probably more usual.

I agree with those that have said it also depends on the maturity of the child.

My oldest I could leave alone at 9 and could even trust him with my youngest who was 3 at the time for short grocery store trips but could not leave the middle child (6) with them. I still have a problem leaving the middle child who is now 10 alone or with the youngest who is now 7. The oldest now 13 does great on his own and with the other two now.

I am happy not to have to pay day care expenses this year during the summertime.

By law kids here can't be left unattended/home alone under the age of 10. BUT, at 10 they can not be in charge of caring for any other siblings. At 12, when they can take the provincial babysitter program, they are then able to care for younger siblings.

My daughter just turned 7, and she is pretty reliable already, so, we will see what comes when she is 10.

Totally depends on the child. My now 10 year old would be alone for short trips to the store or for me to walk the dog around the block (if she didn't want to come with) when she was about 8. It was never more than 10-15 minutes.

When she was 9, I let her babysit her 1 year old sister for 30 minutes while I went to the store but their dad was working in the backyard so she wasn't really alone and she knew she could get him any second. But I paid her for it and I think it is a great way for her to learn more responsibility. They just played with toys on the floor and watched cartoons. No biggie but I wouldn't have done that without my husband in the backyard.

I let her walk after school about a mile to a kids center but I will not let her walk home and be along a couple hours until I get off work. Plus she has a large group of friends she walks with.