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Staying Home Alone

You may find yourself in a situation where you have to consider leaving your child home alone for the first time, such as a babysitter calling in at the last minute, getting called into work with no available child care, etc. Whatever the reason, it may be hard to know for certain whether your child is ready to stay home alone or not. Since most children above the age of 5 or 6 love being treated as if they are older, they may say they can handle it when they really can't. This means that you as the parent have to determine whether your child really is old enough to be able to stay home alone.

The first step in determining if your child should be left alone is to find out what the laws are in your state. In some states, it is required by law that you wait until a certain age before leaving your child home with no adult supervision (it is usually around 9 or 10). If you are considering leaving your younger children with an older child, you should also check the laws on this, because many states have provisions in their laws that state specifically how old a child must be before they can care for other children properly. While you may know your child well and you may be certain that they will be fine, if there was an emergency situation and your child is under the age of the law, the state can step in and remove the children from the home.

Once you have determined that your child is old enough according to the law, you need to decide if they are actually ready for such a responsibility. Consider the following questions when trying to determine this:

• Will your child follow the rules, or is there the possibility that they will take advantage of no adult supervision to be able to break them?
• Can your child handle simple responsibilities on a regular basis such as daily chores, answering the phone and taking proper phone messages, etc.?
• Is your child physically able to unlock and lock all locks necessary to get in and out of the house?

• Does your child frequently do what they are told not to when you aren't looking?

• Does your child know their phone number and address, and do they know how to call 911 in case of an emergency?

• Will your child be scared while home alone?

• Is there a neighbor or someone nearby that your child can call for help if necessary?

Once you have considered all of the above questions, if you feel that your child is ready to try staying at home alone, there are a few things that can make this new leap into responsibility slightly easier:

• Make the first time a short one. This way, if your child gets scared, or if you decide you aren't ready to let your child stay home alone, it isn't a long nervous wait until it's over. This can also help prepare your child and help you to see if they really will be responsible.

• Make sure your child knows to lock the doors and not open them for anyone. No playing outside and no opening the doors for strangers. You will obviously want your child to answer the phone for when you call, so if you have caller ID, have your child only answer when it's you calling. If you don't have caller ID, have your child answer the phone, but teach them that unless it's you, they should tell whoever is calling that you are busy and take a message as if you were there.

• Make sure all emergency numbers (including phone numbers of neighbors) are posted with easy access and make sure your child knows where they are.
• Go over all rules and make your child repeat them back to you so that they will remember them longer.

• Make sure a first aid kit is readily available and have your child tell you what they will do in each case of an accident.

• Make sure your child knows a way out in case of a fire.

• Teach your child that if they arrive home from school and any doors or windows are open or broken, they are not to go inside.

• Make sure there are flashlights available in case there is a power outage, as well as a phone that doesn't have to plug into the electrical outlet. By having a regular phone available, if the power goes out, your child can still call you.

After you decide to let your child stay home, remember that you can change the rules at any time. If your child doesn't act responsibly enough, or you just don't feel that they are safe or ready to stay home alone, then you should not let them. You just have to tell them you don’t think they are ready and you can try again in six months or a year.

Copyright 2010. All educational materials are the sole property of Kid First Internet and are available for the benefit of our parents. Duplication or use of any material requires the express consent of Kids First Internet.




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