Home Alone

[FoBoT]

:clock:

how long would a responsible (so, not necessarily YOU ) parent leave 2 kids (girls) home alone?

eldest is 11 and youngest is 6 years old
this would be after school/afternoon when they get off the bus

additional info: this is in a rural neighborhood , no crime or strangers passing through (side road, not a through street), our next door neighbor is almost always home and the kids can call parents on cell phones etc

note: i won't actually be taking the advise of ATOT on this, i just thought i would ask



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[rh71]

30 minutes tops... the 11 year old should know enough to keep safe, but can't be trusted.

 

[iamwiz82]

The 11 year old could probably handle it by herself, but not with a 6 year old too.

 

[jagec]

depends on how mature they are, and the area. I would travel all over the place when I was about that age (11, not 6).

However, my situation was somewhat unique. I'd say not more than a day.

 

[nakedfrog]

Well, a huge factor is the children themselves, but assuming fairly well behaved children, 4-12 hours.

 

[FoBoT]

Originally posted by: iamwiz82
The 11 year old could probably handle it by herself, but not with a 6 year old too.

this is basically my wife's position

we have left the eldest alone for short periods (under 30 minutes) , but while they usually get along, they occasionally have the normal sibling fights

 

[HardcoreRobot]

imo, that is the time they are gonna get into the most trouble

on occasion, i think it would be ok for a couple hours (you just running out for errand or something)
everday afterschool would not be a good idea at all IMO. of course, it also depends on the maturity of the kids, but kids will do stupid stuff wehn left unsupervised

 

[GTaudiophile]

That young?!? ZERO!!!

 

[maziwanka]

i said zero, but on second thought i think leaving them alone for 15 min - 30 min wouldn't be so bad depending on the maturity level of my 11 year old.

 

[meltdown75]

30-60, only if i knew the neighbours were home and would keep half an eye on the place, and only if i had a cell phone and left them with directions to call if they needed anything. hopefully they would be watching TV when i left, and still watching TV when I came back. house also locked & alarm on.

 

[Gothgar]

depends on the 11 year old, I was babysitting about that age for my sisters...

 

[nakedfrog]

For everyone that said less than 30 minutes... what do you do when you need to take a shower or an extended restroom break or something? Either you're not giving your kids enough credit, they're little demons, or you think your house is a death trap.

 

[Demon-Xanth]

Depends on the maturity of the 11 year old. I'd say 2 hours tops. If the 11 year old isn't mature enough, or isn't willing to watch the 6 year old. Then that number starts dropping fast to 0.

 

[FoBoT]

interesting point nakedfrog

we (parents) sometimes take naps on sunday afternoon for 1-2 hours where we are sleeping in the bedroom with the kids downstairs playing

my eldest is pretty sharp , she knows how to call us and 911 and all that. she can get them out of the house if there is a fire/whatever and call 911

this is in farm country, so there really isn't any danger from someone else bothering them. the worst that could really happen is that they get into a fight. sometimes my 6 year old will do the ninja stuff on her older sister, but if it got that bad, the eldest would be calling mommy/daddy on the phone lickity split

in another 1-2 years it will be a lot different, they'll both be mature enough to handle themselves and we won't have to try getting babysitters for them, that will be nice to be able to take my wife on dates again

 

[Modeps]

Down with Latchkey!

 

[purbeast0]

KEVIN!!!!!!!!

 

[FoBoT]

Originally posted by: Modeps
Down with Latchkey!

like i said, i was just wondering what people thought

my wife is out of town and i'll be leaving work early while she is to get home before the school bus. i talked to my boss and he is ok with me leaving early so that i will be there when they get home (just got to remote in and check email and stuff)

if my car breaks down or i get in a wreck or something, or just stop at the store i might not get home until 5- 30 minutes after they get off the bus, but it won't be intentional/planned out , so no, this isn't a planned "latchkey" thing

 

[Kelemvor]

It depends on the maturity level of the 11 year old. I have a niece who is 12 and there's no wya she'd be left home alone with her 4 year old brother for more than a few minutes if at all. But I know lots of other kids around that age who are very responsible.

 

[JulesMaximus]

Originally posted by: jagec
depends on how mature they are, and the area. I would travel all over the place when I was about that age (11, not 6).

However, my situation was somewhat unique. I'd say not more than a day.

A day! Are you nuts? :|