General Chat

Noway! My youngest is nearly 13 (April) and he is poorly. I leave him at home from 8.30am to go to work but Dad is home at 11.30 for dinner and im home at 1.30pm after that. I always arm him with the phone, numbers and he is not allowed fire on or cooker - he wouldnt anyway. I put the heating on and he can turn it up or down if too hot/cold. He knows to phone me or dad at work if he wants to or failing that my sister and his granny. I have left my eldest who is 16 in charge of youngest recently to go to hubbys xmas do. But I phoned every hour or so and we were home by 12pm. Im lucky as my two lads are sensible. I think age 10 is about as young as you can go - tho only for a maximum of 1/2 hour I would think. It depends on the child. You know them best. RC

I think the guide lines are. A child of 14 can be left alone for up to 4 hours, but not in charge of other children or overnight. A child of 16 is considered safe to leave in charge of other children. I seem to remember one time a policeman telling us this, after he returned a labrador ( which was parked outside our house after our girly dog, and we couldn't go out as it was trying to assault our legs)to its owners and found their 13 yr old son alone. Policeman came back and said not only would they be warned about dog, but the son too. I am in Scotland though...some of our laws are different.....or maybe I got it wrong. Sorry this turned in to a book....was going to delete but took ages typing it XXX

I was told once they turn 15 it is ok but only for an hour as the legal age is 16yr and under 16 if any thing happens to them you can get in trouble

I left Charlotte (nearly 10) for 5 mins the other day while I walked her brother to his friend's house. She is also very sensible - think Hermione in HP lol - but I wouldn't like to leave her any longer than that. I wouldn't leave Jamie (8) at all - he is just not sensible enough. A girl I know leaves her 8 year old and 10 year olds all the time - even while she works. She texts them every hour to check they are ok. I couldn't do that, would be worrying instead of working. If one of mine is ill I ask a friend to take the other to school. Maz. XX

This is from the NSPCC site Leaving Children at Home Alone What the law says There is no law that states the minimum age that a child can be left alone. However, it is an offence to leave a child alone when doing so puts him or her at risk. How do you decide if you can safely leave a child alone? There are many important things to consider before you decide to leave a child alone. These include: The age of the child. The child's level of maturity and understanding. The place where child will be left. How long the child will be left alone, and how often. Whether or not there are any other children in the household. For example, most parents would think it’s OK to leave a sixteen-year-old alone for the evening, but to leave them for a week would be unacceptable. Many young children play outdoors with other children without a parent or carer being present. As they are unsupervised, they are 'alone', but most people would agree that this is an important part of growing up. You are the best judge of your child’s level of maturity and responsibility. A few other points to guide you Never leave a baby or very young child alone at home, whether asleep or awake, even for a few minutes. It doesn’t take long for unsupervised young children or babies to injure themselves. Most children under thirteen should not be left for more than a short period. No child under sixteen should be left overnight. Jay

ok to solve this i have just phoned my oh who works for social services, there is no set leigal age limit as to how old a child must be to be left alone or to babysit. it is down to the parents if they think the child is capable then its ok but if some thing was to happen to that child then it is down to the parents as the child is obvously not old enough and mature enough to be left alone. Dawn

I have 3 Children i live 2 mins walk from the school when my 10 yr old was poorly i left them for 5 mins to take the others to school told them not to open the door not to answer the phone not to move off the sofa untill i came back , when i came back they were still laying on the sofa watching the tv right where i had left them. so only thing you can do is make your own judge ment on if you think your child can be left on their own for 5 mins. Dawn

i have only just started to leave my 12 year old alone for short periods.. ie taking the dogs a walk. she is 13 in a couple of weeks though, and i think this to be a suitable age.... saying that it is entirely dependant on how mature the child is for their age really, and whether the parents feel comfotable and confident about leaving the child alone.

Out here a 12 yr old can babysit for upto 4 hours and not late at night, I can leave both my nearly 13 yr old and nearly 12 for a few hours if I wanted to (usually only left if I go to the store). But in the UK there is no legal babysitting age, if a child 16 and under babysits and something happens its then the parents fault and they can be taken to court - my bro in law (policeman) told me this after I said I thought 14 was legal, he says no where is it written stating this.. Debs x

Lady Lucan There is no legal age. when my sister was training to be a foster carer she was told there was no legal age, but wouldn't reconmend (sp) that you leave a child under 12 unsupervised.

Hello, I think a child of 13 can be left alone, and they can babysit other children in their family, but to babysit anyone elses kids they have to be 14. x karen

Yes Jack, 14 does ring a bell. Liz

I thought the age for babysitting was 14?

Hi Julie, It was bad the 1st day, but by her 1st week i was ok, i told her to promise me to cum home and if she was staying late for after school clubs or something to ring me, which the high school let her ring on the office phone. Once your 1st child has gone its not so bad when the other kids go, x karen

I think it is down to the maturity of the individual. But do you let your children play out alone?? I would rather leave them indoors alone than let them go out alone. Much safer. GLoria

We have had this discussion before on this board. I am sure someone who 'knows' said that theres is no legal age - if a case is reported to social services, each case will be judged on its own merits. I think it is different though when it comes to children babysitting younger children - that may be 16. Liz

Karen I am dreading when my 2 go the secondary school

My daughter is nearly 9 and I certainly wouldn't leave her home alone, although she does now go playing out with her mates when it's light and I trust her as long as she's not on her own, takes her mobile and comes back at an agreed time. When I was young I had my own door key at 9. My dad and his partner both worked full time so my younger brother and I would go home after school and let ourselves in. Dad would be home about an hour later. We were always fine. That said - you didn't get afterschool clubs like you do these days. Jack x

Thank you for your replies Liz My OH was at home was able to take her and my neighbor picked her up. Shelli it would be about half hour for me too. Hope youe feeling better soon. x

I think it depends on the child. I left my son on his own for short periods (30 mins max) when he was 10, but my daughter is now 11 and I wouldn't leave her. I do think 8 is too young though, particularly if he is unwell. Have you got a friend who could take your daughter to school? Liz