Leaving Your Child Home Alone

Whether it's a snow day home from school, an unexpected business appointment, or a child care arrangement that fell through at the last minute, situations are likely to arise where you feel you have little choice but to leave your child home alone.

It's natural to be a bit anxious when you first leave your child without any supervision. But it doesn't have to be something for which you and your child feel unprepared. With some planning — and trial runs where you remain close by — you can approach the situation with confidence.

Handled well, staying home alone can be a positive experience for your child, too — one that helps him or her gain a sense of self-assurance and independence.

Is Your Child Ready?

It’s obvious that a 5-year-old can't go it alone, and that a 16-year-old can probably handle it. But what about those school-aged kids in the middle? It can be difficult to know when kids are ready to handle being home alone. Ultimately, it comes down to your judgment about what your child is ready for.

You'll want to know how your child feels about the prospect, of course. But often kids insist that they'll be fine long before you feel comfortable with the idea. And then there are older kids who seem afraid even when you're pretty confident that they would be just fine. So how do you know?

In general, it's probably not a good idea to leave a child younger than 10 years old home alone. Every child is different, but at that age, most kids don't have the maturity and skills to respond to an emergency if they're alone.

But there are other factors to consider too.

Think about the area where you live. Are there neighbors nearby you know and trust to help your child in case of an emergency? Or is it mostly strangers? Do you live on a busy street with lots of traffic? Or is it a quiet area? Is there a lot of crime in your area?

It's also important to consider how your child handles various situations. Here are a few questions to think about:

• Does your child show signs of responsibility with things like homework, household chores, and following directions?
• How does your child handle unexpected situations? How calm does your child stay when things don't go his or her way?
• Does your child understand and follow rules?
• Can your child understand and follow safety measures?
• Does your child make good judgments about what kinds of risks to take?
• Does your child know basic first-aid procedures?
• Does your child follow your instructions about staying away from strangers?

Even if you're confident that your child does well with all of the above, it's wise to make some practice runs, or home-alone trials, before the big day. Let your child stay home alone for 30 minutes to an hour while you remain nearby and easily reachable. When you return, discuss how it went and talk about things that you might want to change or skills that your child may need to learn for the next time.

Handling the Unexpected

You can feel more confident about your absence if your child learns some basic skills that might come in handy during an emergency. Organizations such as the American Red Cross offer courses in first aid and cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) in local places like schools, hospitals, and community centers.