Home alone

[blazesaki]

Ok here it is. My husband needs to get a job, but I work mornings. We have a son who will be 12 in July. We also have nosey neighbors who like to tell everyone else how to live. Legally, we need to find out what the minimum age is, that he can be allowed to stay home at. We don't have any one we can count on to watch him. We live out in the country, so crime and stuff isn't a big worry, just the aforementioned neighbors, who like to gossip and cause problems.

How can I be within the law so that they will stay off our backs?

My husband is hoping to get a evening job so that our son will not be alone for too long.

 

[CdwJava]

Generally, this shouldn't be a problem ... unless the child is injured or causes destruction or damage. The more often he is alone, the more likely that something will happen. Most 12-year-olds can be trusted with some measure of responsibility on their own, but too much is a dangerous thing and a recipe for disaster.

There is no black letter answer to your question.

- Carl

 

[stealth2]

The more important question is what sort of kid is he? Does he have a good sense of responsibility? Does he know what to do in case of an emergency? If he's on his own in the mornings, is he going to be reliable to get himself off to school? If it's in the afternoon, can he be trusted to have a key and coem in/take care of himself for a few hours?

For example, I have a 13yo who is fine on his own - unless he HAS to be somewhere at a certain time. So I could not leave him on his own in the morning and be certain he'd get on the bus. But otherwise, he knows the house rules (and follows them) and is able to care for himself wrt emergencies, snacks, etc. So, when I had a pet emergency a few weeks ago, I had no qualms leaving him home at 9pm while Little and I took the animal to the vet. But when I had to be back there in the am to do a pick-up by 7:30am, I left Little (11) home to make sure Elder left the house on time and knew I could count on her to catch her (later) bus on time.