Home Alone

We had a police officer speak at our moms group one day and I asked this same questions. He said there is no law with a specific age limit for staying home alone. The reason is because every child is different and some are more mature and responsible than others the same age. A parent could leave a 6 year old home alone and would not be in any trouble, unless something happened to the child or the child was in danger. The officer did say the the age of 12 is a general guideline.

Depends on the maturity level. I know that they really aren't supposed to babysit until around 14-ish.
Call your local police department or sheriff's office for the laws in your area.
There are also babysitter prep courses given through hospitals sometimes that might be familiar with this type of thing. Those courses offer CPR and first aid for kids that would be babysat so you would end up with a better babysitter.
I thought my 11 1/2 year old was pretty mature, until he and his friend were caught in the front yard with a lighter and a spraycan of deoderant. He will be 12 this summer. Now I wouldn't let him babysit, but thought that he was a bit more responsible than that. So you can really never tell. And I was home in the house BTW. You would think that he would even be smart enough to wait until I wasn't so close by. So I really had to re-think his maturity level and responsabilities, privledges, peer pressure, etc. Girls can be a bit more mature. I was babysitting at 12 and 13, with no problems. But again, I would check with the police stations and go from there.
Good luck,
L.

Not sure of the laws but I recommend the babysitting course from the red cross. I do know that there are different time limits as to how long the child can be left alone according to age. I hope this helps.

I can tell you this....as a licensed daycare provider, I am held responsible for any child in my home who is under the age of 14. After they turn 14, the city/state does not count them in my group, nor do they provide reimbursement for their meals; but I would be required to have a criminal history done on them every two years, just like any adult who has contact with my group. I've had a few children in my care during the summer months who were 12. None older than that.

http://www.missbrenda.com

I know working in childcare we can have them till the day they turn 13. Then after that they are not allowed to come becuase they should be able to stay home.

I would definitely call and ask your local police department.

I was 8 and my sister was 10 when a police officer came to the door to discover that we were home alone (he was supposedly tipped off...said my parents). This was in Texas 20 years ago. He asked us if we knew where our parents were and we did and he left...I guess that was enough for him.