How Old Is Old Enough To Stay Home Alone?

The operative word with everyone here seems to be maturity. And that's the reality I'm having to deal with. I think he could handle an emergency, depending upon the emergency I guess. My neighbors are great and the one across the street is a cop/police officer. They'll check in on him. My son, of course, won't like that.

You can tell him he has 2 choices, allow the neighbor to keep an eye on him, or he gets a babysitter..I think we both know which he will choose...lol

It's a brand new neighborhood but the kids seem to know how to get into trouble here. I did think about having a neighbor check in on him. Either that or we'll have to have his dad pick him up which my son is not in favor off. I guess I'll have to start trusting him some day.

I was home a lone at that age, but I think it's a good idea to have a neighbor check in on him or a family member stay with him at night so it's a little more safer.

I don't think he'll get too scared. Plus our neighbor is a police officer and he'll just run over there if anything happens. And I am working my way up to trusting him.

I guess it is about how mature I think my son is. I have asked him if he would like to spend some time with his friend who lives right next door. There's a few options.

I agree whole heartedly. I am also very uneasy about leaving children home alone. I'm trying to make arrangements so that he won't be alone the whole weekend. It seems a mother's work is just never done.

Thanks for your perspective, BoJangles. I am moving towards trusting him more but sometimes I wonder. Will he behave? Will he stay out after dark? Maybe that's not fair but I also worry about his safety. However, having said that he is giving me more reason to trust him lately.

Hi Darlene. It actually went very well. He was alone for the day and part of the night. Around 10pm or so my parents came and looked after him. He was a little upset as you could imagine because, I guess, all 15 year olds believe they are old enough to stay home alone. Thanks for your input. I really do appreciate it.

Wow, a whole week? Sounds like he's a pretty responsible kid. Was he scared at all?

The thing is, he is totally immature and irresponsible. He has a criminal record. I hate having him live with us but his own mother doesn't even want him. If you ever read any of my other posts about him, you would understand totally that I only put up with him because he is hubby's son. He doesn't have a good supportive parental base as neither his mother nor hubby know how to raise kids. Anyway, I have fleshed that all out in other discussions in the past. The thing is, we had his mom on standby if there was an emergency he would have to contact her. He wouldn't go stay with her and he didn't want her there with him. I suppose he probably partied but when we got home in a week, the house was still standing and not too messy, so everything was ok. Believe me though, we left him partly because we needed the vacation. That was four years ago and we haven't had a vacation since, but we are thinking of leaving again for a week this spring. Presently he is looking for a job and going to school to earn his high school leaving certificate so he may need to stay pretty focussed while we are gone. I think it will be ok. He's 19 now, and still not the brightest bulb in the hardware store.

Of course not! But I do think he is old enough to stay by self hugs

If I was comparing my daughter to my son (which of course I would never do) then I would have to say you are right. Girls seem to mature a tad bit faster than boys.

You make an excellent point. If something happened illegal, which I pray against with all my might, I would be charged with abandonment. Now that's a scary thought.

No, I'm not going to leave him for the whole weekend. Eeeeck that would horrify me. It will probably be one night and my neighbor will check in on him.

That trust issue is pretty tricky. But, of course, that could just be me. Let's just say I don't think he'll be graduating college at age 17.

That's exactly what happened. He was home alone for most of the day and part of the night. My parents came around 10:00pm and all was well. Oh, they grow up so soon.

I do worry whether he can handle emergency situations. My mom and dad are coming in around 10:00pm Friday night. So he'll be home alone from around 3:00pm till 10 or 11pm. I'm thinking he could spend that time at our neighbor's house. Reading everyone's advice here I think I've come to the conclusion I'm not overprotective at all. Everyone seems to be a little uncomfortable leaving kids home alone. Thanks Jenny and good luck next Tuesday. One and half hours is not to bad. Praying still works. :)

Hey Cher, it was my son actually. He wound up staying home alone for just one day. My parents came in around 10:00pm and stayed the weekend. Then my 19 year old daughter picked him up Sunday morning. Maybe one day soon, I can leave him on his own for a weekend. That day just wasn't now. Thanks, my friend for stopping by.

Hi Lola etc etc, lol. That is one long name. Anyhow, I left on Friday at around 3:00pm. My mom and dad came to stay with him. They came in at 10 or 11pm. He spent Saturday with them and then his older sister picked him up on Sunday. I was home Sunday evening. So he got a few hours on Friday and I am learning to trust him and he is realizing he needs to earn that trust. It was very educational for the both of us.