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HOW OLD IS OLD
ENOUGH TO BE LEFT HOME ALONE?
There is no magical age for
parents to use as a guide to leaving their children home alone.
Parents need to use their own good judgment and their knowledge of
their children to determine when and at what age it is appropriate
to leave them home alone. The ability to feel safe, handle
emergencies and be a responsible/reliable child really varies from
child to child. You can have some 14-15 year olds that cannot
handle emergencies and are far from responsible.
Redwood County has established a
regional screening criteria to assist everyone in determining how
old is old enough to be left home alone. This screening criteria
asks parents to look at the following factors before allowing your
child to be left home alone or to baby sit for another child:
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Length of
time
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Maturity
and intellectual level of the children
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The
accessibility of the parent, guardian or other designated adult
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The health
or physical status of the children
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The
behavioral history of the children
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Whether a
child is using a stove, iron or appliance, which poses a danger
because of their age
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Whether
the parents have discussed an escape plank, held a fire drill
and discussed emergency safety procedures with the children
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Whether
the residence has an operational smoke detector
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Whether
there are unusual and/or dangerous hazards in the home
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The
children’s reaction to being left alone
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The ages
and number of children in the home
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Whether
the child has completed a Babysitting Clinic
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The
reliability/capability of the person the parent has chosen to
provide supervision
With consideration
of the above factors, Redwood County uses the following guidelines
for children who are unsupervised or provide supervision to younger
children:
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Children
age 7 and younger always need appropriate supervision.
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Children
ages 8-9 may be left home alone for no more than 2 hours.
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It may be
acceptable for children ages 10-13 to baby sit alone for more
than 12 hours.
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Reports
indicating that children 14-17 are unsupervised while parents
are absent for more than 24 hours will be screened, considering
adequate adult back up supervision.
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It may be
acceptable for children ages 11-14 to be unsupervised or to baby
sit with the expectation that the parent, guardian or caretaker
will be returning later that same day.
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It may be
acceptable for children age 15 to baby sit or to be unsupervised
with the expectation that the parent, guardian or caretaker will
be returning within 24 hours.
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Parental
judgment should be used in determining the need for supervision
of older children. Caution is advised when considering lengthy
periods of time without supervision or when the child is placed
in a caretaker role.
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