A growing number of parents are facing a burning question: How young is too young to leave your children home alone?
As stories of unsupervised children making shocking decisions flood social media, experts warn that what may seem like harmless independence could have dire consequences.
In September, an unsupervised 8-year-old girl took her mother’s car for a 25-minute walk to Target. Fortunately, only one mailbox was damaged in this alarming incident and it is still unclear if charges have been filed in the case.
Just a few days ago, an Ohio mother was accused of leaving her three children home alone without a phone while she was gone for nearly three days.
Self-expression: a girl found no better support for her painting work than her parents’ computer monitor and climbed on the table to gain better access
Delicious? The photos reveal what children do when left alone, including one girl who poured half a container of Sunny D on the table and naturally proceeded to lick it up.
Foam part! A group of three children somehow managed to fill the bath with bubbles
The mother of three now faces serious consequences, including jail time, as a result of her questionable decision.
So, what is the legal age allowed to leave your child unsupervised?
There is no national minimum age for leaving children home alone, and while some states have set a legal age, most have not.
But the bottom line is that “it’s usually up to you, the parents.” TODAY.com says.
Generally, 12 or older is “a pretty acceptable age,” family therapist Sheryl Ziegler told the publication, echoing the recommendation of the American Academy of Pediatrics.
Ziegler’s suggestion comes as he details how tweens (children ages 9 to 12) have typically experienced slight independence, such as walking to a friend’s house or the bus stop.
However, he emphasized that every child is different and that considering each child’s overall comfort level, maturity, physical and emotional health, environment, and access to support are factors to deliberate before taking the calculated risk.
But, if parents decide to take the leap, it is essential to know the state laws and their nuances to avoid accidentally committing child neglect.
“Many states’ child protection laws classify ‘failure to adequately supervise a child’ as child neglect,” according to the US Department of Health and Human Services
‘But in most cases, states do not define what is considered ‘adequate supervision.’
Delicious! For a young child, peanut butter was so delicious that the only logical thing to do was to cover his entire face and body with it.
As? Apparently, two small children managed to remove all the filling from a sofa cushion.
Colorado The law, like most states, does not set a specific age after which a child can legally be left home alone, but there remains an informal guideline of 12 years “to determine when it might be appropriate to leave a child alone for short periods of time.” ,’ according to the Colorado Department of Human Services.
In Georgia“Children ages eight and younger should not be left alone,” the state Department of Education says. ‘Children between the ages of nine and twelve, depending on their level of maturity, may be left alone for short periods of time (less than two hours); and children thirteen years of age and older, who are at an appropriate level of maturity, may be left alone and may play the role of babysitter, with parental authorization, for up to twelve hours.’
Illinois The law allows children 14 and older to legally stay at home without parental supervision if the minor is only left alone for a “reasonable” period of time.
‘Does the caregiver leave them alone for two hours or five days? Who else is the child responsible for caring for, if anyone? a spokesperson for the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services told TODAY.com.
Maryland The Family Law makes it an offense to leave a child under eight years of age unattended, locked or confined in a house, car, building or other premises without adequate supervision.
As in Maryland, North CarolinaThe United States Fire Code states that a child under eight years of age cannot be left alone without supervision.
Doodles for everyone: a boy left blue marks on the wall, the dog and, of course, his own face
Timeout: A little girl seemed to have somehow trapped her brother in a cage that seems more suitable for pets than small children.
Rest well: One boy was visibly so exhausted that he fell asleep with his hand still stuck in a jar of something that looked incredibly delicious.
OklahomaThe Sooner State does not have a specific legal age requirement, however, according to Oklahoma Human Services, “infants and children under the age of 6 should never be left alone without adult supervision.”
‘Oregon “The law indicates that a child under the age of 10 cannot be left alone for a period that would endanger his or her well-being,” according to the Oregon Department of Human Services.
in both Tennessee and Washington In the state, there are no laws requiring children to reach a certain age before being left home unsupervised, although there is an informal guideline of 10 years of age, according to the respective court systems of both states.
For all other territories, there are no specific age requirements under state law.
But even if you trust your child, they may not be ready for this milestone.
Ziegler, author of ‘The Crunch Years: The Essential Guide to Mental Health and Modern Puberty in Middle Childhood,’ recommends testing whether a child is comfortable and interested with a daytime experiment.
He also adds that when left alone at home, parents keep alcohol, tobacco and weapons locked up and out of children’s reach.
As children grow and the line between childhood innocence and independence blurs, parents have to make the complex decision of whether or not to take measured risk.