(this was in a magazine column)A husband's wife leaves their 8 year old son alone frequently for a "short run to the store." "Sometimes she's gone for about an hour." Does anyone at SO think that's too young to leave their son alone?

Umm...yes. Seems quite obvious to me you don't leave an 8 year old child at home alone.

I don't, as long as she's not gone for 4-5 hrs. When I was around that age my mom and dad left me at home by myself. If they had to run errands or something and I didn't want to go I would stay home. They would always say, don't answer the phone, or the door and stay inside.

I think that's wayyyyyyyyyy too young, especially for boys (sorry guys!!!) That just gives them a chance to say, "Hmmm no one's here, I always wondered how this stove, lighter, fireplace works..." LOL

Yes, it's a little young. A child that age usually doesn't have the mental capability of logically handling emergency or safe circumstances. They would understand the differences between good and bad (i.e. strangers calling or knocking at the door), but they don't always understand the importance of how to handle situations as they arise. Other things like turning on the stove, keeping an eye out for the washing machine/dryer, can be tricky if something goes wrong.

I don't, as long as she's not gone for 4-5 hrs. When I was around that age my mom and dad left me at home by myself. If they had to run errands or something and I didn't want to go I would stay home. They would always say, don't answer the phone, or the door and stay inside.
I agree. As long as the parent(s) will only be gone for under one hour, I don't see anything wrong with it. But if it's longer than that, I would insist the child come with me, or I could take the child to a friend/relative's house until I am done with doing what needs to get done.

I was about that age when I became a latchkey kid, because my mom worked weird hours at her job at that time. I had an older sister, so my mom knew she could trust the two of us not to make any trouble. I would think that as long as the child is known to be very well-behaved and knows what not to do when they are home alone, it would be okay to leave them alone for a short period of time.

It really depends on the situation when you get down to it. In my case, I had an older sister, and I didn't -have- to stay home if I didn't want to. I could just go to a friend's house or whatever. The letter didn't mention the child having any older siblings.

definitley...

It's probably a little young. I think I was 10 before I was left home alone for any real amount of time. Of course I rode my bike all over the trailor park when I was 8 and it was quite large but then it was a safer time too.

I would NEVER leave a child that young home alone even for an hour. If I were just walking down the street for a few minutes to see a neighbor or something I probably would but I would never get in a car and run to the store without taking him with me or having someone look after him. I would wait till they were 10 or 11 before leaving them alone. Anything could happen and kids that age aren't always mature enough to handle a problem should one come up. Besides all that I believe it is against the law to leave a kid that young by himself.

As long as the kid is known for being reeeeeeally good, i don't see anything wrong with it.

It is way too young. I don't care how long the parent is gone for.

no, i stopped having a babysitter when i was 8 and my mom and dad left me, my 10 yr old brother and 6 year old sister home alone all day nothing happened besides us being hungry and not knowing how to cook

Yes. Wow I mean maybe my parents were over protective but I nneeever stayed home alone when I was that little. That'd be me being like 8 and my sister 6. You don't leave kids that young home alone. They fight, they do **** they're not supposed to and then there's that chance of an emergency. It's not worth it.

Absolutely

(this was in a magazine column)A husband's wife leaves their 8 year old son alone frequently for a "short run to the store." "Sometimes she's gone for about an hour." Does anyone at SO think that's too young to leave their son alone?
:lol: :lol: :crazy:

Definitely too young. In New York, technically, anyone under 15 can't be left home alone but no one follows that. My parents never left me home alone because I was always causing ****.

8 is way too young!! My son is 9 and I have NEVER left him home alone for any period of time!! The house would be destroyed. I was 8 when I started staying home alone, but the times were much safer....

My parents have let my youngest sister before when she was only 8, which I thought was crazy!

No child, no matter how mature, should not be allowed to be home alone until they're at least 11 or 12, IMO

I was left home alone younger than that and I turned out fine.

8 is way too young to be left alone

it depends on the child

Yes, it is way too young. I could care less how "mature" the child is, pedophiles are lurking everywhere nowadays. All it takes is seconds, to break into a house and take a child away. I can't believe some of you don't think it is a big deal. I guess it is all about where you live, but still, anything can happen to a child who is left unsupervised.

Bartsmith is an 8 year old who is left alone too long...:lol: :crazy:

Yes, it is way too young. I could care less how "mature" the child is, pedophiles are lurking everywhere nowadays. All it takes is seconds, to break into a house and take a child away. I can't believe some of you don't think it is a big deal. I guess it is all about where you live, but still, anything can happen to a child who is left unsupervised.
exactly. It just isn't a safe world anymore. Anything can happen and it only takes a few seconds.

Yes, it is way too young. I could care less how "mature" the child is, pedophiles are lurking everywhere nowadays. All it takes is seconds, to break into a house and take a child away. I can't believe some of you don't think it is a big deal. I guess it is all about where you live, but still, anything can happen to a child who is left unsupervised.
Agreed. It's probably even illegal to leave a child that young alone. No matter how mature the child is, emergencies happen. A lot can happen.

Agreed. It's probably even illegal to leave a child that young alone. No matter how mature the child is, emergencies happen. A lot can happen.
That is what I was trying to say on the first page - mentally and logistically, I don't think kids fully understand how to handle emergency/important events.

I think 8 is definately too young. My mom didn't leave me alone til I was 12. She felt better about leaving me when I was old enough to handle it.

8 years old is way too young.

it depends on the child

That's where your intuition comes to play. Sometimes a child is too sick to be taken out. Sometimes they are too weak to even get into a car. Medicine does run out and you need to refill quickly. 8 is too young.

My dad once left my then 7 year old sister alone for about 10 or 20 minutes..............That was the first time she'd ever been left alone......................

The first time I was left alone was when I was about 10 or 11

i personally think it's too young. Yea, there are kids out there who can handle it, but I don't think it's worth the risk.

I remember being 8 and I was sick and my Dad had to work so I was alone for the afternoon, I was ok. I personally think it's too young though.

Eight years old is definitely too young to be left alone, no matter what.

1. No matter how responsible or well behaved you think your eight year old is (in itself, a ridiculous notion), there is no way to guarantee your kid won't be curious about something dangerous or make a simple mistake that could be devastating.

2. Anything in the home could choose at that moment to fail- electrical wiring could start a fire, pipes could burst, a stair could break, a ceiling tile fall, tree crash into the house, etc. That is too much jeopardy to think an eight year old could resolve the situation, much less not get injured or killed.

3. Outside forces- predators, thieves, strangers, anyone could get into your house even when you are home. When your 8 year old kid is alone who is going to stop the person from doing God knows what? Coming back to an empty house would be the end of your life as you know it- and I'm not talking about your personal goods being stolen.


Anyone thinking of leaving their kid alone even for an hour better re-read this list.

Another consideration is that the child could become ill....pass out, start to choke or some other sudden emergency. That could happen to an older child as well. Yet, God forbid if it did, at least the parent wouldn't have to live with the guilt of leaving such a young child alone...and face criminal charges as well.