Many parents face the dilemma of knowing at what age children can stay home alone, especially after school or in the summer. Before you consider leaving your child unattended, make sure they are reasonably mature, able to take care of themselves, and fully prepared for emergencies. Set ground rules, review basic safety policies, and establish routines that will keep your child healthy and safe. Our iMom, printable with 10 rules of solitude at home, is a good place to start. “Trust and check” when children are left home alone overnight, says a family therapist and author — but with acceptances in college, reality has hit,” said Arena, executive director of the Global Center for Journalism and Democracy at Sam Houston State University. “We need to leave her alone in a place where she feels comfortable to ease the transition.” @Ben I absolutely feel like it`s negligent to leave a high school student home alone overnight. A young person between the ages of 15 and 17 is always a child/minor. What happens in case of a medical emergency, car accident, house flooding, etc.? I haven`t done extensive research on that, because it`s not something I would consider, but would they even have the legal authority to deal with any of these situations? When I left my children with their grandparents, we were advised to leave a notarized letter stating that they had the right to take our children for medical treatment. This is not a situation where a single parent has to leave an older child overnight for a job, a sick parent, or something similar that isn`t entirely optional. Leave reserved for parents (or spouse on a work trip) is entirely optional. My priority is my children and, as far as I am concerned, the children of high school age and the children who need supervision and who should not be left alone at home while I go on vacation. It can be difficult to decide when your teen is mature enough to be left home alone for the night. Will your child make good choices? Do they feel comfortable being alone during the night? What if something goes wrong and you`re not there to help? Arena said she is now looking forward to a time at the start of the new year when she can leave her daughter alone for a weekend.

Kelli Arena, a mother of three in Houston, didn`t leave her daughter, who just turned 17, alone for one night. Since she also has younger children (one aged 13 and 14), she always thought it would be too much to expect her daughter to take care of herself and her siblings when she and her husband left. Louise Sattler, a mother of two grown children in Los Angeles, said she never left her children alone overnight until they were in college because something happened to a former colleague. hmmm. My 16-year-old son would probably panic if I left him at home overnight and entrusted him with his younger brother. They feel safer when Grandma was with them, and we are lucky that our parents stay with them. For Sattler, the answer to say no until college was to all her children`s requests to stay home alone overnight, and even then, she said she asked them not to advertise her home as “without parents.” Thank you all for your comments and perspective. This is certainly not a one-size-fits-all policy. I was left alone overnight at the age of 16, as were some of my friends. We haven`t been involved in too many gadgets at that age. Or is it the case?!?! Of course, some experts may disagree with the blogger`s conclusions, so parents should use their judgment about what is best for their child and, arguably most importantly, follow the laws of their city and state.

In addition to the suggestions listed above, it`s always a good idea to let your immediate neighbors know that some days your child may be home alone. Not only can a neighbor be a good resource in an emergency, but they can also help mitigate potential calls to parental control services from ignorant neighbors. Every teenager is different and you know your child better than anyone. Trust your intuition when you decide to leave them home alone overnight. Ferrara also pointed out that every child is different, when they can be alone, for how long and under what circumstances. “If your teen has friends who are a little mean and your child seems a bit of a follower, I`d hesitate to leave them alone.” Few states have laws that set a minimum age for a child to be left home alone. If you`re thinking about your teen`s ability to stay home safely alone overnight, ask yourself the following questions: In addition to age, there are other factors to consider. Is the 16-year-old responsible for babysitting his younger siblings overnight? How old are you? The best thing you can do is slowly give your teen extra responsibilities. Take precautions to prepare your teen to stay home alone overnight. She points out that each state has different laws on the subject, but hopes its compiled guidelines can help start a dialogue and give parents important information.