You can leave an 11 year old at home alone for 30 minutes to an hour as long as they are mature enough and know how to deal with emergency situations and are able to get into contact with you easily.
The age you can leave a child home alone for 5 minutes is between the ages of 10 to 11 although some kids are mature enough by age 8 to 9 to leave home alone for 5 minutes up to 30 minutes once in awhile.
It depends on the child and how mature they are.
You can leave a 16 year old home alone for hours and even days or longer.
A 16 year old should be able to handle themselves and care for themselves and as long as you trust them they should be fine.
I remember my parents had to go out of state for a few weeks and I did not want to go and instead I stayed home at 13 for a few weeks and I was just fine.
So at 16 I would be just fine being left alone as well.
A child cannot live by themselves as they would not be able to survive on their own or provide for themselves.
As a parent you're responsible for your child until they are 18 years of age and until they are at least 18 you can legally keep them at home and they would be considered a run away if they left your house before then.
Kids should not be left alone by themselves longer than an hour or so depending on their age although if they are above 10 to 12 then they can be left alone longer.
Babies however and toddlers should never be left alone nor should a child under the age of 8.
You cannot leave a baby or toddler at home sleeping while you're away.
A baby is a helpless little person that cannot fend for themselves or would not be able to get out of danger if the need arises.
For example lets say you left your baby at home by itself sleeping for just a few minutes and while you were gone your house caught fire?
The baby could not get up and get out of the house or call 911 and would die and then you would be charged and arrested.
It's illegal and child neglect to leave young children and babies home alone and you should never do so in the first place.
Always take your baby or young child with you even when they are sleeping.
I would never leave my baby at home by itself and if I did need to leave I would have a trusted adult watch them if I could not take them with me.
Once a child is 8 to 9 years old they can usually be left alone for short periods but not for too long.
I remember reading a news article online where a baby was killed in a house fire while the parents left and the house caught on fire.
Either way babies should never be left alone.
However you can step outside while the baby is sleeping but never actually leave the property and always check back in on the baby.