How old can a child be to stay home alone?

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asked Jul 13, 2019 in Grade Schooler by tortrej8v (300 points)
How old can a child be to stay home alone?

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answered Jul 14, 2019 by Gracy (125,580 points)
You can usually begin leaving a child home alone for at least 1 hour to 1 hour and 30 minutes as early as age 8 but do not leave the 8 year old home alone longer than 1 hour and 30 minutes or overnight.

When a child gets to 13 and above they can usually be left alone longer but still at 13 I wouldn't leave them home alone longer than 4 hours and certainly not overnight.

A few states also have laws in place that put a minimum age limit on when you can legally leave your child home alone but it would be hard for them to enforce the age limit because unless someone turns you in then they would not be able to find out.

Also make sure the child is mature enough to be left alone and won't get into trouble while you're gone and let them know where they can contact you and preferably have a trusted neighbor who they can get in touch with should there be an emergency or have the neighbor come in and check on them especially if you need to be gone longer than a few hours.

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