Can Your Kids Be Home Alone?

In the past, mothers stayed at home to take care of their children while fathers were responsible for providing economic support. In some homes today, dads are still the heads of the home. In others, the mother also goes to work and then the question arises whether her children can be alone at home.

The truth is that leaving children at home unsupervised can turn out to be catastrophic if they are too young. When they are children, little ones want to know everything and experience things. A well-known psychologist in Spain, Javier Urra, says that it is not advisable to leave children under 7 years old alone. But in this article we’ll take a closer look at this situation.

What does the law say about leaving children alone at home?

The lack of security in the home and the legal norms that protect minors are in agreement on the fact that their children should not be left alone at home. Obviously, leaving a four-year-old at home alone is irresponsible. At this age, the levels of creativity and innocence are so high that anything could happen. Even though he is very obedient, he is still a small child.

Certainly the laws vary depending on the region where you live. But, in most cases, the rules for the protection of minors consider this situation as an act of helplessness on the part of the parents. It is not only the abandonment of the home, but also the fact that the child’s representatives did not adequately fulfill the obligation to protect the child.

You must keep control of the situation.

If you feel that you are already exhausted (either because you are a single parent or because your partner also works), now is the time to seek an expert to present your case. It could be a lawyer who knows the legal regulations in your country. Only he will be able to tell if there is a specific age that allows children to be alone at home.

However, you must look beyond the legal scope. It ‘s also a good idea to see a psychologist who will assess your children’s ability to be alone at home.  This will give you an overview of how to handle some situations when you don’t have someone to help.

Are your children able to take care of themselves?

If you ask your children if they are capable of taking care of themselves, you are not questioning the correct source for this information.  It’s true that the subject is about themselves and you want to know the opinion of the little ones, but their way of thinking is not mature enough to make that kind of decision.

Even if your children want to demonstrate that they are capable of being alone at home, you should consider other factors as well. Think that you have knowledge that your children have not yet had access to. So you have to think about what their reaction will be in difficult situations. Many experts agree that if the child is over 10 years old, it would be necessary to assess her maturity to see if she can be left alone at home.

How do you know if your child is ready for this moment?

Here are some interesting questions that will let you know if your child is ready to be home alone.

• Can he take care of himself mentally and physically?
• Do you obey the rules and make good decisions?
• Does he feel safe or is he afraid of being alone at home?
• Will the child need to prepare something to eat?
• How often will your child need to be alone? How many times a week?
• How many children will keep him in the house? When a child is ready to be alone at home, it does not mean that he is ready to take care of his siblings.
• Do you have a safe house, or does it present risks?
• Is the neighborhood where you live safe?

If the time has come and you think your children are ready to be alone, it’s critical that you explain what they should do in an emergency. Write down your phone numbers and those of a family member or neighbor.

Explain that they must not let anyone into the house even if they are a known adult. The first few times you’re going to leave your kids alone, try to keep it for a little while. Then you can increase your absence time gradually.

The most important thing is that your children can talk on the phone and communicate with you or another adult if they feel the need.