With kids going back to school, I'm curious to hear from yal at what age you are comfortable with leaving your kids home alone before school starts. We know a family where both parents leave their 9yo home alone in the morning while they commute to work; he gets himself ready and jumps on the bus all by himself.

Depends on the kid and circumstances. 13 as a generic number

I think it's a good movie for all ages.

I would probably trust my 1st grade girl of getting dressed and getting on the bus now by herself. Her twin brother? no chance in hell

I was 10 when I became latchkey. Gen X ftw!

I started at 9 y/o, and I'd be good with my kids doing it at nine.

We live in the country. Our nearest neighbor is half a mile away, and we keep an eye on each other's places. I'd have greater reservations if we lived in town where traffic was higher.

Doesn't the law in Texas say age 12?

I wasn't trustworthy to do that at 17. So probably never.

Pack ... my suitcase?

I think we started with an hour or so around 10. Our 14 year old will stay home alone for many hours now.

I grew up in the country so it wasn't an option in terms of the school year, but my parents started leaving my younger brother and I home alone when I was probably 10.

Got a hardship license at 15 to drive my brother and I to our school and sports so my parents could work.

I was latchkey when I was 6 or 7.

Ryan the Temp said:

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I was latchkey when I was 6 or 7.

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This. Single mom w/ 3 kids, we were home alone a lot at an early age. Entire Summers alone, fending for ourselves. It was great.

I was the eldest child and often ran the house for hours at a time by age 7-8 or so. No big deal. We had neighbors and relatives living nearby, and I had it under control. That was before cell phones too so it was purely a matter of trust and responsibility. If my siblings got out of line, I knocked some sense back into them.

I was babysitting starting at 10

Started overnights and full weekends at 12.


It was weird when some of the kids were older than me but I had a reputation as responsible, cooked good meals, and made the kids clean up the rooms( of they were old enough to do that).

Also made them read books during a weekend stay

Same! I was babysitting my 4 cousins at 10 years old. Crazy to me to think about it now.

NoahAg said:

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Ryan the Temp said:

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I was latchkey when I was 6 or 7.

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This. Single mom w/ 3 kids, we were home alone a lot at an early age. Entire Summers alone, fending for ourselves. It was great.

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Did they at least leave some stamps and a checkbook so you could keep the lights on?

Aggie Dad 26 said:

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NoahAg said:

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Ryan the Temp said:

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I was latchkey when I was 6 or 7.

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This. Single mom w/ 3 kids, we were home alone a lot at an early age. Entire Summers alone, fending for ourselves. It was great.

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Did they at least leave some stamps and a checkbook so you could keep the lights on?

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If it was a good week we might have some Lunchables or frozen dinners in stock. White bread and ketchup sandwiches weren't uncommon. Scrounging the change jar and walking to Texaco for snacks/candy was fun.

I am Gen X. We're always on our own and self-sufficient.

aggiebird02 said:

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I was 10 when I became latchkey. Gen X ftw!

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Same.... Believe it was halfway through 4th grade shortly after my 10th birthday. I couldn't imagine waiting much longer and still having a day care bus picking me up when I was in middle school

I was at 8. Parents divorced and Mom worked 2 jobs. She stopped for dinner after fulltime day job at our place, and then was off to work for 4 hours at a dress shop just to get some extra money. I rode the bus or biked home from school and was by myself for about 2 hours til we had dinner, then again til she got home at night. She only did the 2nd job gig for about 6 months, so I was only by myself for about 2 hours after that.

I learned how to cook and be pretty independent. Things were generally safe back then. I could leave and go play with friends, but I had to call and let her know. Summers I was by myself all day, or had some kind of activity.

It was really no big deal. I was a pretty responsible kid. As I got just a little older, I started mowing yards to make $$, and I was very independent from that point on.

My oldest brother was 10, middle brother 7 and I was 6. It's amazing we survived childhood. We lit fires in our house, threw darts in the furniture (and all of those awesome baseball cards that would be worth a lot of money today), and we destroyed parts of two neighbors' houses when they had moved out and the houses were vacant. We weren't bad kids, but we sure were dumb!

Totally depends on the kid.

I started at 10 and my son is 10 now. He started this year.

I didn't realize so many of you left for work before you even woke / readied your children for school. I didn't know that was common - at all.

My kid is 10 and if it were necessary, I'd trust her to do it now. Would've been fine the last two years too, though she had some anxiety about being home alone up until about a year ago.

Since halfway through second grade, she's consistently gotten herself up and completely ready for school (we use Alexa reminders to keep her on track) without any input from me. Most mornings my alarm goes off 15 minutes before we have to walk out the door and she's ready to go by then, so I'm literally just the driver.

Home alone-11 and 8 for our boys for short times for errands. 12 and 9 more errands and nice peaceful lunches out. I don't consider home alone the same as getting out the door for school. At 12 my oldest son could probably do it but would randomly forget stuff I have the feeling. My youngest son? Holy hell I can barely get him out the door with assisting him A LOT. He isn't a brat and is actually very self sufficient, moreso than his brother but he is a complete airhead and slow AF. Luckily I don't have to leave before them in the morning. That would stress me out.

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I was 10 when I became latchkey. Gen X ftw!

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Walked home about 3/4 of a mile from school & let myself in about the same age... 2nd grade.

Like 6-7

I was in third grade. I still cringe at the memory of forgetting to change out of my pajama top one day and into a shirt. Walked to school in tough skins and my pajama top. Whole day was rough. Only happened once.

What was on the pajama tops? I miss those Toughskins. Our moms bought them at Sears.

Latchkey at around 10. Parents ran a business then. It was a great time. Actually moved my family away from the city when the kids were young so that they could experience life that way. There's something to it.

Stayed at home alone in the summer when 10.

The Chicken Ranch said:

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I am Gen X. We're always on our own and self-sufficient.

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My family was comfortable leaving me alone at pretty much any age until high school. Not sure what changed.

Ya I can totally see how this can dependent on your own situation. In my neighborhood, all my neighbors have kids going to the same school and we live close to the school where everyone walks together. I can see them managing as long as I get all their stuff ready in the morning