It is up to the parents to decide when a child is ready to stay home alone.
To explain what LB means, is if something should happen while a child is home alone (under the age of 18) a parent could be held liable.
But lets face it, almost all children are left home alone sometime in their life before they are 18, and I personally think it's important for them to experience that as preparation for adulthood. As babysitting is a great learning experience.
Because you leave your child home alone does not mean that you will get into legal problems/trouble. But IF something bad should happen while your child was alone, if would be an issue.
For an example, my son is 11 and he stays home alone. My husband and I both decided he was ready and he has grown and matured alot since we made that decision. It has actually been really good for him.
*If* you feel your child is mature enough and responsible enough, then that is your parental decision.
Now, if you are leaving a 4 yr old and a 7 yr old home alone that would be very questionable...In my opinion, if a child is at least 10 and you can trust them and they are responsible for themselves; I would try it out. But that is just me.
I know parents that have 12 yr olds that have babysitters still, and I also know Mothers who have 8 yr olds that allow their child to stay alone.
To sum it up, it's a parental decision. But weigh out all of the options and make an appropriate decision based SOLELY on the child in question.
Good luck!
[Edited by MySonsMom on 06-28-2001 at 09:42 PM]
