For safety reasons parents must arrange for suitable childcare for their children whilst away and unable to keep an eye on them. However, it’s not always available – especially at the last minute. You might need to pop out to get a few groceries or run errands and consider leaving them at home as it’s only a short walk away. Even if that is the case, we highly recommend against it or to think carefully about how they would be in the case of an emergency. Here are points to consider and some guidance to help you decide whether your child’s old enough to be left at home alone.
This post is in collaboration with a pre prep school in Hampton.
Considerations
When you or an appropriate adult is not there, your child will need to deal with situations by themselves. This can be a scary concept and you will need to think about whether it’s something that they will be capable of. They may need to open the door when it’s knocked, babysit their siblings, and feed themselves if they’re hungry. This is something that presents many dangers for young children which is why they should not be left home alone under any circumstances.
Secondary School
At secondary school children are still not mature enough to make most decisions and may struggle to handle themselves in an emergency. They may also be scared by the idea of being left home alone. If they are older teenagers, it’s something that you may consider but should choose to do depending on how they feel and how confident you are in them being okay at home alone. To ensure that nothing goes wrong, you can set some ground rules and talk them through what to do in the event of an emergency.
This is a collaboration post