At what age can a kid stay home by themselves

I don't even let my 10 (soon to be 11) alone for short errands - except perhaps a run to the car or bring the dog outside - in this case I am very close by.

But I am probably over protective - also there has been no reason to leave her alone.

Although the high level in the area must be 12 (not for short trips, but say for afterschool care) - it seems after school care ends at age 12 as if miraculously upon turning 12 you no longer require supervision.

that's probably a not bad argument for starting to teach children at 10 and 11 how to handle that unsupervised time

Oh Beth - what a good girl you were. That was about the age I got busted for some bad decisions on my part and got to spend the next year chaperoned at everything I did by one or both parents. I was not a wise child.

I agree with many of you in that it probably depends on the child and how mature they are for their age. I am not there yet - mine are 9 and 6.

One thing I do not want to do though, is allow my own stupidity as a child to color my perception of my kids trustworthiness....that's tough though. I have one just like me. So scary.

Great topic boomerang.

Before reading down to where I figured you mention Mo's age, I considered when I was left alone for an hour or so, like mother taking a trip to the grocery store.
I recollected being 8.
I don't remember being scared about anything, if it was during the day.

Being alone all night? If parents were on vacation, and older siblings went out, I think it was around 15.

boris kitten, I think a 5 year old is too young to be left at a library for hours. It's a shame it's being used as a babysitter.

By 8 I would go to the library alone and spend hours there by myself. By that time, you were in school, and I think a lot of kids have become comfortable with not having a parent around them all the time.

My kids are 7 and 9 and I often leave them home when I walk up to the grocery store for up to 30 minutes. Because there are two of them, I guess I feel more comfortable. I also feel better about it when the distance is short -- meaning I can get back quickly if I'm needed. And of course they have the cell phone numbers.

I'm not sure how I would feel if it was just one child. Maybe they'd be more scared in that case?

Yes - I was drinking...they were drinking - they were driving. It's good I got caught. It never even crossed my mind they could have an accident. It was dumb.

Thankfully I got caught before we did it again and someone got killed. Might not have ever happened...but that's not something a parent wants to take a chance on.

Of course I was not this gracious when I was 15 - which is probably why I was on a leash for as long as I was.

But it's not something they had ever talked to me about before either. I don't think they ever thought I would do that...I am not sure why though. I was curious about everything. I talk a lot more to my kids about everything than my folks did to me. I think they took it for granted that I thought things through! Oops. That was a mistake.