by L.S. Watts

Created on: January 22, 2009

Every parent must decide at some point in their parenting career what age to allow your child to stay at home alone. The American Academy of Pediatrics strongly recommends adult supervision for children until they reach the age of 11 or 12 years old. But to be honest, there isn't a cookie cutter age. It seriously depends upon the maturity level and personality of each individual child. Several agencies and organizations have checklists upon checklists to consider before deciding whether your child can stay home alone or not.

There are some things you need to consider before decided whether your child can handle being left alone for any given time. Is your child mentally and physically able to care for him or herself? How does your child feel about staying home alone? Is he or she comfortable with the idea or is he or she apprehensive about the idea? Does your child follow instructions well and obey all the rules? Can your child use the telephone properly? These are just a few questions to ask yourself and discuss with your child.

There are safety issues that must be addressed when considering leaving your child at home. Make sure your child has contact numbers to contact you and other adults. Also, be sure they know how to contact emergency personnel in the event of an emergency. It is also a good idea to contact your local Red Cross and enroll your child in first aid and other safety classes. Make sure your child knows fire safety rules and fire escape procedures. The same goes for severe storms. We can't always predict the weather, so does your child know what to do in the event of a tornado, other severe storms, or an earthquake?

There are ways you can test your child to see if they are ready to stay at home alone. Be advised, these are not fail safe but it is a good way of testing the waters, so to speak. Have the child stay home alone while not going to far from the home and in short time spans such as fifteen minutes or so. This is a good trial period for you and your child.

You can also role-play with your child. What if the lights go out? Teach your child what to do and have them walk through the procedures. What if there is a fire? Again, teach your child what to do and have them practice the routine over and over.

So you think your child is ready to stay home alone? Well, that may be but before you allow your child to stay home alone you should be familiar with the laws in your state. You also need to understand that although most states have no laws governing

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