Leaving children at home

Think you answered your own question when you stated no one under 16, and that's a lot of pressure to put on an 18 year old. Where you planning on going and how often

I have a 15 year old , 13 year old & a 8 year old , also have a 7 year old . I couldn't leave them over night or for any length of time . Its a lot of responsibility to put onto the 15 year olds shoulders. Accidents happen , would the 15 year old know what to do ? Would the younger ones listen to the 15 year old ? I've left my 15 year old home for a few hours and my heart is in my mouth the full time we are away . He is responsible but I keep thinking of the what ifs ?

What exactly is the reason you are leaving them alone? How long for?

Im sorry i don't mean to sound hard on you, but my opinion is that it is not responsible of you to leave your 15 year old in charge of the others, which is what you are ultimately doing. You are unintentionally putting them at risk & you are also forcing an adult responsibility upon all of them to look after themselves while you are gone. Im sorry but no, it is not acceptable.

Honestly no and the fact you have asked i think you feel its not right. Yes they can call you in an emergency but what if they sleep through it eg a fire i could not live with the guilt or worry of what ifs tbh. Your eldest shouldn't have to be responsible for your younger ones either. If it was in day for an hour then i think would be ok but over night i wouldn't want the risk tbh.

Definitely not.

In particular your 8 year old can't be left with teenagers over night.

I do understand that sensible teenagers will be fine most of the time, but ultimately they aren't equipped to deal appropriately with an emergency.

I think my kids would be absolutely fine overnight, they are 13 and 14, and definitely independent enough. However, I don't and won't leave them until they are much older, it's just not worth the risk.

First of all, there is no such law. You are expected to be able to judge when it is appropriate to leave your own children unsupervised as all children are different.

I'm going to go against the grain here and say that in certain situations, it might be ok.

Like is this going to be a regular thing or just a one off or every now and then?

How long will you be gone?

Would your eldest know what to do in an emergency?

I was babysitting from about the age of 14 onwards regularly for children aged between 1 & 4. I was responsible and would have known how to handle an emergency.

The babysitting was never overnight, but usually until about 1 or 2am.

If you think your eldest daughter is mature enough to handle an unexpected emergency, and the younger ones are happy with her being left in charge then I don't see an issue. But I would pay her, like you would any other babysitter because expecting her to do it for free just isn't fair. And of course ask her if she actually wants to do it.

That’s not true regarding the law .

Have you actually looked into it ?

It’s at your discretion but if anything serious was to happen you would be held responsible.

Are you working that distance away, how often would they be left ?

How responsible are the eldest two.?

Depends on how mature they are and how well they can look after the 8yr old

What are the reasons for leaving them alone and what kinda time frame you just say night not over night

I have 5 and my older ones have always been sensible enough to look after the younger 2 but wouldn't of left them with him until he was 7 anything before that he came with me

Just the thought of that gives Me anxiety....anything can happen I personally wouldn't risk it

It really depends on how responsible the children are, there is no law but as others have said if anything goes wrong your responsible.

You really need to judge this yourself.

Hi there personally I think you should judge if you're older 2 are mature enough. There's 5 and a half years between me and my older sister and we were left on our own from a young age and was ok (I'm now 44) similarly I watched my younger 2 sisters from a young age (12 & 13 years between me and them) the youngest had a baby at when she was 14 and looked after him amazingly although been young. She was mature enough to do it on her own. She lived with her mum at the time but did it all herself..I'm trying to say every person is different and you no your children so do you think they could handle it? Also siblings have been looking after each other for a very long time. Just my opinion.

Definitely not.

There are an infinite number of reasons why you shouldn’t do this. One that comes to mind is a situation where one of them trips, hits their head, and is knocked unconscious. They might stop breathing.

You shouldn’t need to ask the question.

Yea I read this up to that no one under the age of 10 even 16yrs old until they are propley mature enough they can be left alone even to babysit some one then they can be left alone