Mimimum age/grade for a latchkey kid?

[legaleagle]

I'm wondering what minimum age people are comfortable with having a child walk a short (2 block) way home from school and stay home by themselves (no siblings) for 1-1.5 hours max? I'm pretty sure I started doing it in 4th grade, but then again, I was also babysitting for neighbor's preschoolers that year so things are definitely different now.

[BunnyBee]

Check state laws first.

It would really depend so much on the particulars. The neighborhood. Neighbor availability. The child. I didn't until 6th grade, but my house had been burglarized twice the year before. (Not a great neighborhood!) I would've been comfortable at 11 with both of my older kids. They'd need to be able to turn off the alarm and take out the dogs.

[khalloc]

My DD is going into 6th grade next year and the bus will drop her off around the corner at 2:20ish and I get home at 3pm. I am comfortable with her letting herself in. We live in a safe neighborhood.

[SnuggleBuggles]

Pretty sure it's 12yo where I live.


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[JBaxter]

I want to say 5th grade I know 6th grade is a no brainer

[KrisM]

For that amount of time, probably 11-12 years old.

DS1 is 12 and 7th grade. A few times I was out of town and he got off the bus at 3:20, DD got home at 4:20 and DH came in a 5pm. It worked fine for all. But it also wasn't daily.

[gymnbomb]

In the right situation and with the right kid I would be comfortable with it around 10, but also yes to checking local laws. I am pretty sure I was 9 and in 4th grade when I started doing this some days. But we lived in a place that lent itself to kids having more freedom a bit younger.

[JBaxter]

There is no aftercare through the school in middle school here so after 6th grade you have no choice unless you want to do private and I'm not sure any of the groups like the martial arts places will do middle school pickups

[legaleagle]

State law is 8 & older for "short times such as before/after school" - DS1 with be 9/4th grade which does seem young though. He's going a magnet school which is nearly an hour bus ride away so it seems ludicrous to pay $400/month for him to be at the in-school aftercare for an hour with his siblings when we live literally 2 blocks from our school (which is also the bus drop off). Very safe neighborhood, with quite a few retired people & SAHM around. My mom lives 15 minutes away as well. I'm also looking into getting a babysitter for the 3 of them since neither of my kids particularly like the aftercare and I'm sure for the amount I'd pay in aftercare it will be the same or less for a babysitter. He's a pretty sensible kid - I'm sure he'd just play video games/read if he were alone.

[SnuggleBuggles]

I wouldn't let my 9yo do that. I'd look for a mothers helper (young teen) to at least get him off the bus and in the door. It's just not my comfort level.


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[DualvansMommy]

Around here, there's no stated age. However, most families seem to follow 6th grade as the minimum age to be left alone for short periods at home.

However, there is another school across my town for 4/5th grades and that's where some kids are allowed to walk home as long it's within 1.5 mile radius.


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[almostmom]

My seventh grader, age 13, comes home to an empty house, and is there usually for an hour or a little more. I'm also fine with my 5th grader (age 11) doing that for an hour or so, but it turns out that I have to pick her up this year, so it doesn't work out that way. I definitely leave her home for a couple hours sometimes, but she gets bored and texts me asking when I'm getting home...

[mmsmom]

This is really very area and child dependent. We let my 10 year old stay home for very brief (20 minutes max) periods of time- Like tonight when DH is away and I will take his sister to Brownies a couple miles away.

i'm not sure of her age but a friends child does this and she has a video web camera set up so she can see when she is home and check on her if needed.

[ang79]

Our schools are 4th-6th for intermediate grades and lots of kids walk home by themselves. My kids ride the bus, but they are on two different buses, though the buses usually drop off within 5 minutes of each other, unless its an early dismissal day. 10 yr. old DD1 has a key in her backpack. There have been a few times when I have had an appt. or something and can't meet them at the bus stop. They walk home together and let themselves in, but then I'm home within 10-20 min. and its only occasionally. I'm not ready yet to let them do that daily, especially since there are other kids at our bus stop that don't really pay attention to watching for cars while crossing the street, etc. and DD2 tends to follow them. They walk by themselves, no parents, and I'm usually the one telling them to get out of the way of cars!

I was a latchkey kid when I was in 6th grade and my younger brother was in 2nd grade. We'd walk home together, have a snack, and do homework and I would start making dinner before my mom got home. I was a pretty responsible kid at a young age though! We knew the neighbors across the street and they were usually home if we would have ever needed anything.

[niccig]

There is no aftercare through the school in middle school here so after 6th grade you have no choice unless you want to do private and I'm not sure any of the groups like the martial arts places will do middle school pickups

Sane here. DS will need to walk home or stay in homework club - supervised homework time


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[elephantmeg]

I'm letting DS stay at home for brief periods of time now at 11 and will not be enrolling him in after school care when he goes to middle school. He'll ride the bus home though. DD will still go to after school care occasionally (I work night shift mostly so I'm home but if I work day shift or have meetings they either go to my IL's or to after school

[doberbrat]

My 11 yo started walking home alone in 3rd grade so age 9. Home alone for brief periods of time around then - 20min to run to drug store or grocery etc working up to 2-3h. She has a key and has occasionally come home alone. I'd say 12 I'd be ok with the right circumstances.

The only thing I worry about is that if G-D forbid something happens on the way home, no one knows about it until 2 h later. A bit different in my mind than just being home behind a locked door for 2h.

[niccig]

My 11 yo started walking home alone in 3rd grade so age 9. Home alone for brief periods of time around then - 20min to run to drug store or grocery etc working up to 2-3h. She has a key and has occasionally come home alone. I'd say 12 I'd be ok with the right circumstances.

The only thing I worry about is that if G-D forbid something happens on the way home, no one knows about it until 2 h later. A bit different in my mind than just being home behind a locked door for 2h.

DS will have to walk home and I'm more worried about the walk and not the time at home. There will be several kids walking into our neighborhood and they'll walk together


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[KrisM]

My 11 yo started walking home alone in 3rd grade so age 9. Home alone for brief periods of time around then - 20min to run to drug store or grocery etc working up to 2-3h. She has a key and has occasionally come home alone. I'd say 12 I'd be ok with the right circumstances.

The only thing I worry about is that if G-D forbid something happens on the way home, no one knows about it until 2 h later. A bit different in my mind than just being home behind a locked door for 2h.

My kids call me when they get home.

[KrisM]

Since walking is mentioned too, I thought I'd add in that my kids are able to walk to/from school for grades 3-5. The school is only .5 miles away. They ride their bikes at times as well. DS2 likes to walk home on nicer days and has my permission to do that if he wants to. He beats the bus when he walks.

DS1 is 12 and in 7th and in nice weather, I drop his bike off at school and he rides it home. It's 3.5 miles. It's too dark most mornings and the traffic in the morning is pretty heavy, so he only rides to school when they have late start. He loves riding his bike home and beats the bus by 30 minutes!

[pharmjenn]

My 11 yo started walking home alone in 3rd grade so age 9. Home alone for brief periods of time around then - 20min to run to drug store or grocery etc working up to 2-3h. She has a key and has occasionally come home alone. I'd say 12 I'd be ok with the right circumstances.

The only thing I worry about is that if G-D forbid something happens on the way home, no one knows about it until 2 h later. A bit different in my mind than just being home behind a locked door for 2h.

I am glad you said age 9/3rd grade! DS9, also in 3rd grade had been asking to walk home from school. It is 0.8mi, crossing a couple courts and one road. He walks 1-2 days per week and is very responsible about crossing the street (He usually won't cross unless there are no cars to be seen, even if those he sees are still 2-3 blocks away) DH or I are home, and he hasn't been home alone yet for longer than about 10min.
One of his classmates picked him up a couple times about 2 blocks from our house and dropped him home, which I didn't think a problem as we know the parents, but DH pointed out they could be in an accident and get taken to the hospital and we wouldn't know.
He does have a cellphone now, and he will text or call when he starts out. He only has a few family phone numbers in the phone and uses it mainly for games, but it makes me feel better that he has it.

[american_mama]

I know I let DD2 walk home alone starting in mid-4th grade, 3 block walk from school, often arriving to an empty house if I was staying at the playground with her younger brother. In the late spring, our family schedule changed so DD2 walked home from school to an empty house while I was at work and her younger brother at after-school. She was 10 and mature. I know two other 4th graders in our neighborhood who often walk home alone. Yet when I had only a kindergartener, I was surprised at a 4th grade who walked home alone along nearly the same route (he was the younger of three kids, and my kindergartener was my oldest), so one's viewpoint changes as your kids age.

Also when my daughters were about age 9/12 or 10/13, I would let them stay home alone while I went to the store but make DS come with me, because he would need the most supervision and it was beyond what my daughters could do.

5th grade is a different school here, and many kids in my neighborhood walk home alone from the bus at that age (11 years). I believe most of them are home alone or with a sibling for an hour or so. I got both my DDs their own keys in 5th grade.

[scrooks]

I have observed friends letting their 5th graders let themselves in but it's not an everyday thing. We live in a basic safe suburban development.

[123LuckyMom]

The walk is no big deal, and if the wait were 1/2 hour, I'd be fine with my son, who's 8, doing that this time next year or even next September, as long as he was happy to do it, but 1.5 hours is a long time for a 9 year old to be home alone. It's too long, in my opinion. Also, I wouldn't want my child being a couch potato for that long every afternoon. I'd want him playing, preferably outside if the weather was nice, and preferably with other kids. I agree that the aftercare program doesn't sound like a fabulous solution, but are there other options where your child could be having play dates or going to activities? Maybe next year I'll feel differently, but I have a highly competent and independent kid, and I'm also not a nervous parent, and I can't imagine leaving my son alone for that long every school day next year. I might do it once, but not daily. I'd want another option.


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[Gracemom]

My son is 10 and in 4th grade. He walks home 3 blocks and lets himself in. I'm usually home in 30 min. Several other classmates do the same.

[lmwbasye]

The age where we live is 10 years old. I would definitely let my 12 year old do that for sure and have been doing versions of that since he was 10.

Edited to add....If I were home I'd let a child from 1st grade on up do that walk. (This is also the age it's allowed where we live for this). As far as being home alone, we let our 9 year old be home alone for up to 30 minutes tops. Once he's 10, we'll start extending that length of time.

[o_mom]

As a one-time or very occasional thing, I would be fine (depending of course on the specific child). However, I would not want it to be an everyday routine.

On a more regular basis, most 6th grade/11 yos would be OK, however, even then, I think that as an everyday routine, it can give them too much time planned alone time (applies to teens as well, IMO).

[KpbS]

11 or 12 would be the youngest I would consider it for more than the once in a blue moon situation. That is a long period of time. 10-15 minutes I would be ok with for age 9, third grade.

[mom2binsd]

Our elementary school (K-5) now dismisses at 2:30, while high and jr high are later at 3:45 (and they are bused and not home till almost 4;30). So many parents lost the older siblings as babysitters afterschool.

My DS (5th grade, just turned 11 last week) and his friend also same age, have been walking home (7 min walk, no busy streets) and staying at home until either I get home from work (usually 4ish or later) or their sister is home. They call each parent upon arrival home, get themselves a snack and play/do homework. We haven't had any problems at all. We live in a quite neighborhood, but there are other kids who walk home and neighbors who are older who are at home.

It did not make any sense to pay the crazy afterschool care fees for what amounts to an hour or so. They have both been very responsible and have developed some good independent skills.

I know that I was letting myself and my younger brother into the house by age 10.

Some days they play together, some days not. The usually shoot basketball in the driveway or play in the backyard.

I leave a wipe board with a list of things to do (call me/snack/pack hockey bag/homework).

MY DS has really handled it well, and he has ADHD and not always good at following directions, but he really takes his independence seriously.

[vonfirmath]

I'm wondering what minimum age people are comfortable with having a child walk a short (2 block) way home from school and stay home by themselves (no siblings) for 1-1.5 hours max? I'm pretty sure I started doing it in 4th grade, but then again, I was also babysitting for neighbor's preschoolers that year so things are definitely different now.

There is no extended care available starting in 6th grade here. So if we are both working, my son will have to do it then. I'm not sure I'll be completely comfortable then... we'll see.

My son is currently 9 years/4th grade and gets nervous when left alone for more than half an hour. (During the daylight.). We have been doing short stints of leaving him alone to let him practice and work up to being okay. So everyday after school would not work for him in 4th grade.

[squimp]

People here start in 4th or 5th grade. In middle school there are still a number of afterschool programs, homework club and boys and girls club.

[trcy]

I think it depends on the child and the situation. I am an only child and my mom was a single parent. In middle school (6th grade) there was no after school care options so I was a latchkey kid then. In the second half of 5th grade I started coming home before my mom was home from work a few times a week.


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[teresah00]

DD is 11 and I leave her home up to about 2 hours on occasion. I wouldn't be comfortable her coming home on her own everyday by Herself.
DS is 9 and I haven't left him at all other than to walk to a neighbors.