How to tell if you can leave kids at home alone

I remember I had to be somewhere at a certain time a few years ago I had to wait on my hubs to get home to get my kids before I could leave he got stuck in traffic. I had no choice I had to leave my kids alone for a few minutes alone. My son was 9 and my daughter was 6 at the time. In GA the law states that we can leave our kids at home alone if we feel they are responsible at the age of 9 for a few hours. I left them at that time for 15 minutes. My son was told not to touch anything and not to open the door to anyone. I have a key! He obeyed and all was well. Fast forward to the in-between years and I hired a babysitter for my kids. She was awesome and she was CPR certified which put me at ease. Now that my son is 12 and my daughter is 9 I am comfortable leaving them at home alone for a few hours a time. How to tell if you can leave kids at home alone.

How to tell if you can leave kids at home alone

How responsible is your child? Can they be trusted? Does he or she do their chores and HW on their own and in a timely manner? I won’t lie to you my daughter is more responsible than my son and that’s sad to say but it’s the truth.

How do they react to certain situations? My son is the calmest when it comes to stuff his sister acts cray cray so he wins this round.

Would they know what to do in case of an emergency? They both know what to do in case of an emergency so they both get a point.

These are the questions I asked myself and them in order to assess if they could stay home by themselves.

Here are some other things I have in place to make sure they are safe and that I have a peace of mind

• Who to call for help – I have 5 people on the fridge to call in case of an emergency. The rules are if they don’t hear from me in 2 hours of me gone to go down the list and start calling the numbers. I always make sure I am in contact with them every 1 to 2 hours so that I can check on them and to also let them know I am safe
• Have a house phone – I love cell phones and my son has his that can do the camera so I do call and check on him through that but as a backup precaution I have a house phone because sometimes he forgets to charge his phone and sometimes he has his phone on silent (because of school) and he doesn’t hear it all the time. Having a house phone gives me a peace of mind to know that if I can’t get through to the phone I can call the house. If they don’t answer either after 5 attempts I am on my way back to the house
• Alarm system – I have a top-notch security system. Homie doesn’t play that I can see what’s going on even if I’m not there. That’s all I will say about that
• Fire safety plan – They know how to open the windows and we have done drills on our own. My daughter also has a map of an escape and where to go drawn up (told y’all she was the more responsible one lol)
• What to do if the power goes out – Both kids have a flashlight in their room. My power is underground no longer are we in the stone ages where there is a power line. My power rarely goes out but in the case that it does they are prepared and know how to shut off the main power with the breaker box
• If someone calls and it’s not me – They are only allowed to answer 2 people in case they call. If it’s not me or those two people they aren’t allowed to answer the phone for anyone. No one calls my house phone but they know definitely not to answer that.
• Don’t open the door – This is a given but I have to reiterate this. If it’s a package they will leave it at the front door. My son so far hasn’t opened the door so that’s a good thing.

Rules for leaving your kids home alone

The first rule is don’t touch my stove or my microwave. I don’t care if you are safe and you won’t burn my house down. My son tried to burn my house down a few years ago and my ass was on the couch. (He forgot to put water in the oatmeal before he cooked it in the microwave) After that, he is not allowed to touch anything in my kitchen but the fridge and that’s to get something to drink. Before I leave home I normally make sure they eat before I go or I bring something back for them.

The second rule is to don’t answer the door for anyone. I don’t care if it’s my lookalike do not open the door even if I say open the door don’t open the door. I have a key so I don’t need to knock. I tested my son on this a few months ago. I snuck up on him and he thought I was with my daughter somewhere. I rang the doorbell and he goes and peeps out the window. Then he runs up the stairs (I can hear him) and calls me. He said mom someone rang the doorbell but I don’t know who it is. I told him to open the door…he said no he was scared. I said go ahead and open the door it’s a package. He said ok they will leave it on the front porch I’m not opening the door. He passed the test! He never knew I was at the house either lol

The third rule no fighting. My kids are at the age where they fight all the time. I left them once and came back home to cuts and bruises. I have since made them each sit in their room or I will make them pay for the babysitter out of their money. They only fought one time but I have to make sure they stay away from each other when I’m not there because geesus. I think they should stay at home around 11 for about 2 hours just to test them out if you feel they are ready. I didn’t leave mine until 11 years old.

There are a few other things I do but I will keep that to myself for my safety and the kid’s safety. I don’t leave my kids at night at all and I do have someone near me that can go to my house to check if I am not in the area. All of these things helped me to decide at what age to leave my kids at home. I got thangs to do that my kids can’t attend and I also need time alone sometimes and I make no excuses to be gone if I need a breather. At what age did you leave your kids at home? If they are teenagers would you allow friends over if you aren’t’ there? I think with facetime on the cell phone that is a great way to put parents at ease. I did a post a while ago about the age that kids should have a cell phone make sure you check it out.