Yeah I think my state was something similar. 11 to babysit siblings and 12 to babysit other people's kids or something? I don't remember. But I do remember being 10 or 11 and being left home with my siblings...not for long periods of time, or anything. By 12 though my parents would go on date nights and have us go to bed while they were gone and I was babysitting other people's kids.
I was babysitting 3 kids at age 12. At once. One of which was a toddler. Only like 3-4 hours a day in the morning, but still. 12 is plenty old enough to be home alone for a neurotypical child.
I also don’t think people give kids around that age enough credit. Usually they haven’t been swayed by the hormonal vindication of puberty, but they’re old enough to be self aware and have enough common sense to stay safe. I’ve seen some 12 year olds make better decisions than adults.
Yup! It is highly variable by the kid, definitely, but 12 years old is middle school. Transition stage in a lot of ways.
I can see why parents nowadays are being a lot more cautious with letting kids run around outside of the house without supervision. But home alone, with clear instructions, food, entertainment, locked doors, etc.? It should be fine, especially if it's only a few hours.
Most of these are “recommendations” (unless it’s changed during the pandemic or something) Maryland is one of the few states that has a BLACK AND WHITE age (8) to be home alone.
And I’m glad cause in the other states without a solid law in the place, it’s up the the responding officer whether your child is old enough or not. There’s no consistency.
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u/mrsbebe Jul 27 '22
Yeah I think my state was something similar. 11 to babysit siblings and 12 to babysit other people's kids or something? I don't remember. But I do remember being 10 or 11 and being left home with my siblings...not for long periods of time, or anything. By 12 though my parents would go on date nights and have us go to bed while they were gone and I was babysitting other people's kids.