At what age can you leave a child home alone when you go out?
And how old should kids be before they can go out to the play park or to meet their friends unsupervised?
Hundreds of readers responded when we posed these questions – dilemmas for almost every parent at some point of their children’s lives.
And the ages with most votes were 14 for leaving children at home themselves and 10 for allowing them out on their own.
But in both cases the majority said that it depended on the individual child.
The polls also prompted debate on our social media pages.
Nicci Watson said: “I leave my 14 year old at home alone when I need to but she is mature and able to look after herself.
“Wouldn’t happen if I didn’t feel she was capable enough.
“Think it just depends on the maturity of the child and the responsibility of the adult as the parent to judge when their children are safe and responsible enough to do so.”
Paul Gray pointed out there’s no specific legal requirement and said: “It comes down to how responsible your child is if they can be left alone.”
When to allow children out to play unsupervised was “less about age and more about maturity and capability” according to Alison Stewart, who said: “You know your own child and hopefully the friends they will be going out to play with.”
Mandy Mitchell said: “My son is 7 and gets to a park about 1/4 of a mile away. He doesn’t have to cross the road and can hear me if I shout on him.. still it’s so nerve racking.”
Our poll results:
At what age is a child old enough to be left home alone?
- It depends on the individual child – 38.28%
- 14 – 15.31%
- 12 – 14.83%
- 16 – 9.57%
- 13 – 8.61%
- 15 – 4.78%
- 11 – 3.83%
- 9 – 1.91%
- 10 – 1.91%
- 8 or under – 0.96%
When is a child old enough to go out alone?
- It depends on the individual child – 27.5%
- 10 – 22.5%
- 8 – 16.25%
- 7 – 7.5%
- 9 – 7.5%
- 12 – 7.5%
- 11 – 5%
- 6 or under – 2.5%
- 13 – 2.5%
- 14 or over 1.25%
What is the law? And what’s the advice?
There is no law in Scotland which stipulates the age at which they can start leaving a child home alone.
Leading children’s charity NSPCC advises against leaving children until they are 12 – and only then if they are comfortable with the idea.
The advice is a little more vague when it comes to being allowed to go out and play with friends or walk to the shops alone.
But the charity has a guide to help parents decide whether their child is ready for the responsibility.
While there is no legal age requirement, parents could still be prosecuted for neglect in some cases.
Under the Children and Young Persons (Scotland) Act 1937, parents or carers could be convicted of neglect and fined or imprisoned if they are deemed to have neglected or abandoned a child in a manner likely to cause unnecessary suffering or injury to health.
At what age can you let your children go out to play on their own?
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