Captain Cranks
Footballguy
I just learned that my ex is letting my son stay home by himself all day while she's at work. Should I be upset?
Fantasy Football - Footballguys Forums
Welcome to Our Forums. Once you've registered and logged in, you're primed to talk football, among other topics, with the sharpest and most experienced fantasy players on the internet.
Ex is letting 12 yo son stay home by himself all day. Cool? (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter Captain Cranks
- Start date
Politician Spock
Footballguy
Some kids baby sit at 12 years old. 12 is fine to be home alone.
![[scooter]](/data/avatars/m/22/22287.jpg?1659477690){kind=avatar}
[scooter]
Footballguy
12 is fine as long as he doesn't have easy access to alcohol or porn. Well, I guess porn is probably ubiquitous these days.
Dan Lambskin
Footballguy
Yeah I’d say depends more on maturity than age
we will leave my 10 year old home for a few hours at a time
KarmaPolice
Footballguy
My 12 year old is going into 7th grade. That’s around the same time we started letting our oldest (18 now) stay home and not have to go to his younger brother’s games. My 12 year old can make himself some foods like pizza bagels, so he’d even be good for lunch. That said we work from home so my boys aren’t usually home alone for more than a few hours during the week and maybe 5-6 hours on the weekend for something like a baseball tournament.
Hov34
Eephus's Great Great Great Love Child
Captain Cranks
Footballguy
Last edited by a moderator:
mr. furley
Footballguy
my oldest (about to be 11 year old) has a friend (about to be 11) who is home with his 8 year old brother all day while parents are at work this summer
seems a bit young for me but they have no problems
we're waiting until next summer to let ours stay home alone all day 1-2 days a week to see how it works out
seems a bit young for me but they have no problems
we're waiting until next summer to let ours stay home alone all day 1-2 days a week to see how it works out
The Iguana
Footballguy
totally this. some are plenty mature/responsible to handle it. some not. assuming he is reasonably intelligent and well-behaved, it shouldn't be a problem, especially if he has resources available if something should happen.
My daughter is 9, and while we wouldn't leave her home all day, occasionally we do for a couple hours or so if she doesn't want to tag along for grocery trips/errands. I imagine by the time she's 12 we won't have an issue with all day.
Like others said, though... depends on the kid. I'm a year and a half older than my sister but it seemed like my parents trusted her more than me to be in charge when they left us home.
Like others said, though... depends on the kid. I'm a year and a half older than my sister but it seemed like my parents trusted her more than me to be in charge when they left us home.
shadyridr
Footballguy
9 seems too young for a few hours but that's just my opinionMy daughter is 9, and while we wouldn't leave her home all day, occasionally we do for a couple hours or so if she doesn't want to tag along for grocery trips/errands. I imagine by the time she's 12 we won't have an issue with all day.
Like others said, though... depends on the kid. I'm a year and a half older than my sister but it seemed like my parents trusted her more than me to be in charge when they left us home.
The Iguana
Footballguy
to be a little blunt... if you have reason to think your kid can't handle it, have a talk about it privately with your ex. if this is just not ok because of some "ex conflict" type thing, then don't make a big deal out of it and stick your kid in the middle of the conflict, imo.
jb1020
Footballguy
My 9 yo handles himself pretty well for short stints. I'd feel pretty confident by 10 years he'd be fine as long as I could easily contact him. We do this now with our Alexa's around the house.
By the time he's 12 I would imagine I'd have no issues leaving him by himself while I went to work.
By the time he's 12 I would imagine I'd have no issues leaving him by himself while I went to work.
Yeah I can understand that concern. I was a little apprehensive the first couple of times. She does have the ability to text us and it's usually 1-2 hours. She is pretty mature for her age and we feel like she handles it okay. This may be sexist but if she was a boy I'd probably not allow it. I know the trouble boys can get into.
seahawk 17
Footballguy
Maryland is age 8 legally...so I say it's fine.(No way would I leave an 8 year old alone)
nirad3
Footballguy
I will occasionally run to the store which is directly behind our neighborhood with my 8 (9 in February) and 6 (7 in November) year olds home alone. I don't think I'm gone more than 15 minutes tops. Even then I worry a bit since there's no home phone or cell they can use there. I should probably just leave mine with them and teach the 8 year old how to call Mom if anything happens.
I figure by the time they're 12 and 10 we can leave for longer periods of time, but honestly I don't know what situation would pop up where we'd need to leave them BOTH home alone. Maybe the older one if the younger had a sport practice/game or something.
I figure by the time they're 12 and 10 we can leave for longer periods of time, but honestly I don't know what situation would pop up where we'd need to leave them BOTH home alone. Maybe the older one if the younger had a sport practice/game or something.
Ron Swanson
Footballguy
12 is fine. Just make sure he knows how to use the home's preferred defense weapon if needed. You don't want him going all Culkin on you.
Captain Cranks
Footballguy
I'm literally within 5 minutes from her place and work from home, so he could be here instead. However, he doesn't like being here because of my wife and her son (who are perfectly nice to him, but they're not "his family"), so apparently he's better served to be by himself as far as my ex is concerned.
Also, he does have a chronic bleeding disorder that would require emergency medical attention if he were to accidentally hit his head or have a severe cut.
Last edited by a moderator:
Anarchy99
Footballguy
Back in the 70's, my parents split up and I was home alone everyday after school starting at 9 years old (almost 10) until my mom got home from work at like 6:00 or 6:30. I went to day camp in the summers (or sleep away camp some when I got older). The world was a different place then, and I don't know all these years later what an appropriate age it is to leave a kid alone and for how long. I have a 17 year old now where I almost have to beg for him to go out of the house he is home so much.
I think 12 is just fine too. But as mentioned above, if you're uncomfortable about it, perhaps have a talk with the ex to discuss your concerns rather than making it a fight.
Last year my 12 year old stayed home alone 3 days a week during the summer. However, our home does have an alarm which they know how to arm/disarm. We have cameras in the home, and the 12 year old has a cell phone. I'll be honest, I was way more concerned than both my wife and kid. I'm also only about 10 minutes away from home.
Last year my 12 year old stayed home alone 3 days a week during the summer. However, our home does have an alarm which they know how to arm/disarm. We have cameras in the home, and the 12 year old has a cell phone. I'll be honest, I was way more concerned than both my wife and kid. I'm also only about 10 minutes away from home.
Ilov80s
Footballguy
Right, the thing is kids are probably safer and more easily entertained then ever now but I am sure parents are more reluctant than ever to let theirs be unsupervised.
Depends on the kid, neighborhood, etc. We left our kids at home at 10 yrs old for the workday but we were 10-15 minutes from home and had neighbors that were teachers and home during the day if there was something immediate.
Kids knew how to make themselves an easy lunch (microwave stuff, cereal, sandwich etc) and we were close by. I think its good for them to start doing stuff on their own. We would give them daily chores they had to complete by the time we got home from work. It works well to help with independence and growing up. Nothing wrong and it's probably a benefit.
Kids knew how to make themselves an easy lunch (microwave stuff, cereal, sandwich etc) and we were close by. I think its good for them to start doing stuff on their own. We would give them daily chores they had to complete by the time we got home from work. It works well to help with independence and growing up. Nothing wrong and it's probably a benefit.
The Iguana
Footballguy
totally valid concerns. knowing what's happening and being available if needed is likely sufficient but that's up to you guys. good luck!
![[icon]](/data/avatars/m/5/5167.jpg?1660313464){kind=avatar}
Van Dyman
Footballguy
NutterButter
Footballguy
What a great point when you can leave your child home alone. For years, you were restrained, but now you're free again to go wherever whenever.
mozzy84
Footballguy
Ok yea that’s kinda lame, I’d want him at my place In That scenario. Or at least he would be biking over everyday for lunch.
It’s not because your wife and her kid aren’t family. It’s because he wants to be alone at your ex’s house. People who want to be alone are doing things they don’t want others to see.
Leaving him home alone for 30 hours a week with a chronic bleeding disorder and other options available (your house) seems ... unwise.
CurlyNight
Footballguy
Some states have laws on the age. Otherwise depends on your kid.
CletiusMaximus
Footballguy
As long as he has ready access to a capable firearm and proper training, and is fully advised in the castle doctrine, I'd be fine with it. This is all available on Youtube.
sublimeone
Footballguy
What good can come from a kid sitting at home unsupervised day after day? The only scenario I could see where this might be OK would be if he had a best buddy in the neighborhood that he's always with or a bunch of friends in the neighborhood that he's hanging out with. If he's just sitting at home by himself all day that seems like a recipe for developing some really bad habits at a really young age.
DallasDMac
Footballguy
Wow. I simply cannot imagine ever having left my kids home alone under the age of 10. I guess I'm just paranoid, but that seems absolutely insane to me.
Mister CIA
Footballguy
No joke, every nook and cranny in the house will be searched. All I ever found was The Joy of Sex, filled with "x-rated" pencil illustrations. Terrible!
Similar threads
