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Leaving a 10yr old home alone?

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    #62
    freshpopcorn
    Registered Users Posts: 30,556 ✭✭✭✭freshpopcorn


    It depends on the kid to be honest.
    Does it up him/her?
    Most kids I know back then and now would be delighted come home and having free time without parents/teacher/adult hounding over them for while. So they relax and have free access to the TV etc.
    From what I see in the local town it happens a good bit back when I went to school in the 1990/2000's and now. Most kids have somebody nearby tough.
    When I was about that age I used be at home with my elderly grand mother with bad eye sight..If my parents both had to work on the farm.(Happened more as I got older) I could cook rashers in the George Forman/ make tea/toast/etc. I used always dread having to occupy a relative in the house who thought I needed company or couldn't manage.


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    #63
    pwurple
    Closed Accounts Posts: 12,449 ✭✭✭✭pwurple


    I lean towards supporting and encouraging independence myself... and it absolutely depends on the individual child. if he is not upset by it, and enjoys the independence and trust in him, I would be ok with it. If he is uncomfortable or uncertain, then I would not pressure him to be on his own.

    My 6 year old is constantly pressuring me for more independence. She wants to walk home from school with her slightly older friends who live next door, not her granny or au pair. I let her do it once a week (school is about 6 doors down from our house, no roads crossed). She is very independent in the mornings... gets up, uniform on, makes her own breakfast of either porridge in the microwave or toast.

    She wants to go to the corner shop on her own now to get milk. There is crossing a road involved there, so I have not let her do that yet. She happily reads a book in her room while I am gardening for an hour or so without a bother.

    My friends with ten and eleven year olds let their kids come home from school on their own, but usually they are there maybe twenty minutes later.


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    #64
    mohawk
    Registered Users Posts: 1,781 ✭✭✭mohawk


    Really depends on the child. I know if it was my son he would turn on the TV and turn into a zombie maybe raid the fridge for a snack. He is only 8 so he won't be left home after school for a few years.
    I was babysitting at night by 12/13 til 2-3am. I am the oldest though and when you are the oldest you have to grow up fast.


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    #65
    Chocolate fiend
    Registered Users Posts: 465 ✭✭Chocolate fiend


    My 9 year old would be fine on his own for an hour, in fact he would love it. My 8 year old would as well, but because of the volatile nature of their relationship with each other it never happens that I can leave them both, and if I am taking one I might as well take both - so one child at 10, who is happy to stay at home on his own, I would have zero problem with that.


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