Obviously a lot of factors go into this such as kid’s maturity, behavior, neighborhood, etc. What are some minimums y’all have used? Landline present? Cell phone present? WIFI-only tablet for texting and/or FaceTime? Different for an apartment complex vs stand alone house? One trusted neighbor?

Ex has started this with zero discussion with me. Her previous neighbors were evicted for drugs, so not exactly an ideal situation.

13+

Depending on how long...during the day I would leave my 10 year old girl with cell phone for a few hours.. I don't have any immediate neighbors around me but my grandad lives close by and my mom is half a mile down rd

When my oldest turned 13 and couldn't stay in the daycare he and his younger brother (10) started staying home. This was across the road (1200' or so) from retired parents and within eyesight and a walk across the pasture to much of my family. Landlines only IIRC.

It definitely depends on the child. I was babysitting for other people's little kids when I was 12/13 years old, but we lived in a subdivision and my mom was a stay at home mom so I could always call her if there was a situation I couldn't handle on my own.

So, I think that age might be okay to be left at home alone, like for two or three hours after school, depending on maturity. A way to contact a parent is definitely necessary. Ground rules need to be established. We moved from TN back to TX at the end of the summer the year I turned 13 and went from a nice subdivision to living out in the country with no one for a half mile. My parents bought an established feed store 45 minutes from the house, so my younger sister and I were alone after school from that age on. But, we could have no friends over unless my parents were home and we were not allowed to go with anyone else unless prior arrangements had been made. We had a line line phone and would call when we got home. We generally had a list of chores to get done, too, in the afternoon.

A child left at home in an apartment situation could be beneficial if there is a trusted, responsible adult who stays home (maybe someone retired, etc) or it could be an invitation for lots of mischief making with other kids in the unit.

How does your child feel about it? Has he decided he is too old for a babysitter or daycare (which I would understand depending on the age)? Would an after school activity be an option rather than just staying at home alone?

There are just so many variables for each kid and situation that one cannot really just make a blanket set of criteria.

Also, it would be a good idea to know what laws are for your area pertaining to the age of kids who are allowed to stay at home alone. Sometimes, even though your child is mature enough and responsible enough, their age is such that it would be considered against the law (negligence, abandonment, etc). I know this is the case in some states, but I don't know about AL.

Depends on the child, the neighborhood and the time of day and length of time you will be gone.

Right now it’s just an hour or two. He’s 9. The “goal” for her is to not have to pay for after school care. So that would be a couple hours. Not sure about summer plans. He’s OK with it, but that only means so much.

^^^^^^^^ We just started leaving our 13yo alone this year. A few hours at a time.

When my son was 12 we left him alone one night for a little while to visit my wife's grand mother in the
hospital. We get a call from him that someone was knocking on the door. We didn't know anyone or
have family in the area as we had just moved here. I told him it was probably pine cones falling on the porch
but do not open the door and we will start home. Well, when we get near the house I see the whole place
is lit up with blue lights, cops everywhere!!! My heart about came out of my chest.
Someone in a small sports car had left the road and hit my Wife's Tahoe parked in the driveway, knocking it
all the way up in the woods, totaling both cars.
Probably took 3 years off my life, but thankful he was ok.

My boy was eleven when we started letting him ride school bus home and stay by his self but he's always been a big kid no chance he could have been kidnapped he would put a beat down on most men even at eleven and he's always been very mature.much better kid than I was!

We have awesome neighbors, protective dog, and a mature 11 year old. We will leave him for a few hours. We have a land line.

11 for us he knows how to shoot a gun and have retired neighbors so someone is always around

we leave ours alone for 2 or three hours at a time when the oldest turned 12 middle is 10 and youngest 8. we live on 13 acres with a gated drive and a bulldog in the yard though so im not really worried about anyone else except them doing something stupid

Don’t give the boy an iPhone is all I’d say. Opens up Pandora’s box of badness. There’s a lot of bad stuff on the worldwide web. And he’ll find it.

Ring doorbell and inside cameras would help. You could answer the door without being there and see inside. Nine would be too young for me to have left mine. After school care would be money well spent.

Good advice here.

You are going to leave an 11 year old at home alone with a gun? What instructions does he have to use the gun?

Aim for center mass, it makes an easier target.

I set my sons android up thru my google account on my phone. I can control his phone thru mine i can set parental controls, view his web history, Ihave to OK every app that is installed, I set the maximum amount of time per day he has network access as well as what time the phone locks for bed time. I can also remotely lock it from my phone the second i see something questionable pop up.

My son was 10 when his Mom & I divorced. He rode the bus to her house after school and I would drive by and pick him up after work. Fast forward to middle school and that arrangement changed. He rode the bus to & from school. It was understood that he called me as soon as he got home from school. I had few rules for him because he knew I had neighbors watching out for him. He always had his homework done and after the 1st year I started teaching him how to cook basic stuff. He's grown in to a responsible adult now. As previously stated in numerous posts, it depends on your child's maturity level. Good luck. Prayers lifted for your peace of mind during this stage of their life.