Are Your Kids Ready to Be Left Home Alone? Consider Discussing These Topics First

As your kids get older, you may begin to wonder if they’re old enough to be left home alone for short periods of time. After all, tweens and teens can handle a lot of tasks on their own, and at some point, they can certainly handle taking care of their own basic needs. As you decide whether your kids are old enough to stay home on their own, discuss the following topics with them and base your decision on their reactions.

If they aren’t able to understand these issues or follow directions, you may need to wait a while longer. If they’re mature and follow directions well, they may be able to spend some time on their own.

Home Security

Before your kids can be left home alone, it’s important that they understand home security basics like locking doors and windows, setting your alarm system, and not answering the door to strangers. Each year, there are around 2.5 million break-ins, and more than 65% of those are home burglaries. Keep your kids safe by explaining the importance of not letting anyone know that they’re home alone as well as teaching them how to keep the property secure.

Fire Safety

It’s easier than you’d think for a single candle or small kitchen fire to get out of hand. Make sure that your children understand basic fire safety guidelines, such as how the smoke alarms in your home work as well as where the fire extinguishers are stored and how to use them. In addition, teach them how to put out small fires in the kitchen safely, how to evacuate your house, and who to contact after they’ve done so. Be sure that they know your local emergency number as well as the address for your home.

Internet Safety

Before your child stays home alone, it’s important that they have basic information about internet safety, too. About 68% of time spent online starts with a search engine, but that doesn’t mean that your kids will simply do their research, homework, and go to bed. It’s important to set family rules about internet access in your home and what sites they’re allowed to use as well as how much time they’re allowed to spend online. If your kids have difficulty honoring these agreements, you may need to install software to monitor and control the internet access while you’re out of the house.

Appliance Usage

Before you leave your kids at home alone, make sure that they either understand how to use the appliances in your home safely or know not to touch them while you’re gone. Leaving an appliance, especially a gas appliance, unattended, can create a serious health hazard. In fact, advanced training is necessary before someone can be officially certified to work on gas lines and natural gas appliances due to the danger of the utilities involved.

Supply Emergency Contact Information

Make sure that your kids have emergency contact information and can reach you as well as the local police, fire, and emergency departments in your town or city. Post this information in a prominent location, along with the street address of your home, your full name, and your telephone number. It’s easy to forget important information in an emergency, so having all of these details clearly listed out can help if something does go wrong. You may also want to list the phone numbers of a few local friends or neighbors, so if your kids have issues that they need adult assistance with, but that aren’t technically emergencies, they’ll know who to reach out to.

Talk about these topics to determine if your children are old enough to be left on their own. The discussion itself will help you learn a lot about your kids and their maturity levels so that you can make an educated decision.