At what age did you feel comfortable leaving your children alone overnight?
Posted August 27, 2015 - 9:19pm
My children are 18 (next month) and 15 and I am wanting to go away overnight. What ages have you left your teenagers home to fend for themselves. We live in a safe neighborhood and have two large dogs so I am not worried about safety too much.
Frugal Minded M...
I have a 17 and 14 with some younger kids and I probably wouldn't leave them due to the younger ones. However, I do remember my parents leaving my brother and I when we were 19 and 16. They did let the neighbors know so that we wouldn't do anything crazy or if we needed some help.
jonbonjovious
I think it entirely is up to the maturity level of a child. I have three children I have left home at 13 for a short amount of time. I also have three child that I don't trust to make sound judgement. One of them is 22. Each child is different and to only the parent knows. When we started the process. We would announce we were leaving, state the rules, and at first, we just drove around the block and came home. Each time we went a little further until we felt confident everything would be okay.
justamom
I agree with what you say. I think it depends on the maturity level. I would start just leaving them for a few hours and see how they do & build from there. Make sure you leave them a list of contact numbers they will need, leave meals in the fridge if they can't cook, go over safety rules, maybe notify a neighbor or friend to ck in on them once a day & I think they'll be ok.
Frugal Minded M...
You are definitely correct. I feel much more comfortable leaving my 3 year old home with my 14 year old daughter then my 17 year old son. He just isn't as responsible.
sunnykathleen
Thank you! My duaghter is a senior this year and feeling ready to have some independence. My son who is 15 has Type 1 diabetes so that will always be in the back of my mind but I think I will try it this year and see how it goes!
jonbonjovious
A medical issue is something that would be in the back of my mind too. Hang in there, I'm rooting for the three of you!