The All Important After- School Hours
After school, between 3 p.m. and 6 p.m., 14 million kids are on their own.
Known as the “prime time for crime,” kids are more likely to shoplift, use
drugs or alcohol, fall into the hands of internet sexual predators or cyber
bullies, have sex or drive recklessly.
There are real dangers of leaving kids on their own after the last school bell rings. For example, Car crashes are the leading cause of death among teens, and although we assume the worst happens on those weekend nights, the facts are that there are more fatal crashes for 15 to 17-year olds on weekdays between 3 and 5 p.m., than Friday and Saturday weekend nights.
Plus,
experts advise, the more time kids spend in positive learning environments in
the hours spent outside of school, the better they do during school
hours and the higher their personal development. If your school age children are unattended for some period
of time during the day, look to school, church and community groups for
after-school care. At the very least make sure that you have a daily phone-in
reassurance system to check in with children in a home-alone situation.
Also, check the laws in your area on when and how long a child can be left home alone. Many parents find out that there are legal age restrictions only after tragedy has befallen, casting them as negligent parents and making a bad situation even worse.
Latchkey Kids' Legal Age Restrictions
The
National SAFEKIDS Campaign recommends that no child under the age of 12 be left
at home alone. However, consider a child's age and maturity level. For
example, if a child is extremely impulsive, it might be best to wait until he
or she is older than 12. Lynn
Yaney, spokeswoman for the agency that handles child welfare in Contra Costa
County, California, states:
"A general rule of thumb is that kids under age seven aren't capable of thinking logically and putting cause and effect together," Tanner said. "They are reliant on caregivers to structure their day." Children between ages 7 and 10 years aren't generally ready to self-supervise for an extended period. Tanner said. Children 12 and 13 years old should be judged on a case- by-case basis but should not be left alone overnight.”
Sadly,
there appear to be very few states with specific regulations about the age of a
child left at home alone. For example, in CO, DE, KS, WI and WY under the
age of 12 is “Latchkey Children Restricted”. However in MA it is
age 8, and in IL it is 14. Fortunately, since the number of
latchkey kids is growing significantly due to 2 income parents and single
parents and guardians, there is a growing movement within state agencies to set
guidelines.
Phone
Child Welfare Information Gateway at 800-394-3366 to learn about age
guidelines in your area.
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