Today's Tip for Families

04-28-2024

Are Your Children Safe at Home Alone?

It's best for young children to be supervised at all times, and states have laws prohibiting leaving young children alone. The laws about older children are different in different places, so it’s important to know the rule that applies where you are. Before leaving your upper elementary schooler at home alone for a short amount of time, remember to:

• Consider maturity. Even if your child is legally old enough to be at home alone, is your child ready to handle the situation responsibly?
• Make sure your child is secure. Make it clear that your child is not to open the door (even to a friend) and should never tell a stranger on the phone that no one else is home.
• Set up definite rules, including some for what your child should do while you are away.
• Review who your child should call in an emergency. Review other safety procedures, too, such as how to leave the home in case of fire and where to go.
• Give your child a phone number where you can be reached.
• Ask about your child’s concerns. Ask what your child dislikes most about being at home alone, and work out ways to make it less stressful.

For more information and things to consider before leaving children at home alone, visit the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services’ Child Welfare Information Gateway at www.childwelfare.gov/pubs/factsheets/homealone/.

Brought to you by:

Cambridge City Schools
Title I Program

[School Success Ideas for Families]

© 2024 The Parent Institute, a Division of PaperClip Media Inc. All Rights Reserved.