Neglectful supervision

[Jazzy]

School is almost out and according to the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services, children under 12 shouldn’t be left at home alone.

Parents could be accused of neglectful supervision if an underage child is left at home unattended. This can result in lawsuits, fines, or even jail time.

Neglectful supervision is defined as “placing a child in or failing to remove a child from a situation that a reasonable person would realize requires judgment actions beyond the child’s level of maturity, physical condition, or mental abilities and that results in bodily injury or substantial risk of immediate harm to the child.”

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How old were you when you were left alone?

 

[Lamb]

My mom used to leave us home while we were sleeping in the morning to go to the grocery store. I think I was probably 10 or 11? She usually made it home before we woke up.

 

[tango]

The trouble is "left home alone" is such a vague term it serves no purpose beyond rabble rousing.

It's one thing to leave a 10-year-old unsupervised while you go to the store that's a 5-minute walk away. It's another thing entirely to leave a 12-year-old unsupervised while you go away for the weekend. There's also a huge difference in maturity levels between individual children, such that looking at age in isolation isn't a useful metric.

 

[Josiah]

I honestly don't know.... but I agree with the posts above - it totally depends on the situation.