As with many child rearing decisions, the ultimate answer will depend greatly on your child's individual personality and nature. While many children seem responsible enough to be left home alone for short amounts of time, it is important to establish how your child will handle an emergency situation or unexpected event before leaving them alone. If your child is prone to panic in unfamiliar situations, it may not be a good idea to leave them unattended for long.

While many areas do not have specific age requirements for children being left unsupervised there are some that do so it is important to check local laws before making this decision for your family. Many experts agree that a child around the age of about 12 years old may be mature enough to take care of themselves for a short period of time and the National Child Care Information Center provides the following guidelines:

• Children 7 years of age and younger should never be left unsupervised.
• Children aged 8-10 years old can probably be left alone for short periods such as popping up to the corner store.
• Between the ages of 10 and 13 children are generally able to be left alone for a few hours provided there is some form of "backup" supervision in place such as a trusted neighbor or nearby family member.

Factors to Consider

Ultimately each family will have to make this decision for themselves by weighing several factors of their child's personality and maturity level. Children who know and follow the rules will likely be able to stay home alone from a younger age while children who are easily bored and get into trouble will require supervision for longer. Some key factors in the decision making process include:

Can your child make good decisions?

• It is important to be sure that your child will act responsibly when you are not present. Ask them how they would handle situations like being invited out by a friend and gauge whether they are ready by their responses.

Do they know how to handle an emergency situation like a fire or are they prone to panic when something unexpected happens?

• Leaving a child who is prone to panic attacks alone can be dangerous and detrimental to their mental health. If something should go wrong, you want to be sure your child is equipped to take care of themselves.

Will they make good use of their time?

• While it may not be the largest factor in the decision, some parents may opt to continue getting service from a day care centre simply to ensure that their child completes homework and engages in productive activities instead of simply watching television.

How mature are they?

• Maturity is often a much bigger consideration than age for a variety of family decisions. Some questions to ask yourself in order to establish the maturity of your child are: Does my child frequently misplace important or valuable items? Is my child capable of entertaining themselves without trouble for extended periods of time?

Are they comfortable using the phone?

• If something does go wrong, you want to make sure your child is comfortable using the phone to call you or another trusted adult who can help them Not only will you be sure that they can get in touch if they need to, they will feel more comfortable knowing that you are not out of reach.

Tips for Leaving Children Alone

If you decide your child is ready, try these tips to smooth the transition and prevent problems:

• Leave clear instructions about what to do if there is a problem.
• Leave a list of trusted adults and their contact information.
• Make sure they know how to contact emergency services (and they should do so.)
• Be ready to answer your phone.
• Tell your child when you expect to be home and try to meet that estimate. Call your child if you are running late to let them know that you are ok and on your way.
• Talk to your child afterwards to make sure they knew what to do and felt safe.