HOME ALONE: What You and Your Children Need to Know

Summertime often means more alone time for kids while parents are gone to work. This article from NBC, highlights some things to make our kids aware of should they encounter trouble when you are gone.

Here are a few other ideas:

Have a fire safety plan and practice it.​

• Have a family meeting to discuss safety tips for things like answering the door when you aren’t home or reentering the house. Let the kids participate and brainstorm rules and ideas for when you are gone.
• Make sure younger children know their full name, address, and a phone number to reach you.
• Remind your child to check doors and windows to make sure they are locked.
• Check in with your children frequently to make sure everything is going well.
• Make sure they know to never post on social media that they are home alone.
• Have a designated “go to” place should your child need to leave the home in an emergency.
• Keep a fully stocked first aid kit and teach them how to perform basic first aid.
• And finally, leave them some kind of schedule so they don’t get bored and become tempted to do something they shouldn’t.

Even though there are no laws about leaving children home alone. Be aware of the dangers and make sure your children are old enough to make good decisions in your absence.

Talk openly with your child about fears they may have about being home alone. Remember that it is normal for children ages 7-12 to begin to have fears related to “real-life incidents. Reassure your child and let them know that having a plan in place is only a precaution.