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Age Restrictions For Latchkey Kids
At what age can a child be legally left at home alone? See the chart below.
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.
There appear to be very few states with specific regulations about the age of a child left at home alone. However, 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.
However, 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, but in a routine and predictable environment, such as just after school, they can manage, Tanner said. Children 12 and 13 years old should be judged on a case- by-case basis but should not be left alone overnight.
The following is a state by state listing of specific age restrictions on home alone children. This list was obtained from information on the web as well as contacts within certain state agencies. Where no information can be found, the age restriction is listed as unknown. Some states are listed where there were no legal restrictions on home alone children ages and these are marked as None. Some states publish recommended guideline limits and those are annotated with an asterisk (*).
DISCLAIMER. The content herein is a summary of generally available information from the internet. DSC does not warrant its accuracy nor provide legal guidance to parents or guardians of potential home alone children.
Contact Child Welfare Information Gateway at 800-394-3366, and the staff there will refer you to your local child protective services agency to learn about age guidelines in your area.
If you find any state information that needs to be added or updated, please Contact DSC and we will update this list as soon as possible.
Latchkey Children Age Restrictions By State
The following table lists legal age restrictions for children left at home alone categorized by state within the U.S. Please note that city and county ordinances within each state may have more definitive and restrictive laws.
Call Child Welfare Information Gateway at 800-394-3366 to learn about age guidelines in your area.
State
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Minimum Age of
Home Alone Child
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Reference
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* Guideline ONLY. These states do not set a specific age after which a child legally can stay home alone but do provide recommendations.
CARE Latchkey Kids Calling Solutions
Database Systems Corp. provides an automatic phone system that calls seniors and latchkey children to ensure they are OK. This system is called CARE (Call Reassurance) and is provided to organizations such as police departments, sheriff's offices, fire departments, and other non-profit and for-profit community service organizations. These organizations are refered to as CARE Providers.
Enrollment in these programs is often free to citizens in these communities. In many cases, CARE systems are purchased using grants from major charitable organizations such as United Way.
DSC also provides individual CARE calls to seniors and latchkey children on a subscription basis. This service can be obtained through a simple Online Registration.
Articles About Latchkey Kids
CARE Information
Database Systems Corp. (DSC) is a leader in providing community calling programs including our CARE (Call Reassurance) solutions that provide telephone reassurance for senior citizens. DSC also provides individual programs for parents of latchkey children (home alone kids).
Contact DSC to learn more about our CARE home alone children calling service and phone systems. To enroll your child in this program, use our online registration form.
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