Leaving a 7yr old home asleep by themselves WITH POLL*****

just want some opinions

Another Mom is leaving her 7yr old home asleep at 7am to bring her other child to school about 10 blocks away....and then she stops for coffee.
do you think this is ok??another parent told me this so I asked the Mom(we are friends) and she admitted to doing this and she feels this is ok to do and I told it is WAY TOO DANGEROUS but she said I dont understand because she is a single Mom and I have a husband etc

what do you think??


edited to add that I will not be calling ANYONE ....I told her and that is as involved as I will get with this.....she really feels its OK

Message edited 2/3/2009 3:43:33 PM.

Re: Leaving a 7yr old home asleep by themselves WITH POLL*****

Not something I would do...

Re: Leaving a 7yr old home asleep by themselves WITH POLL*****

No way

Re: Leaving a 7yr old home asleep by themselves WITH POLL*****

I cannot imagine doing this, ever.

Re: Leaving a 7yr old home asleep by themselves WITH POLL*****

Not ok! The child can wake up at any time, look for mommy and get in a load of trouble in 1 minute flat. Not worth the risk at all.

Re: Leaving a 7yr old home asleep by themselves WITH POLL*****

I have a 7 year old daughter, and I would not leave her home alone at any time, period.

Re: Leaving a 7yr old home asleep by themselves WITH POLL*****

I think there is actually a legal minimum age to leave a child home alone and it's not 7..

Not OK.

Re: Leaving a 7yr old home asleep by themselves WITH POLL*****

I have a 6 and an 11 year old and there is absolutley no way I would leave a 7 year old home alone.

Re: Leaving a 7yr old home asleep by themselves WITH POLL*****

Would NOT even enter my mind to think that was OK to do.

Re: Leaving a 7yr old home asleep by themselves WITH POLL*****

I thikn 7 is too young, but she does have a point about being a single mom. It's hard to be at 2 places at once and maybe her daughter needs that extra sleep to get through the day. My sister is a single mom and she will leave my 10 yr old niece alone to run to the store. I don't know if my DS would be mature enough at 10, but my niece is. Because my sister is a single mom, she's reptty self sufficient. She knows not to open the door or use the stove, but she's more than capable of getting herself a snack or picking up the phone is something is wrong.

Re: Leaving a 7yr old home asleep by themselves WITH POLL*****

um, no way in hell....what an idiot, IMHO

how would she feel if god forbid her house went on fire while she was drinking her coffee

ugh, really !

Re: Leaving a 7yr old home asleep by themselves WITH POLL*****

no, no, no!! like a PP said - what if that child wakes up while she is gone? there are SO many things that can go wrong

i don't know if i would call the cops though... maybe CPS? i don't know...

Re: Leaving a 7yr old home asleep by themselves WITH POLL*****

Hell No!!!!

Re: Leaving a 7yr old home asleep by themselves WITH POLL*****

No. I have a 7 year old & I wouldn't leave him home to drop a kid off & get coffee. It's no extra effort to get the 7 year old in the car.

Re: Leaving a 7yr old home asleep by themselves WITH POLL*****

No way! Seven is way too young to be left alone.

Re: Leaving a 7yr old home asleep by themselves WITH POLL*****

Honestly I'm not going to judge her...being a single Mom is verrrrrrrrrrry hard...
I personally would not leave my 7 year old alone...I'm way too paranoid but that's me.

It's hard enough for me with one kid and DH to get out of the house so I can't imagine how hard it must be for a single Mom of two.

Re: Leaving a 7yr old home asleep by themselves WITH POLL*****

I have an 8 yr old sister and although my mom wouldn't leave her home all alone I do think she would be fine. She is mature enough to know what to do/not do.

Re: Leaving a 7yr old home asleep by themselves WITH POLL*****

Not a chance in hell!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Re: Leaving a 7yr old home asleep by themselves WITH POLL*****

Re: Leaving a 7yr old home asleep by themselves WITH POLL*****

Nope, absolutely would NOT.

Re: Leaving a 7yr old home asleep by themselves WITH POLL*****

single mom or not doesnt matter. my husband is at work during that time so regardless of marital status its a bad idea. now if the kid was 11 then yes and why isnt the 7 year old going to school?

Message edited 1/21/2010 9:53:15 AM.

Re: Leaving a 7yr old home asleep by themselves WITH POLL*****

This is a tough one because I can understand that if she's a single mom it's really hard to manage.

I DO NOT think she should be getting coffee. She should be dropping the older one at school and hightailing it back home.

I do think 7 is just too young.

Re: Leaving a 7yr old home asleep by themselves WITH POLL*****

Found this.....

At what age is it okay to leave my children home alone?
OCFS is often asked questions regarding the appropriate age to leave a child alone, or what age is appropriate to allow a child to begin babysitting. There are no straightforward answers to these questions. All children develop at their own rate, and with their own special needs and abilities. Some children are responsible, intelligent, and independent enough to be left alone at 12 or 13 years of age. Likewise, there are some teenagers who are too irresponsible or who have special needs that limit their ability to be safe if they are left alone.
Parents and guardians need to make intelligent, reasoned decisions regarding these matters.

Below there are some items for these decision-makers to consider before leaving a child alone. Be aware, this is just the beginning of issues to consider. It is not an all-inclusive checklist to guarantee intelligent and reasoned decision-making:

Consider the child: How mature is the child? How comfortable is the child with the circumstances? What has the child done in the past to show you he/she is able to take on this kind of responsibility?
Consider the child’s knowledge and ability: Does the child know how and when to contact emergency help? Is the child able to prepare food for him/herself? Are there hazards to the child in the environment such as accessible knives, power tools, a stove or oven?
Consider the circumstances: Where will the child be when left alone? How long is the child to be alone?
These same questions should be asked when considering whether a child is old enough to baby-sit. However, when considering a child as an adequate baby sitter, you must evaluate these factors for both the potential baby sitter as well as the needs of the child or children who will be cared for by the baby sitter. A child of 12 might be fine alone for two hours in an afternoon. Yet, the same child may be incapable of responsibly caring for a 5-year-old for that same period of time.

Re: Leaving a 7yr old home asleep by themselves WITH POLL*****

The more I think about this, the less I get it. In addition to it being a bad idea, it sounds like she could be opening herself up to a CPS investigation, especially if she is mentioning this to enough people. Just a thought.