Is it ever okay to leave children alone for hours?

[Nicholas1302]

My mom owns a house that needs a lot of work done. A guy from across the street comes to work on things. Like today he was replacing the doors. He was there for 2-3 hours. At one point he said that he is watching his daughter's kids because she was at work. So he left them alone all that time. Is that unethical. I don't know how old they are.

[BeeNee]

Yes, most states will allow a parent to leave a child at home alone between the ages of 12-14 and/or to babysit a sibling or other child, but obviously if a child is immature or really afraid of doing this, it's not a good idea. Considering this was only for 2-3 hours and this guy was right across the street and the kids probably had a direct line to his cell phone, probably not a big deal. Of course, regardless of their age, you could be in major trouble as a parent should something happen to them that endangers their lives.

[Telekinetic-Potato]

If they're old enough to talk in complete and articulate sentences then yes.

I was cooking myself breakfast every morning in the 3rd grade. I remember my mother yelling at me if I didn't clean up before we had to leave she was gonna kick my ass 😂

I got left alone more than I wish I did. They didn't have enough money to hire a sitter or send me places after school so I'd get home around 3 and be alone till 6. My parents worked very hard to get promoted and sometimes nobody would be home till 8.

That was too long but back then there wasn't much you could do. Now you can at least spend $200 on some cameras for the house and put them in the kitchen/garage or wherever kids aren't supposed to go lol.

Leaving your kids for 3-4 hours every once in a while to go fix someone's door across the street... I wouldn't even count that as leaving unless your kids had some kind of mental disability.

[LifeHitMeandRan]

Depends on child's age and maturity. MOST kids around 12-14 would be ok for a few hours. Around 16 for maybe a day or two.

I grew up in a poor family where my mom, grandmother and grandfather had no choice but to leave us alone. That is until mom joined the Army.

I was left alone at 5 years old for decent chunks of time AND had younger cousins to watch over. Mom and grandma made sure food was already made and I knew how to get to it. Grandpa taught me proper use of a firearm, baseball bat and knife and when and when not to touch it.

[MemeSupreme]

i feel like thats normal, but i guess it depends on their age for whether its ethical

[FreyaRed]

There is an Abandoned child syndrome but it doesn't appear when a child will be let alone for few hours.
It's dangerous for very young children because they take everything in their mouth, that's why you need to put them in a "cage" special children bed with toys they can't swallow if you away for hour or two. However very young children need food and pampers service quite often. Older children who can walk already are more self-sustainable, however "the cage" helps too until they figure how to break out.
Even if you're in home you can't watch your child 7/24.

[MrOracle]

It really depends on the ages of the kids. When I was around 12, I often watched my younger siblings for a couple of hours, and that was well before cell phones when people simply could not be reached. That said, we had neighbors that could help if we had an emergency (only ever had one minor one) and the parents would call home and check up on us if it was more than a couple of hours.

[purplepoppy]

Put them in an empty room so they can't hurt themselves.

[Drumlin2001]

All depends on age. 3yr old? Obviously not. 13? Then it's not an issue

[FunkyMonkee]

If they're old enough to know better than to do stupid shit.

[Brady]

It depends on the kid. On TV it said someone undr 10 shouldn't b left alone. It also said 10 doesn't automatically mean they can b left alone.

[AngryCarl2]

Depends on the age of the kids. If they're pre-school age they shouldn't be left alone that long.

[user4477388]

Yes as long as they are capable and know your expectations.
I was a kid of the 80s we regularly went hours being alone or alone with friends no adults around

[Bloodparadise]

If I were a child, i wouldn't want to be alone

[blackeagle007]

Depends how old they are. Lotta of that said here

[BCRanger10]

It depends on how old they are.

[exitseven]

it depends on how old they were.

[DrPepper12]

Without ages it's impossible to answer

[laryipels]

yes of course!