it really does depend on how mature your children are, as they all have there own individual mentality. As someone said before. No cooking, but also, if they are sat in their room, like any other normal evening, then there is no difference.
If we leave our eldest in charge of the 7 and 4 year old, we we not go out until the 4 year old is in bed. We will not leave the eldest in charge of the 4 year old during the day.
My eldest is pretty responsible and the 7 year old has started hiding in her room, reading and on her iPad!
If we go out for the evening, we would make sure they have a number for someone nearby if we are outside Carlisle and if not then we can return from the cinema very quickly.
Weâve yet to let the lad âbabysitâ of an evening so we can go to the flicks. I might suggest to the Mrs that theyâve shown they can be trusted but Iâm not sure sheâll agree.
In years gone by kids of perhaps, 8 (at a push) might babysit younger ones if the family was big and circumstances merited it. I certainly know of kids younger than 10 who actually know how to cook and some of 16 who donât know what a tin opener is which is worrying. Mind you, there are probably 30 year olds who donât know that either, so âŚ
Havenât read the story but wonder what can happen to a child in 2 mins if the car is secure and assuming that the McCann snatcher is still about and watching the car. Presume theyâd be straitjacketed in a car-seat especially for them and woudnât be left with a nuke to play with. If you havenât got it yet, I wonder why there is a focus on interfering and preventing something âbadâ that âcouldâ happen and quite what the difference is (ignoring the obvious) about leaving a child alone in the spare room for 2 mins and a car when you could consider what did/didnât happen and then act if it did. Assumng youâre a half-decent parent I would have thought the self-imposed feelings would be the worst sanction in that case.
Hmmm, we have had a neighbourâs daughter babysit when she was just 13. Admittedly, her parents were in their house a couple of doors up from us but, nevertheless, she was in titular charge while we were out. We have also had other babysitters who were 14 and 15 and their family homes are much further away.
The article suggests that the police have prosecuted in some instances when children as old as 15 have been left on their own!
