 |
 |
Lone Parents Donations |
 |
 |
| HELP KEEP OUR SITE FREE! |
 |
| A BIG THANKS TO |
|
 |
 |
|
 |
 |
Adopt A Granny |
 |
 |
Currently there is a problem with headlines from this site |
 |
 |
|
 |
 |
Lone Parents Archives |
 |
 |
| Friday, March 23 | | · | MTV Documentary. |
| Monday, January 22 | | · | A Parent's Guide to Internet Safety |
| Saturday, January 06 | | · | Top 10 Tips for Busy Mums - from iVillage. |
| · | The Perfectionism Trap |
| Sunday, December 24 | | · | Parent Line This Christmas |
| Thursday, October 26 | | · | DWP news release £20 extra for lone parents |
| Wednesday, September 13 | | · | Starting secondary school |
| Monday, August 28 | | · | Win a £50 Christmas Hamper |
| Sunday, August 27 | | · | Children and seatbelts |
| Saturday, August 19 | | · | Is dancing the new safe sex? |
| Saturday, July 15 | | · | Mothers, work and the guilt factor |
| Friday, June 23 | | · | Fathers, do you have parental responsibility for your child? |
| Monday, June 05 | | · | One Up Magazine - for Lone / Step parents |
| Friday, June 02 | | · | Becoming a stepparent |
| · | Clarifying roles and rules |
| Thursday, June 01 | | · | Suspect or have a drugs problem? |
| Sunday, May 28 | | · | 10 healthy habits for toddlers |
| · | Child Care Link |
| Thursday, May 04 | | · | Help Needed For Research |
| Monday, May 01 | | · | Becoming a Stepparent |
| Sunday, April 16 | | · | How to help your child cope with your divorce or separation. |
| Sunday, April 09 | | · | Leaving Children at Home Alone |
| Friday, March 24 | | · | Changes in Benefit |
| Sunday, March 05 | | · | Sample Story From One Up - The UK.s First Magazine For Lone / Step Parents |
| Saturday, January 21 | | · | Introduction To Tax Credits - Child Tax Credit |
| · | Help With Your Rent |
| · | What Is The CSA? |
| Saturday, January 07 | | · | Benefits and support for pregnant teenagers and young lone parents |
| · | Benifits For Lone Parents |
| Friday, January 06 | | · | Channel 4 needs your help |
| Sunday, January 01 | | · | Eight Sleep Tips for Every Child |
| Saturday, December 31 | | · | About Internet Dating - Reviews | Advice |
| · | Dating Online - Be Safe |
| Tuesday, December 27 | | · | Your Home On Relationship Breakdown |
| · | What Is Parental Responsibility And Who Has It? |
|
 |
 |
|
 |
|
 |
| Leaving Children at Home Alone |
Leaving Children at Home Alone
What the law says
There is no law that states the minimum age that a child can be left alone. However, it is an offence to leave a child alone when doing so puts him or her at risk.
How do you decide if you can safely leave a child alone?
There are many important things to consider before you decide to leave a child alone. These include:
- The age of the child.
- The child's level of maturity and understanding.
- The place where child will be left.
- How long the child will be left alone, and how often.
- Whether or not there are any other children in the household.
For example, most parents would think it’s OK to leave a sixteen-year-old alone for the evening, but to leave them for a week would be unacceptable.
Many young children play outdoors with other children without a parent or carer being present. As they are unsupervised, they are 'alone', but most people would agree that this is an important part of growing up.
You are the best judge of your child’s level of maturity and responsibility.
A few other points to guide you
- Never leave a baby or very young child alone at home, whether asleep or awake, even for a few minutes. It doesn’t take long for unsupervised young children or babies to injure themselves.
- Most children under thirteen should not be left for more than a short period.
- No child under sixteen should be left overnight.
If you do leave a child alone, remember:
- If possible, leave a telephone number where you can be contacted, and be available to answer it immediately.
- Talk to your child about keeping safe at home and point out the potential dangers. Tell them not to answer the door to strangers.
- Give clear instructions about what to do if there’s an emergency. All children left alone should be able to phone the emergency services.
- Leave a list of trusted people they can contact.
- Put obvious dangers out of reach of children, e.g. medicines, chemicals, matches, etc...
- Make sure that the child is happy about the arrangements and confident about being left.
- Tell the child when you’ll be back, and make sure you’re back on time.
- Talk to him or her about it afterwards.
Choosing a babysitter-
When deciding to use a babysitter remember to:
- Follow your instincts - if in doubt don't use them.
- Ask for at least two references and contact the referees yourself.
- Choose a babysitter over sixteen years old.
- Listen to your child. Talk to your child about any issue of babysitting that they are unhappy about.
- If your child is unhappy about your use of a particular babysitter, find someone else.
- Only use registered childminders. A list of local registered childminders can be found from your local authority children's information service.
This artical can be found on the NSPCC Website [here]
If you need any further advice or information about leaving children alone, contact the NSPCC Helpline on 0808 800 5000 at any time.
|
| |
 |
Article Rating |
 |
 |
Average Score: 4.66 Votes: 12

|
 |
 |
|
 |
|
|
No Comments Allowed for Anonymous, please register |
|
Re: Leaving Children at Home Alone (Score: 1) by JJ on Tuesday, April 18 @ 06:36:34 BST (User Info | Send a Message) | | Excellent advice - my son is 12 and not ready to be left just yet, so the comment about under 13s would definitely apply to him. I must admit to looking forward to getting some freedom back when he does feel ready though lol. |
|
|
|