What’s the youngest age to stay home alone?
Credit: Kidsday staff artist / Lingfei Zhao, Syosset
I was interested in seeing at what age kids think they should be able to stay home alone, so I surveyed 52 students in grades five and six. I chose three random ages, and here are my results:
By age 14: 7
By age 11: 37
By age 9: 1
None of the above: 7
As you can see, kids feel 11 is a good age to be trusted to stay in the house alone. The one student who chose age 9 said, “I believe it is a reasonable age if the kid is mature enough. There are also cellphones to call their parents, so it’s no biggie to stay home alone.”
Most kids chose 11 as a good age to stay home alone because they thought it was an age when kids become responsible enough.
Jillian Cagno and Deirdre Greenwald’s fifth-grade class, Tuckahoe School, Southampton
