Home Alone

My mom recently balked at being reminded that she had let me spend entire summer weekends by myself when I was 15. She swore she would never have let me do it, but she did. I remember that as soon as I had my driver's license, I had already done it a few times and it wasn't that big a deal (to me, or, apparently, to her). Of course, looking back at the 1980s from the 21st century, I cannot imagine leaving a teenager home alone either and swear I would never do it. Even when I'm home and nearby, things happen. I read recently that most tragic swimming accidents happen in the first five minutes that an adult is not paying attention. This five-minute rule applies to most mischief, injury, and aggression in our house. If I go to the bathroom, leave the room to check email, take a phone call, in the next room or even with my back turned, something ALWAYS happens.

And so, today's article in the NYTimes about when you can leave children home alone had me thinking forward to the late 2010s and my own children. The article addresses leaving 9-, 10-, and 11+ year olds home alone for hours at a time, particularly by lower income families with few childcare options. There are not laws addressing the practice, perhaps because then governments would have to address affordable childcare. Apparently, Connecticut actually suggests that children be 12 before they are left alone, and 15 before they can watch younger siblings. Before that, children do not recognize nor appropriately respond to risk or danger. But it's not a law. There is a law, however, mentioned in another article in Brain, Child, that children in Connecticut cannot be left alone in a car until they are . . . what was it? . . . 7 or 8. I wish our local Starbucks had put in a drive-thru. Five years is a long time to wait for coffee.