Home Alone

In December, right here in metro Atlanta, two children under the age of 4 were killed in a house fire that occurred while they were home alone.

Q: What is the appropriate age for children to stay home alone? To baby-sit? Do you let your own children stay home alone?

That's the topic of today's Moms Talk discussion.

To kick off the conversation, members of the Canton-Sixes Patch Moms Council offered their thoughts. You can join the dialogue and submit your comments below.

A: I believe it is all relative and depends on the children. My oldest child is 9 years old. My youngest child is 3½ years old. I have no problem with running next door to borrow a stick of butter. There is no way I would leave them for longer than that. Life can get crazy in a flash around our house when I am home. In regards to baby-sitting, I would agree with a baby sitter needing to be at least 13 years old. Of course, that also depends on the child. There are many children who at 13 are responsible enough to baby-sit. There are also many teens at 17 who are not responsible enough for the same task. More important than age alone, I feel strongly that potential baby sitters should take a course in baby-sitting and get certified in CPR. I also believe it is important to have spent some time with the baby sitter and your children together to get to know them and observe how they play with your children. As for leaving children alone overnight, I am unsure how to answer. Obviously, I will not leave my children alone overnight at their ages now.  Even at 15 years old, it will have to depend on my children and their behaviors. Ask me again in about 10 years. Maybe I’ll have a more specific answer. At this point, if and when my husband and I are able to get away for a night, we prefer to leave our children with family. If no one in our family is available, we have a couple of baby sitters in their 20s we trust. If those sitters are not available, we are most likely to cancel our plans.

Jenny Howard, mom of 3

A: I think it depends on the situation and the child. My oldest child is 10, and I would not leave him alone or to stay with his younger brother and sister for a long period of time. If I am at the neighbor's, I will let him stay at home with the phone by his side and the knowledge that I am just across the street if he should need me.  The house I had in California was in a beach community, and we were a very short walk from restaurants and shops. The neighbors were all close, and everyone knew everyone else. Some Saturday mornings I would allow my 9-year-old to stay at the house while we walked to Starbucks. We were gone less than 30 minutes, and the neighbors were always aware when it occurred, and being that it was a beach community, the houses were so close together that really all he had to do was call out and the mom next door would hear him. I would never let my kids stay alone at night and certainly never overnight at their current ages. I would have them stay with friends or family if I needed overnight care for them for some reason. I do not know what age is appropriate to be left alone for a length of time, yet. I have a 16-year-old neighbor I trust to watch my kids when I need someone, and she is very responsible. Because my own children are not old enough, in my opinion, I just do not have a concrete age to say is old enough to stay alone or baby-sit. I think it depends on the individual child and the situation.

Tammy Bester, mom of 3

A: It was not that long ago that my husband and I were finally able to attend a party in our very own 'hood without our preteens in tow. Ah, the freedom we felt as we drove down BridgeMill Avenue, knowing that if our house caught fire, our trusty golden retriever would at least have enough sense to bark, alerting our offspring to run to the nearest exit. Years later, I am still happy to report that no real emergencies have ever occurred while we were not home. Knock on wood. Of course, there is still the chance of a wild party or two as they grow older, but I have a brother-in-law who now works for the . Enough said.

No child under the age of 12 should be left at home without an adult, according to The National SAFEKIDS Campaign.

Here is a direct quote regarding Georgia’s guidelines for leaving a child without adult supervision that can be found at the Georgia Department of Human Services website:

"Children under 8 years old should never be left alone, even for short periods of time. Children between the ages of 9 and 12, based on level of maturity, can be left home alone for brief periods of time. Children 13 and older can generally be left as babysitters, with the exception of children in foster care. It is not recommended, however, that 13 year olds babysit infants, small children and children that require special attention due to medical conditions. Children 15 and older can be left home alone overnight, depending on the level of maturity of the child."

Leslie Olejnik, mom of 2