He constantly thinks that Kiawna is home alone. While there is a lot of confidence in Kiawna`s maturity, his father knows the situation is far from ideal. Many years ago, I had an argument with the Ministry of Health and Social Services because I allowed our 8-year-old son to be home alone. Do you know at what age you can leave your children home alone? Washington State does not have a law that determines the age at which a child can be left home alone. However, the Washington Department of Social and Social Services (“DSHS”) offers some clues. According to DSHS guidelines, children ages 9 to 12 can generally be left home alone for less than two hours, and children 13 and older can babysit younger children for up to 12 hours. Children up to 8 years old should not be left alone at home. For a child with a particular illness or disability, DSHS also does not advise leaving the child alone at home. As a co-parent during or after divorce, you may no longer have the power to make certain unilateral decisions about your children`s health and well-being. Restrictions on unilateral decision-making are most often related to issues considered “important decisions”. My wife and I were living in Yakima at the time. We got a call from DSHS asking if we would leave our 8 year old son home alone. We asked why we were worried that our child would be home alone.
The decision to leave your child home alone, even for a short period of time, might be an important decision for you and your co-parent, but not an “important decision” under Washington law and not a provision that should be added if both parents are appropriate parents. This means that many families are trying to find a solution, and for some, it may mean leaving a child alone at home. PIERCE COUNTY, WASHINGTON A new analysis of smart dollars indicates that nearly 34% of families in the greater Seattle area with children under 14 do not have parents at home. Our team of family law lawyers in Seattle understands the emotional issues that can underlie a landmark decision, such as: Leaving your child home alone, and what a potential minefield this can be as it invades the right of healthy parents to make everyday decisions. If a parent is so weakened, there are likely 191 factors and other elective constraints in the parenting plan, and such micromanagement could be valid in these situations. For Justin, that means leaving his 12-year-old home alone for part of the day. In Washington, there is no law setting an age at which a child can stay home alone. Learning to take care of yourself and not do stupid things is an important part of growing up. Leaving a child alone at home can contribute to maturity and help teach responsibility. Yet what is appropriate for a 16-year-old will not be the same for a 6-year-old.
As mentioned earlier, provisions regarding the age a child must be before being left home alone are extremely rare in a parenting plan. This is not considered an important decision under Washington law. In all likelihood, your parenting plan will not provide advice on when or whether to leave your child home alone. Nevertheless, the decision must be made holistically. However, remember, if it is a court-ordered parenting plan, a parent does not have the right to ignore themselves and decide that it is no longer the right decision for their child. That was and still is the decision until the court orders something else. A parenting plan may include a provision stating that in a situation where your child might otherwise be left home alone, the other parent has the right to observe the child. If a parenting plan contains provisions for this, it would be important for it to include terms such as the earliest age at which your child can be left home alone, the length of time, and the age at which the unsupervised provision would no longer apply. When such a provision is reflected in a formal parenting plan, what is appropriate is unique to each family and depends on a variety of factors, including the child`s age, maturity, disabilities, and possibly the advice of experts and competent external resources. However, it is important to keep in mind that these recommendations also depend on the maturity of each child, the well-being of parents, and the availability of supports such as neighbours or trusted friends in an emergency. For more information, visit the Child Welfare Information Portal. Washington State has no laws or rules that say at what age a child can be left home alone.
In general, children under the age of 10 should not be left alone. “I`m pretty lucky to have a child who is good and listens and I can count on her, otherwise I wouldn`t feel safe leaving her at home,” Justin said. If such a provision is included in a parenting plan, a parent cannot later decide not to follow it simply because it no longer makes sense or is impractical for some reason. Like any other provision, it would require an amending measure to legally remove it. This is because the parenting plan is not a guide; It is a court order. And parents cannot substitute their reasoning for that of the court. The order should be amended to delete or amend the provision. The closest are provisions that give the other parent the right to observe the child if the parent at that time cannot do so. But, again, the issue of leaving a child home alone during a parent`s residency period is otherwise in itself a day-to-day decision, not an important decision in Washington. However, in divorces and separations, it is not uncommon for trust between parents to be lost or broken, and a parent may want a provision that relates to leaving children home alone to ensure they are always safe.
If that question arises, what is the answer? As with most legal questions, the answer is: it depends. In Washington, these are often decisions related to education (including school choice and individual education plans for children with disabilities) and non-urgent health care (including vaccinations, orthodontics, elective surgeries, counseling, and doctor visits for children). It can include other topics such as religious education, age to get a driver`s license, or maybe even tattoos and piercings. In general, however, decisions outside these areas are usually the responsibility of the parent with whom the child resides at the time and are considered “day-to-day decisions”. State officials depend on the maturity of the child, but they say children aged 10 or younger should not be left home alone. Factors to consider include your child`s comfort when left home alone, your child`s ability to contact emergency services in a crisis, their ability to follow instructions, general safety considerations, and your ability to trust the child. All of these considerations may change over time. Even if you and your co-parent agree that your child is ready to be left home alone, you should still consult your child before making a final decision. In addition to your child`s age and maturity, you should consult your parenting plan if you and your partner created one as part of your separation or divorce before making the decision to leave your child home alone. Your parenting plan may require that your co-parent first be asked if they are available to supervise your child before leaving them home alone or calling a babysitter. Provisions about how old a child must be before being left home alone are extremely rare in a parenting plan.
If it is during a parent`s period of residence, it is usually a “day-to-day” decision at the discretion of the parent then resident. At 8 years old, our son was only home alone for about an hour between shifts I worked and my wife worked in the afternoons and our son didn`t want to be driven, so we made a deal so he could stay home alone until he opened the door. We have determined that there is NO established law in Washington State, but they recommend that children under the age of 10 not be home alone. The inclusion of such a provision subtly implies that at least one parent does not have the common sense or consideration for the safety of their children that they should – which is the opposite of what is assumed in a parenting plan in which there are 191 factors. It is a legal presumption that healthy parents are making safe choices on behalf of their children. If both are considered capable parents, it is generally not necessary or healthy for one parent to be a caregiver or take on the role of “primary parent”. It`s really about the maturity of every child and parent to make that choice for their own family, but Washington State has guidelines that it wouldn`t recommend to any child under the age of 10 to be home alone, but that`s just that, a guideline, not the law.