How young is too young to be left alone?

White Plains boy calls cops on mom who ordered him to do homework

Gist of the story is that a 10 year old called the cops to complain that his mom was making him do homework. When the cops came to investigate, the mom in question wasn't home; she was working the lunch shift at a local restaurant.

She is now facing child endangerment charges and 1 year in prison for leaving a 10 year old child alone.

You know, I started BABY-SITTING other people's children by the time I was 10, and had been left watch 3 younger brothers and sisters by the time I was 8. Yeah, there were rules - no later than midnight, my folks had to be home, or nearby/reachable by phone, my folks had to know the parents.

With my own kids, we would leave them alone for an early evening outing around the time they were 8 and 10, and progressively longer times as they got older.

It all depends on the kid, and sure, some safeguards are necessary, but leaving a ten year old alone for a few hours a day during a school break seems perfectly reasonable to me.

Shut Down the Middle Schools?

Shut Down the Middle Schools? asks Maggie Gallagher in an op-ed piece for Yahoo! News.

Interesting points. Especially the parts about the kids growing up respecting the teachers and principals from their elementary school, and better parental involvement.