Some states have laws about leaving children unattended at home, while some don’t specify any appropriate legal age to leave a child.
Instead, parents are asked to make a personal and individual decision while understanding what would be considered child abandonment or neglect.
Wondering if your child is old enough to be left home alone or babysit their siblings? Here’s what the state law says in New Jersey about the legal age and what experts recommend.
What age can kids be left home alone in New Jersey?
New Jersey is one of the states that doesn’t specify any appropriate, legal age to leave a child.
It’s important to note that child protective services staff can and will become involved if anyone reports that a child was abused, neglected, or put at risk of harm while the parent or guardian was gone.
Sending kids to a friend’s house is often a simple approach, but there are more structured options, such as day camps at local clubs or YMCAs. Summer camps can vary in hours and interests and offer things such as museum classes, sports and other managed activities for parents in this common situation.
What age are kids ready to stay at home alone?
There’s no exact answer on when kids are ready to stay home alone, and most experts say this decision should be made on a case-by-case basis by parents.
While there is no magic age that works for every child, members of the nonprofit Safe Kids Worldwide recommend starting to leave kids home alone between the ages of 12 and 13. But it depends on their level of maturity.
“Parents should look for signs of responsibility when their children are with them before leaving them home alone. Are they able to follow directions without being told repeatedly? Do they only follow directions if you are there watching? If they only follow the rules when you’re watching, it’s unlikely that they will follow them when they are home alone,” Rolanda Mitchell, an education counselor at North Carolina State University, told USA Today in 2019.
“School behavior can also be a good indicator because school is where children spend the most of their time without their parents watching. If they’re misbehaving or violating rules, they may do the same when they’re home alone.”
What is the legal age to stay home alone by state?
Only 14 out of 50 states have legal age restrictions for children left at home alone, many of which are just guidelines, according to the Child Welfare Information Gateway, a federal service of Children’s Bureau, the Administration for Children and Families and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Illinois (14 years old), Colorado, Connecticut, and Mississippi (12 years old), Kentucky (11 years old), South Dakota, Tennessee, and Washington (10 years old), Georgia (9 years old), Maryland and North Carolina (8 years old), Nebraska and Oklahoma (7 years old) and Kansas (6 years old) have laws requiring a minimum age for leaving a child home alone.
The remaining 36 states have no set age, but offer some guidelines at the local level.
What is legal age to babysit?
Most states don’t have a minimum legal age to babysit except for Maryland (13) and Illinois (14), according to TheBestBabysitters, noting that the “appropriate age to babysit is best determined by the babysitter’s maturity, skills and knowledge.”
Although there’s no legal minimum age in most states, there are minimum age laws for employment and child labor laws in each state that can also be used as a guide for babysitting work.
Maria Francis is a Pennsylvania-based journalist with the Mid-Atlantic Connect Team.
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: What age can kids stay home alone in New Jersey?
