What is the legal age a child can be left at home alone in Virginia?

Answer 1

Only two states have legislated a specific age to leave a child home alone, Illinois and Maryland. Generally speaking, the child must be safe, must feel safe, and know how to take care of themselves in an emergency. Most places believe that 12 or 13 is okay to leave home alone for a couple of hours during daylight hours. There are very few states in the U.S. with legal minimum ages for children home alone, but many state agencies have published guidelines. Georgia, Illiniois, Maryland and Oregon are a few of the states with specific ages mentioned in their laws.

12 years of age appears to be the most common recommendation. Below in Related Links is an article entitled Home Alone Children Legal Age Limits state by state comparison with references.

One guideline from a California child welfare representative suggests that 8 year olds and over can be left at home for a brief amount of time(such as just after school). The most common statement is that a child's maturity should be the determining factor and not just age.

Answer 2

It appears there are only laws governing this in a few states. Specifically, Maryland, Oregon, and Illinois have legal statutes against leaving a minor unattended. Maryland laws even contradict: they define "child" as under 18 years of age according to Maryland Family Law statute 5-701 in their definition of neglect, which includes leaving a child unattended, but according to 5-801, they state it is illegal to leave a child unattended if they are under 8 and not supervised by someone 13 and older. North Carolina has a reference in its fire code laws that could make someone guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor if their child under 8 years old is left "so as to expose the child to danger by fire.

Virginia Virginia, however, is one of the states that does not have such a legal statute or even an age which a child can begin to be left unattended at home. The state Department of Social Services (DSS) does post guidelines for this, though, giving requirements that take into consideration the mental and physical wellbeing and maturity of the youth, the accessibility of the parents, and the general situation, such as neighborhood crime statistics, arrangements made with other adults or caregivers, and if there is a history of child abuse in the home.

Other States States such as Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Michigan, North Dakota, and Tennessee all have similar guidelines to Virginia, but give varying ages from 6-12 as minimum cutoffs for when they should not be allowed to be unattended and have not recorded these ages as laws. Kansas has no such laws or easily found guidelines; a Kansas "Safe Kids" site referenced by latchkey-kids.com to say the guideline was 12 years old could no longer be found, while the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal gave guidelines for 6-9 being able to be left unattended for short periods of time, with 10 and older being able to be left unattended for "for somewhat longer periods again dependent upon the other factors", like how it is described for Virginia.

Answer 3

There are very few states in the U.S. with legal minimum ages, but many state agencies have published guidelines. Virginia currently has no legal age limit, but has posted guidelines. For example, a child 8 and over should be left no longer than 90 minutes while a child 11 or older should not be left more than 3 hours, etc.. Georgia, Illiniois, Maryland and Oregon are a few of the states with very specific legal age limits written in law. http://www.latchkey-kids.com/latchkey-kids-age-limits.htm provides a state by state comparison.

Answer 4

The age at which a child can be left at home alone is only legislated in two states, Maryland and Illinois. The legal check is whether or not the child is safe and has the ability to take care of themselves. Most authorities agree that leaving a 12 year old alone at home for an hour or two is acceptable, but they should not be responsible for other children.

Answer 5

There is no legal age for babysitting in Washington DC though many people start at 14. Many people want to start at younger ages likes 11 and 12 which I think are ok ages though it’s all up to the parent of the child your babysitting.

Answer 6

There are no laws reguarding the age a child may babysit just guidelines for each county. Here is an example
http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/dfs/childrenyouth/homealone.htm.

Answer 7

In Washington DC, there is no legal age for babysitting. However, generally speaking, most children do not begin babysitting until they are around 14 years of age.

Answer 8

There are currently no laws in Virginia about a child staying home alone. It is basically left up to the parents to decide if their own child is ready to stay home alone.

Answer 9

Legally there is no set age, the national SAFEKIDS campaign recommends that no child under the age of 12 be left alone, however you should consider their age and maturity level.

Answer 10

I believe it's 10 or 12