When I was a kid, all the way through school, starting in first grade I was let off the bus and was home alone for hours before anyone came home every weekday. Now they take the kids back to school if a legal guardian isn't outside to receive them.
It infantilizes children. If you're old enough to go to school, you're old enough to let yourself in, make a snack, entertain yourself, and call a parent/relative if some freak accident occurs.
Thats allowed still where I am. There isnt an age limit, and its not a problem leaving kids alone as long as nothing bad happens to them. Its a decent approach because Ive seen kids that are more responsible at 7 than kids that are in their teens.
It really is. It helped me become less dependant on adults. I would kind of get in trouble because my parents or older siblings would come home to find I had cooked a meal on the stove top. This started probably somewhere around 6-7 years old.
All I did was get a basic understanding by watching my mom cook, then just read instructions on the food. Today you'll find 12 year olds that barely know how to use a microwave.
Yeah, if a kid is old enough to walk to school/ make themselves something to eat (and know to run next door/ down the street in an emergency) - they are old enough to be home alone.
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