Home alone

I received an interesting email inquiry last week, on a topic I think a lot of parents have questions about:

"This is kind of a random question, but since our children are getting older, I've been thinking a lot about how much supervision they need. For example, are there any laws on the books about me allowing my child to go the park, etc. by herself? If, God forbid, something were to happen, would I be charged with child neglect? If nothing happened, would I be charged with child neglect? In all seriousness I do not know if I am allowed to let my children play unsupervised. Can you help me know what is legal?"

Here's the response I sent:

"There is nothing about specific ages in the law, except for a provision in Nebraska Statute (28-710) that defines child abuse and neglect to include:

causing or permitting a minor child to be:
(iv) Left unattended in a motor vehicle if such minor child is six years of age or younger;

If you want my advice, I think kids who are in preschool are okay in a fenced yard or rural lawn for a few minutes while a parent puts the laundry in the dryer; kids who are 7-9 are okay to play outside and in the neighboring yards by themselves with an occasional check up by an adult, and kids who are 10 or older can ride or walk down to the neighborhood park without any adult supervision during daylight hours. After age 12, I'll give you one hour after sunset for every one year of additional age, but never beyond midnight until you graduate from high school. Those are parent/grandparent observations, though, not law."

Police officers investigate alleged child neglect cases regularly in Lincoln where someone has reported children left along or unsupervised. There are thousands of latch key kids in Lincoln who take care of themselves after school. How old is old enough to be left alone is a highly individual question. From the standpoint of what constitutes criminal child neglect, our officers look at the specific circumstances and the child's emotional and intellectual development. Are there obvious risks present? Does the child know where the parent is and how to contact the parent? Is there an emergency plan or a backup adult? Does the child have basic necessities, such as food, water, heat, and so forth? How long is the child left alone? ...and so forth.

Reasonable people can all disagree on these things, particularly for kids in the 7-12 year old range. It used to be pretty common for 12 year-olds to be employed as babysitters, and for second graders to watch Captain Kangaroo while mom went to the grocery store.