Children Home Alone

The department is often asked if there was a minimum age before a child could be left home alone. There is no specific legal age in Oregon to leave a child home alone. There is, however, one law that provides a minimum guideline. Oregon's child neglect laws indicate a child should be at least 10 years of age or older. This means that good judgment by a parent or guardian is very important. Variables that need to be considered before leaving a child home alone include maturity of the child, the environment, and how long the child will be unattended. If the child is immature or unskilled at providing for themselves when alone or in an emergency then they are not old enough to be left alone no matter what age they are. There are many issues and potential risks and dangers that parents should consider before a child is left home alone. Some of these issues include age readiness, parental "rules and expectations", how to contact parent or other adults (e.g. phone numbers), potentially unsafe situations, how/when to answer phone or doorbell (not telling someone they are alone), use of phone, and friends & visitors coming to the house. Many if these issues and questions also apply to young babysitters. The Vernonia Police Department is offering a "Babysitters Guide" for all prospective and current babysitters. Copies of the "Babysitters Guide" can be picked up at the station. The following is a list of resources and links that you can access to get more information regarding children being left home alone: "Kids Home Alone" a parents tip fact sheet by Girls & Boys Town http://www.girlsandboystown.org/parents/tips/kidsalone.asp "Home Alone Children Fact Sheet No. 46" by the Amercian Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry http://www.aacap.org/publications/factsfam/homealon.htm "Is Your Child Ready to Stay Home Alone?" by the National Association of Child Care Referral Agencies http://www.childaware.org/en/dailyparent/0399/ "Home Alone" by the National Network for Child Care (NNCC) http://www.nncc.org/SACC/sac31_home.alone.html "How Old is Old Enough?" by NNCC http://www.nncc.org/SACC/sac42_old.enough.html "Home Alone A Parent's Guide" by National Crime Prevention Council http://www.ncpc.org/cms-upload.ncpc/files/chalone.pdf "The Super Sitter" by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/pubs/243.html