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Home Alone Safety Tips
by Tim Jahn, Human Development Specialist,
Cornell Cooperative Extension of Suffolk County
Twelve to 14 percent of children age
5-12 spend some time home alone after school, according
to a study by the Institute for Social Research at the
University of Michigan. Children in self-care are about
three times more likely than those supervised by adults
to be involved in accidents, engage in delinquent behavior,
or be victimized. Some children enjoy being independent
and in charge, while others are lonely, bored or scared.
Children under the age of 10 should not
be left unsupervised. Working parents should try to find
after school care for their young school-age children.
If a parent decides that an older son or daughter is mature
enough to stay home alone, the following safety tips are
recommended.
1. Arrange for
your child to talk with you (or another trusted adult)
by phone when she arrives home, in an emergency, or just
to hear a caring voice.
2. Tell her to
come straight home from school.
3. Tell her not
to enter the house if anything seems wrong, like an open
door or broken window.
4. Teach her not
to open the door to a stranger and to never tell anybody
at the door or on the phone that she’s home alone.
She should say that her mother can't come to the door
or phone right now and she’ll take a message.
5. Establish clear
and specific home-alone rules and guidelines about such
things as television viewing, computer use, phone use,
homework, snacks and cooking, friends visiting, playing
outside, etc.
6. Review and
rehearse emergency procedures with him until he feels
comfortable.
  Have
a fire escape plan.
Keep
a list of emergency numbers next to each telephone.
Have him practice dialing emergency numbers and what
to say. Remind him not to hang up until told to do so.
Make
sure he knows his phone number, home address and cross
streets.
Show
him what to do if the lights or electrical power go
out.
7. Practice problem-solving
situations. Ask her what she would do if
The
dog jumps over the fence and she can't leave the yard?
She
breaks a glass and she’s barefoot?
She
misses the school bus home?
8. Have a back-up
plan if your child loses the house key.
9. Make an emergency
kit - extra key, money and emergency phone numbers - for
the schoolbag.
10. Leave your
child little surprises like notes or treats hidden around
the house. Leave a message on the answering machine saying
what to do and how much you love her.
* Tim Jahn, who has an M.Ed from the University of
Vermont, has more than 25 years experience as a parent
educator with Cornell Cooperative Extension.
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