Legal Question in Family Law in New York

Re: Children left home alone

There is no legal or "set" age, for leaving a child home alone without supervision, for any period of time. If something bad happens, while a child is alone, whatever the age of the child, a parent can get into a lot of trouble, civil and criminal.

It is best to err on the side of caution. Don't allow your child to be unsupervised for any period. Arrange for a neighbor, friend, or classmate's family to help you work out this problem with your schedule.

GOOD LUCK.

Re: Children left home alone

Of course I urge you not to leave your child at home alone for extended periods of time at all. Having said that, I want to give you some guidence on avoiding losing your child or incurring criminal action.

There is no specific age limit. It depends on each child. You are unlikely to face chrges of 'child neglect' if your child is 10 years or over. But there are no guarentees. Who knows what trouble an unsupervised kid can get into?

Once a child reaches the age of sexual experiment, there are a whole new set of legsal issues. 'contributing to the delinquency' and other crimes become relevent. 12 year olds have been known to use their unsupervised home as a virtual brothel!

It is so easy to go wrong in this situation. Be very careful and conservative.

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