Not all parents can afford childcare or take time off work at the same time as trying to earn enough to support their family, often leaving parents with the difficult choice of leaving their children on their own.
According to researchers, tens of millions of children around the world are often left at home while their parents work. In some countries factors include the lack of childcare services, pre-school education, money and little or no parental leave.
In the UK there is no specific law on the minimum age a child can be left on their own with parents advised to use their judgment to decide how mature a child is. However, it is an offence to leave a child alone ‘if it places them at risk’ with the NSPCC suggesting that it is unsuitable for under-12s to be unsupervised.
Most of the US provides guidelines with only a few states such as Maryland specifying an age (8-years-old). Australia is similar to the UK and in New Zealand the minimum age is 14.
Were you ever home alone or with your siblings when your parents went to work? How old were you and how did you feel at the time? Has your view changed now that you are older? If you were ever taken to your parents’ workplace we’d like to hear from you too. We’ll feature some of the stories in our reporting.
You can share your experiences by filling in the form below. You don’t need to supply your real name, but please do leave contact details if you’re happy for us to get in touch.
