Do You leave Your Kids Home Alone? Charity Group Issues New Warning For Parents

Parents should use their common sense in determining whether or not they should leave their kids home alone during the summer holidays, according to a children's charity organization in the United Kingdom. The organization offered advice on parents to help them decide when it comes to leaving kids home alone.

"Summer holidays can be a fun time for children but it's also when they are more likely to be left home alone as parents face increasing childcare pressures," said Peter Wanless, CEO of the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC), as per BBC. Wanless added that leaving children home alone can increase risk of accidents and injuries and called on parents to use their "common sense."

What's the right age to leave children home alone? Find out how to decide when it's right: https://t.co/wMRRGvNgmE pic.twitter.com/VWUc9OEtza

— NSPCC (@NSPCC) March 15, 2016

Advice For Parents On Leaving Their Kids Home Alone

The Daily Echo reported that the first advice of the NSPCC was that babies, toddlers and very young kids should not be left home alone while those under 12 are "rarely mature enough to cope in an emergency and should not be left at home alone for a long period of time." Children under 16 should not be left home alone overnight, the NSPCC added.

The NSPCC said that parents and caretakers leaving their kids home alone can be charged with neglect if proven that they exposed children to danger by leaving them home alone. The organization also advised parents to never leave kids home alone, of any age, if children are uncomfortable with it. Children's additional needs and risks from fights with older siblings should also be considered in leaving them home alone.

Hundreds Of Kids Home Alone

The NSPCC said that last year there were over 350 incidents of kids home alone during the summer holidays that were reported to police or social services with half of these involving children under 10 years old, according to Irish News. The charity organization also said that it was the recipient of 1,729 calls and e-mails from concerned adults about children being left home alone.

NSPCC's ChildLine service reportedly gave worried kids home alone over 270 counselling sessions last year. According to the BBC, Wanless told parents that they should talk to their children about being home alone, discussing their children's feelings and informing them of proper actions during an emergency.