Well let's find out!
Story:
~Is seven too young to be left home alone? Meet the New York mom who says it teaches children independence and responsibility
~Mother-of-three Lizzie Heiselt says she occasionally leaves her 'homebody' seven-year-old son at home alone for up to 45 minutes
~She is averse to 'helicopter parenting' - stifling kids by being too involved in their lives - and instead encourages hers to learn and do things on their own
after school special sauce herel
Now I'm actually on the fence but will go with don't do it. And here's why. I think there are very smart 7 year olds out there. They can do math in their heads. They can name all the presidents. They can figure out a rubix cube. They are book smarts. Now some are 'experience' smarts, for lack of a better word. I mean how much experience can you actually have at 7 if you probably can only remember to 6? They know to speed dial 911. They know to not open a door to strangers. They know to run from a fire. Not to plug in their bobby pin into an outlet (something one of the kids my mom was babysitting did while alone taking a nap!). They know how to talk to adults.
But do they know how to deal with an emergency that requires deductive reasoning? That requires experience in what to do in that scenario. I know not to put metal into the microwave. But my brother did it at 25 because he was an idiot. Something a kid could do even though they are told not to. Does a kid know what to do if a toilet over flows and how to turn off the water at the source? Or god forbid there's an earthquake (in Southern Cali, this CAN actually happen quite often and not out of the blue like you flat land people would love to believe. Though you have those tornados. So it's a pull.
Anyways. I might leave a 12 year old alone. But not a 7 year old. No matter how brainy mensa smart they are. That's just me. And I wouldn't be considered a helicopter parent (if I had kids) I mean I would let them play in mud just for fun.
What say you?
Story:
~Is seven too young to be left home alone? Meet the New York mom who says it teaches children independence and responsibility
~Mother-of-three Lizzie Heiselt says she occasionally leaves her 'homebody' seven-year-old son at home alone for up to 45 minutes
~She is averse to 'helicopter parenting' - stifling kids by being too involved in their lives - and instead encourages hers to learn and do things on their own
after school special sauce herel
Now I'm actually on the fence but will go with don't do it. And here's why. I think there are very smart 7 year olds out there. They can do math in their heads. They can name all the presidents. They can figure out a rubix cube. They are book smarts. Now some are 'experience' smarts, for lack of a better word. I mean how much experience can you actually have at 7 if you probably can only remember to 6? They know to speed dial 911. They know to not open a door to strangers. They know to run from a fire. Not to plug in their bobby pin into an outlet (something one of the kids my mom was babysitting did while alone taking a nap!). They know how to talk to adults.
But do they know how to deal with an emergency that requires deductive reasoning? That requires experience in what to do in that scenario. I know not to put metal into the microwave. But my brother did it at 25 because he was an idiot. Something a kid could do even though they are told not to. Does a kid know what to do if a toilet over flows and how to turn off the water at the source? Or god forbid there's an earthquake (in Southern Cali, this CAN actually happen quite often and not out of the blue like you flat land people would love to believe. Though you have those tornados. So it's a pull.
Anyways. I might leave a 12 year old alone. But not a 7 year old. No matter how brainy mensa smart they are. That's just me. And I wouldn't be considered a helicopter parent (if I had kids) I mean I would let them play in mud just for fun.
What say you?
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