Dear Queenie,
When I was 10 years old my parents used to leave me at home alone when they went out for the afternoon or evening. I wasn’t afraid to be alone. By the time I was 12 they would leave me to take care of my younger sister and about that time I started babysitting for some of their friends.
My 12-year-old daughter knows all this and thinks I am treating her like a baby for still refusing to leave her alone in the house. She also wants to start babysitting outside the home.
I say times have changed and it is more dangerous for a child nowadays.
Queenie, what do you think?—Cautious mother
Dear Cautious mother,
I think you are right. These days it is not safe to leave a child alone until he or she is big enough and self-confident enough to fight off or escape from an adult intruder, which is to say, well into his or her teens.
Meanwhile, however, you could enrol your daughter in some classes in self-defence and child care, so she will be prepared when you are ready to leave her alone or in charge of younger children, or, God forbid, in case anyone ever attacks her.
You could also let her work occasionally as a “mother’s helper”; that is, look after younger children while their mother is resting or doing other housework. That way she will gain valuable experience for when she is big enough and old enough to babysit alone.
