My mom went back to work when I was in the second grade and I became a latchkey kid. There was about an hour where I was alone until my brother came home. I wasn't allowed to answer the door and wasn't allowed to let any kids in the house. I was told to call my mom or dad if anything happened. We also could get our next door neighbor. I don't think 911 was around our area yet. I used the time to watch cartoons and use my imagination.
My mom worked at a car dealer and didn't get off until sometimes 9 pm. My dad worked 3 pm to 12 am. My brother and I used to fight all the time. Yes things got broken in the house and we got in trouble for it.
Eventually my brother was allowed to leave and I was allowed to go outside or to go to friends. I was even allowed to have a few friends over that my parents trusted after a few years. The rule then became no more than one kid in the house. After my dads heart attack that spring he got laid off. He was unemployed during most of the third grade so I lost my alone time. When he went back to work I again had freedom.
I knew a kid that went to a baby sitter after school until he was 11. It seemed so odd to me that his parents wouldn't let him stay home alone. The first day he was allowed to be home alone I went over to his house and he let me in. His mom came home and started yelling because he let me in. I left and found out that he was grounded for a week. She knew me well and you would think she would rather me be there than him being all alone. I had another friend that was home alone just like me until his sister came home. His mom didn't mind me coming over. Neither did another kid's mom I knew.
I'm glad I had the experience of being home alone at a young age. It really helped make me become a more independent person. To this day being alone doesn't bother me.
So when were you allowed to be left alone?
My mom worked at a car dealer and didn't get off until sometimes 9 pm. My dad worked 3 pm to 12 am. My brother and I used to fight all the time. Yes things got broken in the house and we got in trouble for it.
Eventually my brother was allowed to leave and I was allowed to go outside or to go to friends. I was even allowed to have a few friends over that my parents trusted after a few years. The rule then became no more than one kid in the house. After my dads heart attack that spring he got laid off. He was unemployed during most of the third grade so I lost my alone time. When he went back to work I again had freedom.
I knew a kid that went to a baby sitter after school until he was 11. It seemed so odd to me that his parents wouldn't let him stay home alone. The first day he was allowed to be home alone I went over to his house and he let me in. His mom came home and started yelling because he let me in. I left and found out that he was grounded for a week. She knew me well and you would think she would rather me be there than him being all alone. I had another friend that was home alone just like me until his sister came home. His mom didn't mind me coming over. Neither did another kid's mom I knew.
I'm glad I had the experience of being home alone at a young age. It really helped make me become a more independent person. To this day being alone doesn't bother me.
So when were you allowed to be left alone?
retrotyrone1989
105 Posts
14 years, 4 months ago
me+home alone first day = foooooood! food food foooooooooood! and me having the tv on full blast! this was when both mom and pop worked 7 days a week, no make it 6. well, pop the full 7, but mom had to take sundays off for church. that is, if she didn't have to work overtime.
I'm sure I was left at home alone before this but the first time I remember I was watching The Secret of NIMH and being so scared of Nicodemus I ran outside and waited for my mom to come home. That damn rat was freaky.
My mother always worked, so maybe at about 7 or so. I would have to stay home for about an hour after my father left for work (he worked 3 - 11) and before my mother got home (after 4). The rule was pretty much the same as Bassman's. No answering the door,but I wasn't allowed to have anyone in the house (like friends). My cousin (who lived across the street), was okay, though, so some afternoons she was with me. When she was a Kindergartner and I was a 3rd grader, though, she usually ended up hanging with our grandmother and our other cousins (who lived in another neighborhood) because she had morning Kindergarten.
... alright son, this will be your first day alone. Don't do anything funny between you and the electric plug sockets.
I went to afterschool programs until I was in middle school, so the only times I was left alone was when my parents had to run out to the store for like half an hour. I mostly just watched TV. It never occurred to me to misbehave and my friends didn't live in walking distance. I guess it would have been different if I had had siblings. My neighbor was a teacher so she was usually home when I was, just in case. Any extended periods of time alone, I had a sitter or my grandma (I could actually walk to her apartment from school, so it worked out when my parents had accounting meetings.)
I definitely remember that first day home alone in 6th grade, though. Underestimated the distance from the bus stop, but I got used to the walk up the hill. I loved to chill out at home by myself. I was usually good about doing homework (sometimes in front of the TV), and I learned to make myself snacks. My parents always called around 3 or 4 to make sure I was home or at my friend's house. I spent a lot of time on the phone with my friend who lived across state lines. God we talked a lot. Always about shows and school. I got into trouble over the phone bill.
I definitely remember that first day home alone in 6th grade, though. Underestimated the distance from the bus stop, but I got used to the walk up the hill. I loved to chill out at home by myself. I was usually good about doing homework (sometimes in front of the TV), and I learned to make myself snacks. My parents always called around 3 or 4 to make sure I was home or at my friend's house. I spent a lot of time on the phone with my friend who lived across state lines. God we talked a lot. Always about shows and school. I got into trouble over the phone bill.
The earliest I remember being home alone was when I was 11 and my family and I had gone out to a fairly early dinner with me on a Friday night and they wanted to go shopping or run a few errands still so they would sometimes drop me off so I could hang out and watch TV. I wanted to start my weekend TV marathons early with Kablam! and TGIF. After Kablam! or TGIF were over, I'd usually hang out and play Sega or channel surf or read my latest issue of Disney Adventures or Sonic The Hedgehog comic book or draw something until my family came home. It was only for a few hours. Fun times alone as a tween in the 90's...lol
WesMantooth
7 Posts
14 years, 4 months ago
My father's lawn tractor was almost blown up the first time I was left home alone.
I was either or 11 or 12 when it happened. My mom and dad were at work and I was in charge of the house. Nothing bad happened on that day. I made sure that I listened to my parents' instructions, and ever since then I was allowed to stay at home alone whenever my parents ran some errands. :)
I think I was 8 or 9. When I was 10 I watched my younger sister for almost an entire summer while my parents worked. There was a lot of nick jr (Eureeka's Castle and Noozles) and a lot of grilled cheese sandwhiches lol
We lived in a pretty rural area. I think my mom would normally call us (before caller ID) and leave a message telling us to pick up the phone. Otherwise we didn't answer it. Once or twice I remember answering the phone and thinking the person was my mom playing a trick because the woman sounded like her. I'd be like "mooooom...stop kidding around" and she'd be like "ummm....excuse me?" SO embarassing.
I also remember that if there was a knock on the door we'd quickly shut down the tv and run into a different room and be as quiet as we could until they went away. Sometimes they would knock for what seemed like FOREVER and then they would finally leave. I'd be nervous the rest of the day that they would come back. We'd normally find out later it was our nosey old woman neighbor who hated that our cats chased birds from her bird bath lol.
I noticed I kept two of the habits I had when i'd be home alone. Caller ID is awesome for me because if I don't recognize the number, I don't answer it. If they don't leave a message, it aint important. Also, if i'm not expecting company and am not dressed for it or the house isn't in a state i'd want company to see, I turn off my tv if the doorbell rings and hide in another room until they go away. Seems like slightly creepy behavior, i'll admit, but I do it!
We lived in a pretty rural area. I think my mom would normally call us (before caller ID) and leave a message telling us to pick up the phone. Otherwise we didn't answer it. Once or twice I remember answering the phone and thinking the person was my mom playing a trick because the woman sounded like her. I'd be like "mooooom...stop kidding around" and she'd be like "ummm....excuse me?" SO embarassing.
I also remember that if there was a knock on the door we'd quickly shut down the tv and run into a different room and be as quiet as we could until they went away. Sometimes they would knock for what seemed like FOREVER and then they would finally leave. I'd be nervous the rest of the day that they would come back. We'd normally find out later it was our nosey old woman neighbor who hated that our cats chased birds from her bird bath lol.
I noticed I kept two of the habits I had when i'd be home alone. Caller ID is awesome for me because if I don't recognize the number, I don't answer it. If they don't leave a message, it aint important. Also, if i'm not expecting company and am not dressed for it or the house isn't in a state i'd want company to see, I turn off my tv if the doorbell rings and hide in another room until they go away. Seems like slightly creepy behavior, i'll admit, but I do it!
System
79987 Posts
14 years, 3 months ago
Me and my bro were latchkey kids starting when I was 11. Our parents felt we had outgrown needing babysitters by then and were smart enough to know how to call for help if anything happened. For the most part we pretty much just stayed around the house watching cartoons and playing video games or hanging out with our buddy down the street until our parents got home from work.
Wow I was allowed to be home alone at 8 years old. There was a loaded gun in the house, chemicals, gasoline, a gas stove and medications.
The worst thing I did was burned the carpet in the kitchen (yes my crazy parents had carpet in the kitchen) with an iron. I was terrified what my parents were going to do to me. They saw how terrified and sorry I was and didn't punish me. They ended up doing an insurance claim and getting it replaced with MORE carpet!
The worst thing I did was burned the carpet in the kitchen (yes my crazy parents had carpet in the kitchen) with an iron. I was terrified what my parents were going to do to me. They saw how terrified and sorry I was and didn't punish me. They ended up doing an insurance claim and getting it replaced with MORE carpet!
Alyssa_Branen
I noticed I kept two of the habits I had when i'd be home alone. Caller ID is awesome for me because if I don't recognize the number, I don't answer it. If they don't leave a message, it aint important. Also, if i'm not expecting company and am not dressed for it or the house isn't in a state i'd want company to see, I turn off my tv if the doorbell rings and hide in another room until they go away. Seems like slightly creepy behavior, i'll admit, but I do it!
Dude I'm 25 and I still do this when I'm the only one home. Especially if the Jehovah's are out and about on a Monday morning at 6:30 a.m. It's happened in my neighborhood before mostly because there is a Kingdom Hall right down the street...lol
Ned
327 Posts
14 years, 3 months ago
bassman21
The worst thing I did was burned the carpet in the kitchen (yes my crazy parents had carpet in the kitchen) with an iron. I was terrified what my parents were going to do to me. They saw how terrified and sorry I was and didn't punish me. They ended up doing an insurance claim and getting it replaced with MORE carpet!
What the hell were you doing with an ironin the kitchen!?
I don't remember if I was ever left home alone before I was 9. If I was, it was probably exceptional Maybe a few times I was briefly alone, but my mother stayed home with me until I was 3 1/2 and generally after that, if my grandmother was in Serbia and couldn't watch me after school, I was either in an after-school daycare or one of my parents had the day off or I was in day camp or whatever an so if I was alone, it was an exception that I can't recall at the moment.
However, from when I was 9, I was home alone after school whenever my grandmother was in Serbia (she went back and forth between Canada and Serbia quite regularly). I can't say that I'm any the worse for it. In fact, I would resent being referred to as a "latchkey kid". This term almost makes it sound like it's some kind of illness or syndrome. It comes from the time when people thought that it was wrong for mothers to work outside the home and kids whose mothers had to work when they came home from school had the key to the latch of their house door around their necks so as not to lose them). I don't think it did me any harm; what's wrong with having some quiet time alone for a few hours after school? In fact, I'm grateful for it. While I was home alone, no one could monitor me or tell me what to do. More specifically, shortly before I started staying home alone, my parents had forbidden me to watch after-school cartoons (yes, the wonderful stuff we constantly discuss on these forums); they thought they were poisoning my mind with stultifying and violent material, you know the spiel. But as I was home alone, I watched them behind their backs (luckilly for me, some time after my grandmother came back from Serbia, she relented and allowed me to watch TV without my parents knowing about it).
So singling out kids who stay home alone after school as "latchkey kids" is politically incorrect in my book. IMO, there's nothing wrong with it. It's just one way of doing things. Of course, if your kids are mature enough not to burn the house down while you're out and to know about safety rules like not opening the door to strangers, calling 911 etc.
jango52577
Alyssa_BranenI noticed I kept two of the habits I had when i'd be home alone. Caller ID is awesome for me because if I don't recognize the number, I don't answer it. If they don't leave a message, it aint important. Also, if i'm not expecting company and am not dressed for it or the house isn't in a state i'd want company to see, I turn off my tv if the doorbell rings and hide in another room until they go away. Seems like slightly creepy behavior, i'll admit, but I do it!
Dude I'm 25 and I still do this when I'm the only one home. Especially if the Jehovah's are out and about on a Monday morning at 6:30 a.m. It's happened in my neighborhood before mostly because there is a Kingdom Hall right down the street...lol
Haha! Glad i'm not the only one! Unlike many of my neighbors i'm not the type of person that enjoys people dropping by without any notice and then wanting to come into my house and hang out all night.
Alyssa_Branen
jango52577Alyssa_BranenI noticed I kept two of the habits I had when i'd be home alone. Caller ID is awesome for me because if I don't recognize the number, I don't answer it. If they don't leave a message, it aint important. Also, if i'm not expecting company and am not dressed for it or the house isn't in a state i'd want company to see, I turn off my tv if the doorbell rings and hide in another room until they go away. Seems like slightly creepy behavior, i'll admit, but I do it!
Dude I'm 25 and I still do this when I'm the only one home. Especially if the Jehovah's are out and about on a Monday morning at 6:30 a.m. It's happened in my neighborhood before mostly because there is a Kingdom Hall right down the street...lol
Haha! Glad i'm not the only one! Unlike many of my neighbors i'm not the type of person that enjoys people dropping by without any notice and then wanting to come into my house and hang out all night.
I agree. As much as I sometimes like surprise visitors, more often than not I'd love a phone call before people come over, even if its just to check if I'm even going to be home.
Carpet in the kitchen? And I thought there was never such thing LOL.
I was left home alone with my brother when I was eleven and all I could think is food, television and free time and leave homework until they arrive home lol.
My parents always told us not to open the door and not to make a sound until they leave, they will call us when they were coming home, and would say it's them on the answering machine when they phoned home.
I was left home alone with my brother when I was eleven and all I could think is food, television and free time and leave homework until they arrive home lol.
My parents always told us not to open the door and not to make a sound until they leave, they will call us when they were coming home, and would say it's them on the answering machine when they phoned home.
marvel
440 Posts
14 years, 3 months ago
Buzz's girlfriend, woof!
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Buzz's girlfriend, woof!
Last Tuesday, my mom had to run next door for some sugar and couldn't get a babysitter on such short notice. I totally watched like 3 minutes of Howard Stern before she got back 8)
marvel
440 Posts
14 years, 3 months ago
vkimo
Last Tuesday, my mom had to run next door for some sugar and couldn't get a babysitter on such short notice. I totally watched like 3 minutes of Howard Stern before she got back 8)
Delete Confirmation
vkimo
Last Tuesday, my mom had to run next door for some sugar and couldn't get a babysitter on such short notice. I totally watched like 3 minutes of Howard Stern before she got back 8)