Michigan Home Alone Law
Michigan does not have a law that strictly outlines the minimum legal age for leaving your child at home alone. However, the state does not encourage parents to leave their children under the age of a 12 years old at home unattended, and recommends that children should not be left alone for prolonged periods if they are less than 16 years old. The Michigan law advocates that reasonable parents use their own judgment to decide whether or not their children are ready to stay home alone while their parents are away .
Though not entirely law, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) suggests that children as young as 8 years old may be left alone at home for brief periods. However, to be certain that your child is capable of being home alone depending on his or her age, you should evaluate certain factors, such as the age and maturity of your child, the environment of your home and your neighborhood, the time of day and/or night, the location of your home, and how long you plan to be gone.
Finally, the American Academy of Pediatrics notes that the average age that children in the U.S. become home alone is between 11 and 13 years of age.
What to Consider when Leaving Kids Home Alone
In Michigan, as in many other states, when it comes to deciding whether a child is able to stay home alone, there are no hard and fast rules. In the eyes of the law, parenting decisions are subjective. That’s why deciding on an age at which a child can be left alone may depend on several factors.
Maturity Level
The question of whether or not a child is responsible enough to stay home without supervision should always be considered on a case-by-case basis. Are they generally obedient? Do they follow directions? Does your child tend to exhibit violent or erratic behavior? Are they afraid of the dark? These are all questions that parents should ask themselves when considering leaving their child home alone.
Neighborhood Safety
Another factor in being able to accurately assess whether your child is able to stay home alone is the neighborhood in which you live. Parents should evaluate not only the general safety of the neighborhood but also the types of crimes that occur around the neighborhood. Is it a very violent area? Are break-ins frequent? Are the majority of crimes against property or people?
Emergency Preparedness
Even if parents think their child is ready to be left home alone, they should review emergency procedures with them before they go out. Children should know exactly what to do in the event of fire or a power failure. Are there working smoke detectors and fire extinguishers in your home? Is there food available? Are all doors and windows locked? These are all things to consider before leaving them home alone.
Home Alone in Michigan vs Other States
In addition to Michigan, the omission of a specific legal age to stay home alone, or language similar to a "reasonable" legal age, characterizes the laws regulating child supervision in other states. For example, Delaware law mentions that there’s "no minimum age to leave a child home alone." In California, the law also does not provide a minimum age and as well defines "child" as "any minor under the age of 18 years."
New Mexico law doesn’t indicate a specific age, Alabama specifies "no age," and Connecticut mentions in its law the "`. . .responsibility of parents . . .’" and "leaving children unattended" without an "age specification." Other states include a legal age that can be compared to Michigan’s age of 11.
For instance, in Nevada, the legal age to stay home alone is 8 years. Georgia law prohibits leaving a child unattended "without supervision for a period of time which is unreasonable under all the circumstances, including the child’s age, physical condition and mental capabilities." Utah law states a child left unsupervised must be "(a) of sufficient age and maturity to obtain subsistence on his own, (b) of sufficient intelligence to summon help, and (c) of sufficient maturity to exercise appropriate judgment in an emergency situation."
Oregon law provides there’s "no specified minimum age" for a child to be left alone and then adds that the law does not "prohibit a parent or custodian from leaving a child under 10 years of age at home alone"; Texas law specifies age 13; Ohio law provides "six years" to be the legal age in some circumstances; and, California provides a legal age of at least 12 years or, as age 6 for at least 30 minutes.
Florida law mentions a legal age of 16, North Caroline law provides a minimum age of 8 years, and Kentucky law includes a legal age of "at least 7 years." Washington law and Iowa law both provide an age requirement of 10 years, while Massachusetts law provides that a child cannot be left alone until "’7 years plus one year’."
In Arizona, the legal age to stay home alone is 10 years. Further, Virginia law provides that a legal age to be left home alone is 8 years, and South Carolina law requires the age to be 16 years or older; Wisconsin law mentions 7 years, and Montana law names 5 years as the legal age to stay home alone.
The District of Columbia provides there is not a specified minimum age, and Pennsylvania law provides a legal age of 8 years.
How to Get Your Child Ready
In preparing your child for time home alone, you should have some house rules in mind to make them understand the importance of safety. Have a rule for how late your child is allowed to stay out on a given school night, and a set time on weekends as well. Be sure to test your child on their knowledge of your family’s emergency contact numbers and procedures. You may want to write this information down on a sheet of paper and place it by your child’s telephone, and/or program them into the speed dial function on your child’s phone.
Give your child a small amount of money to use to call for a taxi or other ride service should anything bad happen. Have them make a few practice phone calls (real or otherwise) to family members or trusted neighbors, and make sure they know how to make a collect call .
As your child prepares to await your arrival home, give him or her clear instructions on what to do if a stranger comes to the door, or if a telephone call is for you. Finally, be sure to unstop any doors and windows that you will expect your child to use, such as leaving a door key on the outside.
Do not expect that your child will remain safe in every instance, and be prepared to have a plan in the event that something does go wrong. For example, have a plan for how your child will get home should he or she miss the bus or train. You might even want to premake arrangements with a local taxi service so that he or she can get a taxicab when needed.
By being prepared and talking about the possibilities with your child, you increase the chances that your child will know what to do when left alone at the home.
Risks and Implications
Leaving a child home alone can carry its own risks. For example, what happens if a child causes serious harm to another or themselves? What happens when something goes wrong in the home? The potential is that they could be seriously injured in any number of ways either by leaving the home to explore or via some sort of accident or incident in the home. Imagine the following scenario: In this situation, a child who is left home alone light a fire in the middle of the living room. While the resulting blaze did get out of control and touch off some minor damage to a small portion of the house, it surprisingly only resulted in limited burns to the carpet. On its face, the damage seems minimal, however, things are not always as they seem. If something is always broken, say a window, a refrigerator, or the like, it is reasonable to believe that a child could unsupervised break a much more dangerous item such as a potentially explosive bottle of natural gas. Further, a child could suffer injury in the event of broken glass or a chemical explosion. What happens then? Imagine also a child harms someone else. A child could kick in a neighbor’s door or cause damage to a car. The damage could be something it takes the parent years to pay for. Even if the child is only 12 you can still expect four figure bills for damage he may have done to a car. What are your penalties then? How does Michigan law handle these situations? For starters, the law is a gray area on the subject of how old a child should be to be left home alone. While the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services considers 10 years old to be the age at which this is reasonable, the Michigan State Police recommend that a child be at least 13 and parents should consider a number of factors when deciding. The good news is that unless the police find you and decide to charge you with something criminal, you are not going to jail or suffer any serious long-term punishment for leaving your child home alone. However, the legal consequences if you do so could be just as severe – you will lose custody of your child. Consider how long you would sit in jail if you lost custody of your child, even if only for a brief time.
Resources for Parents
To help you make an informed decision about when to leave your child home alone, there are many resources available in Michigan for parents. The Michigan State Police have a website that provides a variety of parenting resources, including information about child development, child preparedness, and parental tips related to cyber safety. You can also visit the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services website, which has resources related to school readiness and general child health, safety, and nutrition, in addition to parenting tips and community service resources .
In addition, there are many local organizations that provide support and information to parents, such as the Michigan Association of School Psychologists’ Home Alone checklist. The checklist, which is available online, assists parents in determining whether and when their children are ready to be home alone and includes information about safety, child maturity, and the development of social and problem-solving skills. The Michigan State Police also have an in-person program available called EverSafe, which assists families concerning youth online activity, including how to avoid risky behavior associated with the Internet, such as sexting or posting personal information or inappropriate pictures online.