How to leave your child alone at home and not worry. Children's preparation and safety rules

Perhaps all parents are familiar with the situation when they need to leave the house for a couple of hours, leaving the child alone. Some mothers leave calmly, being confident in the independence of the child, while others do not find a place for themselves, calling their 10-year-old child every minute. When and how long can you leave your children alone at home? How to ensure the safety of the child and prepare them for this event?

We leave the child unattended - when?

Experts say that the optimal age for this kind of independence is seven years. The future student already has an idea of what can and cannot be done, uses the phone and follows parental instructions. But the seven-year anniversary is just a rough guideline. It is necessary to take into account the child's personality: temperament, behavioral characteristics, impulsivity and the level of development of everyday skills.

There is no need to leave 5-6-year-old children to yourself, no matter how independent they seem. The first impression often turns out to be wrong, and the seemingly sensible kid is able to get confused in a force majeure situation. Experts advise to rely in this decision not on children's age, but exclusively on maternal instinct and female intuition.

What do the laws of the Russian Federation say about this?
In many European countries, leaving young children under the age of 12 alone can lead to removal by social services. In some states in the United States, teenagers under 14 years of age must be brought with you or brought home during your absence.
Russian legislation does not provide for special restrictions and clear age limits, upon reaching which adults can leave a child unattended. In any case, only you have the full responsibility and it is up to you to decide when to teach kids to independence.

Check for independence

The child goes about his business for one and a half to two hours and does not jerk his relatives every five minutes.
He is not afraid of the dark and confined space: he plays in the nursery behind a closed door and is able to fall asleep without light.
Knows the boundaries of what is permitted and the rules of safe behavior, he does not need to repeat why he cannot go to the window or talk to strangers.
He confidently uses communication means: home and mobile phones, ICQ, Skype.
You give him certain responsibilities (cleaning the room, making the bed, caring for the pet), which he successfully copes with.
You do not control his every step, constantly reminding him to collect toys and go to bed.
He knows the emergency numbers and is aware of the responsibility for the false call.
Can ask for help from neighbors and other close people in case of any problem.
He is not offended that his mother leaves him alone, and understands the reason for your employment.
He dreams of becoming an adult and independent person.

If you scored eight pluses out of 10, then your children are ready for a short time alone and do not need to be monitored every second.

Beware of leaving your offspring alone if you answered “no” to most of the points, and if he:

sick - high fever, vomiting, attacks of chronic diseases (asthma, epilepsy) pose a serious threat to life;
a baby with "special needs" (autism, mental retardation, cerebral palsy);
overly curious, mischievous, disobedient, hyperactive;
trusting in relation to strangers;
fearful and impressionable, falls into a panic due to loud noise, unexpected visitors and calls.

Home security technology

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It is difficult to predict the actions of a child left alone, because they can be guided by fear, curiosity and love of experiments. Therefore, it is necessary to establish rules of safe behavior and rehearse with the children literally every step, while not overloading them with unnecessary instructions. Then you can leave the apartment with peace of mind.

Explain the most important principle - in any emergency (smoke appeared, electricity went out, the tap was ripped off, neighbors flooded from above), you should contact adults. Even if the child is guilty of the incident, they will not scold him, but, on the contrary, will be helped.
Make sure that the child has learned by heart the surnames, names and patronymics of parents and grandparents, their place of work, and their address of residence.
Drive the phone numbers of relatives and emergency services into the memory of a children's mobile phone. Tell us how to answer operator questions.
Install special programs on your laptop (browser or parental control) to protect against malicious viruses and inappropriate content.
Close the windows before leaving. Ideally, they should be equipped with special latches or special locks that only you can open.
Save children from temptations - hide medicines, matches, lighters, cigarettes, bottles of household chemicals and alcohol. Remove fragile and sharp-cutting objects, turn off the gas.
Show how to turn on and off a computer, TV, microwave oven, after making sure that the wiring is working properly. If the child does not yet know how to use the microwave, leave the foods that do not need to be cooked (muesli with milk, yoghurts, sausage and cheese sandwiches).
Do not open doors to strangers! They can introduce themselves as police officers, doctors, gasmen and close friends of their parents. The child must inform you of any such case immediately.
Teach you to talk to strangers on the phone: you cannot tell that he is alone now, give your address and personal information. The standard answer looks like this: “Mom is busy. Please call back at 16.00 ".
Call periodically to make sure your child is “safe and sound”. Warn the neighbor that he was left alone and leave her a spare set of keys.

How to prepare children?

Prepare in advance. From the age of four, leave the child alone in the nursery for half an hour, occasionally spying on him. In joint activities, provide more freedom, allowing you to choose the activities you like.
Start small. For the first time, leave your baby for 15-20 minutes by going to the store or walking the dog. Gradually increase the time of absence: first half an hour, then an hour. At eight years old, a student can stay for a maximum of one and a half hours.
Come on time. Be punctual - you promised to return at 6 pm, which means you need to come home at exactly 6 pm. Younger schoolchildren already have fears for the lives of loved ones. Also, your punctuality is a great example for children.
Don't punish the mess. Having got the whole apartment at full disposal, the child can arrange an adventure for himself or begin to imitate mom or dad. Don't be surprised to find your lipstick on your daughter's lips.
Do not leave the sleeping baby. Do not "run away" during daytime sleep, even if the child was willingly sitting alone at home before. Despite the fact that you warned about your absence in advance, while awake, he will forget about it and will be frightened not to find any of his relatives in the apartment.
Come up with an activity. Do not leave children alone without offering them interesting entertainment in advance. Buy coloring books with felt-tip pens, puzzles, a modeling kit, download cartoons or educational programs for your laptop. If a child gets bored, there is a chance that he or she will be misbehaving or hurt himself.
Ask what he was up to. Returning home, pay attention first to the child, hug, kiss, and only then do the cleaning or dinner. Ask what he did, if anyone came. Praise your courage and make sure to compensate for your absence by reading a book, playing together, or going for a walk.

Children, being left alone in an apartment, acquire invaluable experience: they learn to occupy themselves, manage time correctly and fight their own fears. These important qualities will definitely come in handy as they mature. Teach your child to take all precautions, and then you will leave him with a calm heart.

Child psychologist Yulia Ulyanova will tell you how to teach a child independence, but not endanger it:

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