leaving a minor unattended

B

boshi61

Guest
Is it illegal to leave a minor (15 y.o.) alone and in charge of her house for a few weeks?? I am going on vacation and am letting her stay at home because she has school and is definitely responsible enough. However, her father (who doesn't want me to go on vacation and lives in another city) is threatening that he may call social services if I am "not careful". Am I not allowed to leave my child alone in our own house? I live in Ontario and I thought since you can babysit at age 13 or so then you can stay in your house by yourself but I don't want to risk it if she is going to be taken to social services!!!
 
its coll if she has good friends to help her. i didnt... and it ended up in near tragedy. i got drunk and drove the work truck through the front of the house, causing a lot of damage... seeing as i didnt have a licence, it wasnt covered ny insuarance and the law had a lot to say about it too... :(

think very carefully about it. cant she stay with some freinds at their parents house ? that would be a much better solution. :\
 
i think a 15yr old is responsible enough to be left alone. shit my dad left me alone every weekend since i was 13. YOU WILL BE FINE
 
I think that it depends on the 15 year old...........I know some that I prolly wouldnt lerave alone in my house when they are in there 20s and others I would happily allow the run of the place.

You know her best............provide an easy action plan in case of a prob and phone numbers etc.

As for the father well thats a different story and one u may well take into consideration...........sounds like he is just hanging to be a twat.

When i was a child, I remember my parents deciding my sister was old enough to stay at home and she chucked a massive party and wanderred around half dressed all night..........but luckily nothing bad happenned.
 
Oh and check with your local laws.

In Australia a 15 year old can legally leave home.
 
Heh, CB beat me to the move ;)

I was going to comment that while I can't speak for your local laws, I would believe it is shaky ground leaving a minor unattended. Legal? I don't think so. Common practice? Yes.

If the kid is mature, and can handle themselves, then you'll probably be alright. However, you have to keep in mind that because they are a miner, and and all issues that arise for them will be your responsibility - meaning if the house burns down, or someone breaks in, or they throw a party and someone gets injured or killed - you, as the legal guardian, are responsible. And if you are away on vacation or whatever, it'll be damn hard to get back home in a hurry should such issues arise. :\ But that's a risk every parent makes, as a lot of 'latch-key' kids are home alone between getting out of school and when the parents get home from work, or as noted during babysitting, etc. But in these cases, the responsible adult is usually less than an hour away and typically has emergency numbers and contacts available for the kid.

You've got the added wrinkle of a prick of a father watching the situation - and it would be very easy for him to call social services to investigate your absence. I don't think they'd look to kindly on a minor being alone for days or weeks at at time. Hours, perhaps, and the distinction of how long is too long is a very grey one, but I'd ask you if it is worth it to take that risk :\

I can totally relate to both the kid wanting the independance, and to the parent wanting to trust the kid while away for an extended time, but I'd recommend against it - just my opinion.


Mods may want to move this to SO after it gets a decent Legal run thru, unless there is a fear of SO turning into a parenting lecture...which wasn't the original intent.
 
thread has gone but here's a response I got for it....

This was posted elsewhere
original post: leaving a minor unattended

Is it illegal to leave a minor (15 y.o.) alone and in charge of her house for a few weeks?? I am going on vacation and am letting her stay at home because she has school and is definitely responsible enough. However, her father (who doesn't want me to go on vacation and lives in another city) is threatening that he may call social services if I am "not careful". Am I not allowed to leave my child alone in our own house? I live in Ontario and I thought since you can babysit at age 13 or so then you can stay in your house by yourself but I don't want to risk it if she is going to be taken to social services!!!

and I am just wondering if anyone knows what the deal is in Ontario? In regards to the law and that that is, not whether you think it is right or wrong...though that is interesting too.

response:I have no idea what the law says, I'm sure there are different laws for different places. a few weeks, IMO, is way too long to leave a 15yo alone, and doesn't even come close to comparing to being allowed to babysit for a few hours. A few nights is probably okay, but totally depends on the maturity level of the girl in question. With an ex-husband who may or may not call CPS, it would be a really stupid move on mom's part to not have some (female) adult there at least at night with the kid.

oops, can someone put this in the anonymous threads as a reply for it there...sorry...nope, now it is in legal...damn you mods are fast!!!

thanks
:)
 
Last edited:
I wouldn't do it just out of principle, at least for that long. A week perhaps, but definitely not several.
Are there any relatives/neighbors/friends you could have check in on the kid every other day or so?
 
I'm 17 now, and if my parents were to go away for a week, I would definately have a party at least one night. And my house is big.

Probably would have done the same at 15 too.

Tell her that if she screws up, she ain't leavin the house till graduation =). That would've scared the shit out of me, but when my parents say groundation they MEAN groundation.
 
I think it's definitely against the law. And I also think it's an extremely bad idea.

I don't care how mature the 15-yr-old is. Something might happen to them that's not their fault. And if you have to go before a judge, trying to explain why you left a 15-yr-old at home for weeks... forget it, you're going to prison.
 
I think any 15 year old with a free house would have a party, or at least a gathering, although most would be able to keep it pretty under control, unless someone crashs it lol
 
got this reply too, hope it helps.
:)
hi there


Just for some info

I would *definately* call Social Services just ask you can be anonomous and just be aware of the criteria. You can babysit at 12 really. Babysit cert 12 now. Realistically my church where i live does the babysitting course at 10 y/o. But i would call anonymous and just be curious don't give them your name. because either way if you do go on VK and your Ex does call and She is a reponsible child and does go to school you never know what could happen. Its for "your protection" your rights .. I don't know your situation with you and your ex but if he has access of her thats excellent. But threatening to call CAS is bull donkers

Take Care

PG

heh...I think they think it is me pretending it's not me!!
:D
 
There's a pretty big difference between babysitting and leaving someone alone in a house for weeks at a time.
 
reply to "leaving minor unattended"..

Thanks everyone for your fast responses!
I do have a support system and a bunch of friends who know what is going on and whose numbers I have given her but she will still be staying at home alone for most of the time. Her sister will be staying with her for just over a week (and it includes 2 weekends) and she will be in school for the most part so I am not too worried. I have told her she can have a few friends over because I know she will anyways but I trust that she will keep things under control.

I did end up calling the police actually to find out if it was against the law because I needed some other info on an upcoming case regarding my (soon to be) ex husband. They told me that there is no age at which it is illegal to leave a minor at home for an extended amount of time; that it is completely up to the parent. The only thing I must keep in mind is that if anything DOES go wrong while I am away, I will be at fault, which I understand. I thought it was pretty interesting though to hear that it's not illegal at any age (even for a 10 year old)!!
 
bullshit. yes, it is illegal to leave a young child alone for long periods of time.
 
^ What is the definition of "young child"? "Long periods"? It makes sense that this would be illegal--some sort of child endangerment--but I would like to see what the law says exactly.
 
i apologize, it was more of a shocked question, as opposed to a verified statement. i should have finished with, it's GOT to be?!

:)

i would seriously doubt that it is legal to leave a young child alone in a home, it is neglect. as to the ages, i would be curious what they are.

then again, i leave my 10 year old home a lot....for short periods of time. (grocery store runs, etc) i never really considered the ramifications of it, though. and i would never have him be my 3 year olds sitter.
 
I skimmed through the laws of Ontario online and didn't find anything that seemed to answer this question. The Parental Responsibility Act might apply (if the child did something wrong/illegal). The Family Act says that you've got a responsibility to support a child until it turns 16, but I guess that isn't directly relevant, as long as you did support the child (e.g. left them money to pay bills/buy food).

I am not a lawyer, nor Canadian...
 
You probably wont get in trouble but its still a very bad idea
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top