Mastodawn

Just read a 1989 Calvin and Hobbes strip about Calvin being deliberately left home alone, unwisely, for a couple of hours. Calvin is 6.

The NSPCC says there is no set legal age and “while every child is different, we wouldn't recommend leaving a child under 12 years old home alone, particularly for longer periods of time.”

https://www.nspcc.org.uk/advice-for-families/home-alone/

How old were you when your parents first let you be at home alone?

8 or under

39.4%

9-10

27.9%

11-12

16.3%

13 or older, or they still won’t

16.3%

Poll ended at Feb 26 at 12:24pm.

Staying home alone

Explore the NSPCC's expert advice on when and how to safely leave your child home alone, including legal guidelines, readiness indicators, and safety tips.

NSPCC

It was a March 1986 strip and this is what happens. In future strips, starting 15 May 1986, Calvin is babysat by Rosalyn. These two strips can probably be seen as establishing the Rosalyn stories. #calvinandhobbes

Edward Andrews-Hodgson Feb 25

@Nickiquote I love the Rosalyn stories. They feel so real, she's a great character.

Esther #antifa Feb 25

@Nickiquote
I was found on the street while looking for my mum or dad... I don't remember how old I was, but I think I was younger than 8.

@src_esther That sounds traumatic. I remember losing my Dad in a shopping centre around that age.

Esther #antifa Feb 25

@Nickiquote
It was midnight. It may sound traumatic, but it wasn't. I didn't feel unsafe. There were other moments that were traumatic, when hired thugs smashed everything to pieces and the police just stood by and watched.

mozzribo Feb 26

@Nickiquote @src_esther

I vividly remember losing my granddad on the big city street & panicking. I was just walking, not paying attention and he - I guessed soon after & since - just went to the side street vendor for cigarettes. I called after him in panic after looking about me for a few minutes, confused by his unprecedented absence. He appeared very quickly. I remember he looked angry but said nothing. Then, I was glad he reappeared. Nowadays I assume he might have been angry with himself.

Esther #antifa Feb 26

@illumniscate
My parents put me on a leash after I almost walked into the canal (in the Netherlands) as a toddler.

My little brother (10+ years younger) also loved going on adventures. As a toddler, he once proudly walked between two teenage girls who were looking for his mother. After that, he was also put on a leash when we went out.

Esther #antifa Feb 26

@illumniscate @Nickiquote
My brother was _always_ looking for food. He is my little brother and I am his little (old) sister. 🫢

@src_esther @illumniscate @Nickiquote my youngest brother and i have been leashed too. It was wise, given our propensity to being curious little monkeys.

Re: leaving the kids alone, with our eldest being worse than my brother and me combined in the getting-into-trouble skillset and our youngest being a total pain in the ass, we still have to make sure there is always an adult present (and still then)

Intergenerational patterns I guess lol

mozzribo Feb 26

@src_esther @Nickiquote

I can understand it here, among the canals! 😂 How was the experience from your perspective, if I may ask?

Esther #antifa Feb 26

@illumniscate
Nothing traumatic. I only know about it from photographs and stories. I had a really nice harness, which many dogs or cats today would be envious of. 😉

Pinchy63 🇨🇦Feb 25

@Nickiquote
I was babysitting other kids at age 9.

@Pinchy63 You must have been The Responsible One.

Pinchy63 🇨🇦Feb 25

@Nickiquote
I sure was. Plus I enjoyed the money.

@Pinchy63 @Nickiquote I gotta know the hourly rate.

Pinchy63 🇨🇦Feb 25

@kimlockhartga @Nickiquote
There was no hourly rate. Usually you got 20 bucks for the whole night. Better money if the parents came home drunk which was often.

@Pinchy63 @Nickiquote oh my!

Pinchy63 🇨🇦Feb 25

@kimlockhartga @Nickiquote
It was the 70s. Attitudes were different.

@Pinchy63 @Nickiquote True that. I started babysitting in 1976. I got paid $1.00 an hour.

Pinchy63 🇨🇦Feb 25

@kimlockhartga @Nickiquote
Not bad wages for sitting at someone’s house, eating all their chips and drinking all their pop. At least that’s what I’d did.

@Pinchy63 @Nickiquote oh wow. My clients did not care for that.

Pinchy63 🇨🇦Feb 25

@kimlockhartga @Nickiquote
Oh wow. That’s too bad. Mine would order pizza for us all if the kids were still up when I got there. There were always snacks too.

@Pinchy63 @Nickiquote man. I had a cheapskate neighborhood. 😁

Karen D 🇨🇦Feb 25

@Pinchy63 @kimlockhartga @Nickiquote
That's all true except some drunk dads drove you home and wanted to ... give you a tip.... 😵‍💫🤬🤢

@KarenDorman @Pinchy63 @Nickiquote oh nooooooo.

Pinchy63 🇨🇦Feb 28

@KarenDorman @kimlockhartga @Nickiquote
OMG yes! I remember walking home many a late night because I didn’t want to get into the car with a drunk dad.

I don't remember for sure. But attitudes have certainly changed since I was young.

Catherine is not complacent Feb 25

@Nickiquote 9ish and I was responsible for a younger sibling.

thefathippy Feb 25

I was "in charge of" my sister for an hour or two after school. 8 I think. We really just hung at friends' places.