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Are you a “latchkey kid”? Although you might go home alone, you’re not really alone! The Children’s Defense Fund reported that in 2002, 7 million kids between the ages of 5 and 14 were often left alone after school let out. You might be thinking “Wow, freedom! Party time!” But most parents and kids work out a system of rules for this alone time. It can be a lot of fun at times, but sometimes it can also be lonely. So what do kids and teens do when they get home?
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When parents have to work long hours, they can’t always be home when school lets out. You might be coming home to an empty house if both your parents work, if one of your parents is going back to work now that you’re old enough to stay at home alone after school, or if you live with just one parent. When you were little, you probably had a babysitter, or one of your parents adjusted his or her schedule to take care of you. But once your parents have decided that you’re old enough to take care of yourself after school, you might find yourself in a whole new category: self-caring teen or “latchkey kid.”
If you’re home alone after school, you might have some free time on your hands. Most of parents’ full time jobs run from about 8 or 9 in the morning, until 5 or 6 in the evening. Since schools lets out at around 2 or 3 PM, “latchkey kids” have anywhere from 2 to 4 hours per day that they’ve got to take care of themselves. It can be a lot of fun, or kinda lonely. Without parents around, you can do the things you might not always get away with – like if you wanna listen to music at a volume that would give your mom a headache, or play video games before doing your homework. It can get lonely though – especially if you don’t have a brother or sister to hang out with!!
The biggest problem with being home alone after school is probably the responsibility. Without your parents around, you’re responsible for the whole house, for yourself, and for any younger siblings. That can be tough, especially if you have chores you’ve gotta do. But it’s not all bad – it’s a good time to show your parents how responsible you are (resist the urge to throw a party for your entire class!) As long as you make good decisions and don’t break rules (or at least not many of them!) that should mean that in the future you get a later curfew and more freedom. So if you think your parents are treating you like a little kid sometimes, just remind them about how you took care of yourself, the house, and any siblings or pets!
If you’ve been going home alone after school for awhile now, it probably is all pretty normal to you. But if your parents are just now thinking about making the switch, it might seem a little strange and intimidating. It doesn’t have to be, though – under “How to” you can check out some tips on how to stay safe AND find cool stuff to do when you’re home alone!
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