5 ms·

Speaking of overparenting, is it true that the US law mandates adult supervision for children under the age of ~12 and that's why babysitters are needed all the

• gizmo686 11y ago
  The law varies by state. Here in Maryland, it is illegal to leave a child younger than 8 alone, and their supervisor must be at least 13.
• dboreham 11y ago
  I live in the US and have two middle school aged kids. I don't actually know the legal age when children can be left "home alone" so I looked it up. It turns out there is no law and social services advice is to "consider your child's maturity" etc. A quick flip through the web page for free range kids seems to indicate that most US states have no firm age. Therefore it looks like it is not true as stated. fwiw around here (small-town western US) you see kids as young as 4-5 making their own way to/from school -- either walking or biking, without adults, and the typical parent will leave their kids home alone when they're 10-12, depending on the kid and other factors.
• aidenn0 11y ago
  Most states don't have a law that specifies an age, but there is an organization lobbying for 12. [edit] To clarify, all states have vaguely worded laws against leaving young children unsupervised, but most do not list a specific age.