When can you leave your child at home alone? At what age can he be allowed to go to school unaccompanied by an adult? What rules of conduct do you need to instill? Woman’s day turned to a child psychologist for answers to these questions.
“The decision about when a child can be left without adults should be made by the whole family,” says psychologist Maxim Prokhorov. – It is advisable, however, that the grandmothers were not present, as they usually fuel anxiety. If the parents are not ready for the independence of the child, then this is out of the question. However, it is important to remember that the longer you keep your son or daughter close to you, the more fears they form. If the child is not ready, there is no need to impose independence on him, but it is advisable to raise this issue regularly in order to assess how the general picture has changed. Most often, from the age of seven, children are ready to go to school unaccompanied by adults. The main thing is that up to this age you need to calmly explain what problems and dangers exist – cars, other people’s uncles, etc. You can even arrange an exam on this topic. ”
Alone in the street
- The child must know his last name, first name and patronymic, home address, names of relatives.
- Teach him the rules of the road. There are many applications on the Internet that allow you to do this in an easy, playful way.
- A student definitely needs a mobile phone. But not a fashionable smartphone, because it can be lost, broken, or stolen. Let the smartphone be for home use.
- The child must know by heart the mobile phone numbers of his parents, as well as the numbers of the ambulance and the police. You need to talk about this to the baby without horror in the eyes, otherwise he will refuse to leave the house.
- It is useful to let your son or daughter go along the familiar route that they used to take together – to the store, for example. It is desirable that you do not need to cross the road.
- Teach your child to call you regularly, you can set sound reminders on the phone for this. And call yourself, but without fanaticism, and always – during a break. To do this, you need to know his schedule.
Home Alone
- To feel at home alone, a child must be able to warm up his own food.
- If he is already ready to go out for a walk, first let him learn the rule: “Turn off the gas, water, light, close the windows before going out.” Parents need to be prepared that everyday troubles, in the form of painted wallpaper, will still happen.
- And the most important thing: no one should open the door, even acquaintances, even neighbors, even the police. For general peace of mind, let the relatives who may come have their keys.