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Leaving a child under 12 at home should be made a criminal offence, most parents believe.

A YouGov poll of parents carried out by The Times found that two thirds want the government to set a minimum age limit that is legally binding.

Most say that the current situation, in which families judge for themselves when it is safe to leave a child, is inadequate. In the poll the age of 12 was the youngest age at which most parents felt comfortable leaving a child at home for an hour, with 61 percent saying that this would be generally safe. Only a quarter of parents thought it acceptable to leave a ten-year-old for an hour, and 7 per cent believed that applied to an eight-year-old. 

The poll was conducted after it occurred that a mother who left her six-year-old son at home for 45 minutes had been given a police caution. Eight years ago, the mother was taking a driving lesson, and a health visitor called at her home. The caution is preventing the mother from pursuing a career as a mental health nurse. The disappearance of Madeleine McCann in the Algarve in May 2007 has also intensified the debate. The girl and her brothers had been left asleep while her parents dined with friends at a restaurant 50m away. Her parents say that the apartment was always within their sight.

Justine Roberts, chief executive of the Mumsnet forum, told The Times: “Actually the decision comes down to the individual child. Some parents would happily leave their responsible eight-year-old on the sofa for ten minutes while they head to the corner shop. Others would refuse to leave a more absent-minded 12-year-old home alone under any circumstances,” she said. “The reason why the question arises so regularly on Mumsnet is because we all want to be sure that our decisions aren’t entirely off the wall. We parents do need clear and flexible research-based guidance.”

The poll found that three in five parents did not know what the law was. Despite the public demand for guidance, though, there is little prospect that the main parties will act.

 

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