DS is 7 (will be 8 in a few months). When he was 5 + 6 I worked full time. We live in a VERY small community (less than 200 people) which is an hour and a half bus ride for him from his school. There were about 3 times when I was not able to get home in time to get him from the bus due to work commitments. We had planned beforehand what to do in this situation and we know all our neighbours and we all look out for each other and the kids, in fact, there are very few kids in our community that I do NOT know. The first time he was nervous but I arrived about 2 minutes after him, the next couple of times I was about 5-10 min. after him and he handled himself fine. I was more worried about cougars and bears than I was about anything else. LOL.
When he was 6 also started letting him go by himself on a bike ride or with his friends to the park. I can see the park from my front yard but I cannot see all the boundaries he has for the bike. We went together to set up the boundaries and we go over them every time he goes out. This year I have started letting him go to the community library and the community store by himself. I know the owners of the store and the librarian and I check with them to make sure he is acting properly. I hear nothing but good things from them and this makes me more confident of his abilities.
Also this year I have started leaving him at home by himself for up to 30 min. or so, usually while I take DD 1 and the dog for a walk. He always has the option of joining us for a walk but he would rather write stories, draw or play DS. He knows what snacks he's allowed and he wouldn't use the stove/microwave or phone unless I was there. I KNOW this about him and I trust him.
I personally was walking home from school by myself when I was 6 and I didn't live really close. I was staying home alone watching a sister or two by the time I was 9 (I'm sure I stayed home alone around age 6-7) and I had my first steady babysitting job for 5 kids by the time I was 10 (no exaggeration!).
I am trying to raise children who become independent responsible adults. I see no reason to delay things like leaving my kids home alone just because their is more hype about strangers/pedophiles nowadays. It is NOT a different world, just a more aware one.
I say that an 8 year old should be able to be left alone for about 1/2hour-1hour with no problems. Start slow and build up. Have some ground rules and a list of phone numbers for emergencies. My son thought it was cool when he got his own address book and we put all the important numbers in there. He keeps it in the same place so it's easy to locate in a hurry.
