[LULUS]

I left my son (10 yeras)home for few minute to go to the get the sunglasses left to the pool that is 2 second from my door

[tickle]

No child under age of twelve should be left alone. Florida law and quite frankly a universal situation.

So what are you saying, this is your own pool and you went out the door, to get the sunglasses?.

Or was this a public pool down the street? If so, you violated rules and you should have taken him withj you.

Did someone report you?

Be specific please

[Fr_Chuck]

I can disagree, there is normally no "law" on this and children 12 years of age often baby sit for others.

The maturity of the child is one issue, but often kids even as young as 8 or 9 have to come home alone from school and stay alone till their parents get home from school.

So it is not unusual for kids at least 10 years of age to stay for a hour or so at a time. By 12 they are normally going to others homes and watching their kids for several hours.

[Wondergirl]

I started leaving my sons alone for maybe fifteen minutes at a time when each was around 9 or 10. I made sure they knew where I was going, when I would be back, and what to do if I didn't reappear. That was in Illinois.

"A general rule of thumb is that kids under age seven aren't capable of thinking logically and putting cause and effect together. They are reliant on caregivers to structure their day." Children between ages 7 and 10 years aren't generally ready to self-supervise for an extended period, but in a routine and predictable environment, such as just after school, they can manage. Children 12 and 13 years old should be judged on a case-by-case basis but should not be left alone overnight.

Contact Child Welfare Information Gateway at 800-394-3366, and the staff there will refer you to your local child protective services agency to learn about age guidelines in your area.

The provided link may also help you.

Age Restrictions For Latchkey kids

[ScottGem]

Since this is a question about law, I've moved it from the Children forum.

The link that Wondergirl provided indicates that Florida has no laws that govern this. I agree this needs to be tempered by knowledge of the child's maturity level and the situation.

But it might help us help you if you told us WHY you are asking the question. Where you reported, is there a custody issue?

[JudyKayTee]

My question is the same as Scott's - was this reported to child welfare, the non-custodial parent, someone else? It's not a "what if" question but more of a "this is sort of what happened" question.

I also doubt the pool is 2 seconds from the door. I think we need more exact informaton all the way around.