Articles Tagged with babysitting

In addition to Laura’s most recent post on leaving children home alone, June 15, 2009, and our newly updated Kids Home Alone in Oregon legal research guide, here are a few websites with information and resources on leaving children home alone and child care:

1) “Babysitting Basics” class from the Oregon Red Cross:

“Designed for youth ages 8 to 11, this two-and-a-half-hour Red Cross course prepares children to respond safely to a variety of situations when direct parent supervision is unavailable”

See recent update (2/10/11), but also click on the Home Alone label at the bottom of this post.

In addition to my new Kids Home Alone in Oregon legal research guide and my rather lengthy previous post, from January 13, 2009, I add these:

1) A corrected link to the “What is the legal age for leaving a child home alone?” information at the Clackamas County Juvenile Department FAQ. This deep link changes periodically so don’t despair. Just hunt around a bit or leave a Comment here and I’ll look for the new link.

See recent updates (e.g. 2/10/11, 6/15/09), but also click on the Home Alone label in the sidebar.

Some who just left me a Comment on my previous leaving children home alone post asked if there were any laws “about 2, 3 or 4 children being left in one home alone that are just friends or days alone or over night alone?”

I wish there was a simple answer, but there is not. Like a lot of questions about leaving children home alone, if the general information given on the various websites doesn’t answer your question, you may need to consult a “professional.” “Professionals” includes any number of possibilities, from a social worker, to a law enforcement officer to a lawyer.

See recent updates (e.g. 2/10/11, 6/15/09), but also click on the Home Alone label in the sidebar.

The most frequently sought and read posts here at this blog over the years have been the ones on babysitting and, more to the point, When Can I Leave My Kids Home Alone? (Do you wonder? Parenting is not for the fainthearted.)

My previous post from Feb 2008 is here. Most of the links are still good, including the ones to the City of Albany, Clackamas County (look for the question: What is the legal age for leaving a child home alone?), and the Red Cross (this one on babysitting).

** Please see the June 2009 update (or click on the Babysitting label). **

This is the time of year when the babysitting questions appear with increasing frequency. I’ve compiled a few sources of information to help answer some of the questions, but don’t expect the answers to be black and white. Little in life is.

The question we get most often is about what age a child must be before he or she can be left home alone. I refer people with that question to this Clackamas County web site because it explains it well. You may very well want to contact your own county’s Information or Sheriff’s office.