Being able to be alone at home is a process that should be initiated through gradual and supervised phases. Children`s movie tickets from Cineplex, the country`s largest movie theater chain, are available for children ages three to 13. Unsupervised teenagers in this age category are allowed to purchase tickets for a G-rated film. While there is no official policy regarding the age at which a child should attend a film alone, Sarah Van Lange, Cineplex`s director of communications, says there are safety guidelines in place to help young guests who are not supervised. Air Canada`s Unaccompanied Minor service is not available to children under the age of eight. Instead, they must travel with a passenger who is at least 16 years old. However, the service is mandatory for children aged eight to 11 travelling alone and listed as optional for children aged 12 to 17. A child left alone at home should know how to deal with strangers who might call on the phone or come to the door, as well as how to respond to emergencies and provide first aid, according to the Canada Safety Council, which offers training courses for children across Canada alone at home. In Ontario, the Child and Family Services Act does not specify the minimum age your child must have to leave them unattended. It states that caregivers must not leave children under the age of 16 alone without making reasonable arrangements for their care, and specifies that children under 16 must not travel alone between midnight and 6 a.m. Barbara Morrongiello, a professor of child psychology at the University of Guelph, adds that any contact between children and their friends should be supervised by an adult, as having two children left unattended in a home can be a recipe for problems.

Alberta`s Child, Youth, and Family Enhancement Act states that if a child`s safety is at risk because they do not receive proper care or supervision (e.g., being left home alone), that child may be considered neglected. However, if a child must be left home alone, Horvath recommends restricting unsupervised access to electronic devices, including video games and social media. Without parental supervision, Horvath warns, social media can give children the opportunity to bully each other. When her son was younger, Sharon Lawley, a single mother from Toronto, was able to camp him for part of the summer in Moorelands, providing wilderness camp for children who might not otherwise have the opportunity. When camp wasn`t in session, Lawley received help with childcare from family and friends — but sometimes she had no choice but to leave her 12-year-old home alone while she worked. « As a very general starting point, age 10 seems like a good place to start, » Smith says, but parents need to consider a number of other variables, including temperament, maturity, willingness to follow rules, and comfort with being alone. On Greyhound buses, anyone under the age of eight must be accompanied by a person who is at least 15 years old. Children between the ages of eight and 14 can travel alone on the bus, but certain conditions must be met, including: the journey must not last more than five hours, children cannot switch from one bus to another, and the journey must start during the day and end at 10 p.m., among other things. « You want to make sure the house is as safe as possible, » says Smith, who recommends good locks on doors and an answering machine so kids don`t have to answer the phone and let people know they`re home alone. « Age is important, but it`s not the only factor » that makes it possible to leave a child home alone safely, says Lewis Smith of the Canada Safety Council.

An important and often overlooked aspect of home security alone is the focus on comfort and trust. How does your child feel when home alone? If teens are scared or nervous, they won`t safely intervene in an emergency. Guide them through the important steps to becoming independent by fostering a deep respect for the privilege of being alone at home and the expectation of being offered more independence and responsibility. Here are some questions to help you decide if it is appropriate to leave your child alone for a short period of time: As a parent, you have an obligation to adequately supervise your children at all times. Parents and guardians are ultimately responsible for the safety of the children in their care. This is a significant source of parental confusion about the age and circumstances in which children may be left unattended. There is no legal age for children to become babysitters in Canada, and it is not uncommon for them to start as early as age 12. The Canadian Red Cross offers a child care course for children aged 11 to 15, a program focused on child care, first aid, injury prevention, leadership and business skills. Lewis Smith, communications coordinator at the Canada Safety Council, says his organization is getting more inquiries about leaving children home alone after high-profile court cases like a recent decision in British Columbia.