By Kathy Bohannon
Coastal Parent

Advice for working parents: · Children 8 years or younger should not be left alone. · Children between the ages of 9 years and 12 years, based on level of maturity, may be left alone for brief (less than two hours) periods of time. · Children 13 years and older, who are at an adequate level of maturity, may be left alone and may perform the role of babysitter, as authorized by the parent, for up to twelve hours. · Does the child know how to get in touch with his or her parents? · Are neighbors' telephone numbers available to the child? · Is there someone close by in case of an emergency?

Rebecca Boston, director for the Department of Family and Children Services in Effingham County, says her office receives a lot of calls from parents just before school is dismissed for the summer. The question is often the same... what is the appropriate age for children to be left alone.

"Basically, what we tell them," Boston stated, "is that we do have ages in policy that are set, but it also depends on the child's maturity level as to whether or not they should be left alone. We try to talk with the individuals about the child and the location where they will be."

Boston said the department's responses are often on a case-by-case basis. Boston added that usually kids under ages 13 or 14 attend a day care or camps. "With kids (ages) 14 and up, if they do not have jobs or something like that, there can be a lot of problems," she said.

There is a need for additional structure for the child aged 14 to 17 who is left home alone during the summer - or even after school, Boston said.

Ellen Harrison, now a mother, remembers her own trials as a latchkey child. Her father died when she was 8 years old and her sister was 5. Her mother chose to go back to school and as a result, the children became latch key kids.

"We grew up with little adult supervision and had a number of crises," Harrison explained. Once a pipe exploded, and on three occasions the children squelched fires.

"Mom knew it was hard."

Her mother became a public health educator, and in the interim, Harrison often wonders how she and her sister survived.

Technical advances make it easier to monitor kids who are home alone. Now kids who lose their keys can use a cell phone to call parents. Instant messaging from the home computer to mom or dad's desk at work is another way to stay in regular communication. Some parents invest in Web cams to keep an eye on their latchkey kids.

Keeping teenagers busy also helps keep them safe. Stephanie Hazard works full time, and is the mother of two teenage 17 year-old twin boys, and a 15 year-old daughter. Although her husband is home with the kids during the day, he works nights, and needs the days to sleep. The kids are pretty much left to themselves.

In the past, Hazard used to make charts for the kids to help them organize their summer days. Each child had personal chores to do each day, like picking up their room, as well as family chores, like cleaning the bathroom or preparing a meal. If the kids finished the chores by a certain time, they could go to a movie, swim at the YMCA, or just veg out. She also came up with chores that the kids could do to earn money (usually minimum wage). For example, cleaning the garage, ironing or computer repair.

This summer, because her teenagers are older, Hazard is taking a different approach. When school got out this summer, the family discussed what needed to be done for the family to have a high quality of life and how each teen could contribute to that. Instead of charts, she is encouraging them to take responsibility and pitch in when they see work that needs to be done.

There is also room for fun.

"They are all taking driver's education, Katherine is going on a mission trip to Scotland, the boys are going on a two-week camping trip, and there are other summer activities. Their summer is broken up with positive group experiences. I also told the boys they need to get a job."

Working moms and dads often come home from work and are greeted with a messy house and then have to face the refrigerator and decide what to make for dinner. Including kids in the responsibilities of running the house keeps them out of trouble, and gives exhausted parents more time and energy to have fun with kids when the workday is over.