The law and teenagers

[gwenbennett]

Does anyone know at what age it is legal to leave a teenager at home alone during the evening/night? Gwen

[cliffsweb]

i'm pretty sure you can leave a 15 year old for the evening untill the adults come back at 11-11 30 but not overnight.

[Ms.Hijinx]

as far as i know they is no legal minimum age to leave a child alone it is only if they are to be responsible for others that i think it starts at 14

[PinkFizz]

I asked my health visitor this once and she said there was no legal age but would suggest no younger than 12/13.

[gwenbennett]

Thanks to those who answered me. According to NSPCC website, a child under 16 must not be left without an adult overnight, although it's okay for a child over 13 to be left on their own for the evening as long as they'r responsible.

[jake-the-peg]

Note Gwen that that 16 figure on the NSPCC page is a "should" and it's overnight rather than just for a period of time during the evening/night.

The law is pretty pathetic on this - They seem to say "We don't set an age but it's an offense if we think you've got it wrong"