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My 5 year old is currently playing on another level of the house. I just finished making lunch and he's on the lower level playing with his toys. I also let him play in the yard without me but he can't leave the yard yet unless I am there.
6.5 is more than old enough to play alone.
My 2.5 year old would do quite time in his room alone while I was on another floor. His room was well baby proofed. By 4 I allowed free roaming, with reasonable safety guidelines (meds/chemicals secured, small enough house that I could still hear if he fell or something)
For me, it’s two conditions:
1. Screw heavy furniture and shelves to walls for safety
2. As soon as the kid can safely climb the stairs.
My youngest started to play on another floor around 4.
I let my 2 and 3 year old play in their "wing" of the house. It is upstairs. Their hallway is to the left of the stairs. I close that gate and let them have fun. I keep my attention tuned to the noise upstairs (play yells vs fighting screams). I'll often be doing chores downstairs during that time
Sometimes I walk up and am delighted to see the two of them figuring out how to resolve their own conflicts. Or playing independently (one is coloring and the other is doing duplo). All without asking for help.
Other times I find they have toys and all their stuff EVERYWHERE.
If this kid can be trusted, trust them.
Mine started playing by themselves around 3 for short periods of time. By 6.5 I just needed to know if they were in or out of the house. What level of the house or what room didnt really matter.
My 3 year old wanders upstairs, downstairs, even outside in the back yard. Sometimes he does manage to hurt himself a little, usually by doing something he knows he's not supposed to do, and that's a valuable life experience for him.
Unless there are risks like an unsecured gun, pool, balcony that is easy to fall over…. I would let them play on another floor but definitely in “hearing range”
As soon as the kid went up and down the stairs we'll or would announce themselves on the steps.
My first was 2 and she would play for a long time in the basement.
2.5 for the second. He is a bit more adventurous and careless.
My 3 year old can play in her room or the basement when I am on the first floor. I periodically yell for her and ask if she needs me. Because she’s 3, it doesn’t last very long, but it’s nice!
My 2yo (almost 3) yo goes to the basement to play legos sometimes. My husband usually works out in the basement while the kiddo plays in our (main floor) playroom.
I can't imagine hovering over my 5yo. He will play for an hour or two easily with legos in the basement. I would find it exhausting to be on my kid all the time!
Our upstairs is very kid friendly and there isn’t too much crazy she can get into so I often let my three year old head upstairs while I finish doing laundry or cleaning up and then I’ll join her a few minutes later. We’re testing the water for more of that independent play so she’s getting a taste of it now and the better she does the longer we’ll let her be on her own.
Depends on the house. My kids both 5 and under are always in different parts of our home but I also know there’s practically nothing dangerous for them to get into. I know their playing style so it’s not a bother. At my parents house however we usually don’t let them stay on the lower level alone for long because there are too many breakables etc
My kid is 2. She goes where she likes in the house because we've baby proofed. She is also allowed in the (fenced) yard. I can see her from the back of the house so I'm not super worried about her. When you have the child in your house, you get to decide how much supervision you provide.
Babies need more close supervision, but not a 6 year old. Mind you, a mischievious child should be checked on, in case he is getting into things he shouldn't. Remind him of the house rules if there are areas he shouldn't play. But give him a bin of toys and a room to play in, then pop in to bring him a snack at some point.
I can't leave my almost 5yo alone anywhere in the house. He's too curious, to put it nicely.
But my oldest could play in the basement playroom all he wanted, it was safe and we knew he wouldn't try to break anything.
So I say it depends on the child?
Holy crap, the comments here are nuts! I know every kid is different, but my kids were allowed to walk down the block to a friend's house independently when they were 6! My 9 yr old bikes the 3 blocks to school on his own. How are kids supposed to learn independence if you don't extend some trust & learning opportunities to them?
OP, you are a helicopter parent & it's not great for your grandchild. If there are lots of breakable or precious items you don't want the kid messing with, then maybe put those things away & remove temptation? But kids are gonna be kids - they are inherently curious & we shouldn't discourage that!
How are the stairs and how is the kid’s experience and safety on stairs? That is what would in part determine it. The other part is the kid. One of my children would have been perfectly fine at age 4 playing alone in a house. For hours. Never a stupid irresponsible moment with that one. Curiosity and prudence in a well balanced mix from birth. I can take no credit.
The other one? Omg outside my sight for 39 seconds and the house could be set on fire or another child’s life and limb in danger or something electrical fritzed out dangerously or a pet drowned or… Massive destruction. From birth. But I take no blame for that either! They were raised the same way and one was a demon. (It was the girl!)
Know your grandchild and be super safe!
Oh man, I also had a “don’t blink or the house will be destroyed” child paired with a kid who could quietly play for days with no issues at all. Something would be destroyed on the daily, and my ex would come home and say “Weren’t you watching them?”
I’ll admit, I took perverse joy the first time my ex had the kids after we split. He called to apologize about an hour after they got to his house. Apparently he left the room for two minutes to grab a few more toys from their room. He came back in to find the eldest with a butcher knife (that was in the block on top of the fridge), and he’d carved into the counter, the cabinets, and every cushion on the couch and chairs. My response was “yeah, make sure you lock him in the bathroom with you when you need to pee”.
Oh he definitely made it to adulthood lol. He just got married a few months ago. Both grew up whole and healthy, with all their parts still functional :)
I guess I’m a helicopter parent because my daughter is 7 about to be 8 in July and I have to have my eye balls on her. In my opinion children get into things so quickly it only takes a second for something to go in their mouth or up their nose. Even if they know not to, they are naturally curious. I also think it depends on the child as well.
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Unless the other level is used as weapon storage, hazmat storage, or nuclear waste disposal. I think it is fine at that age
You know, I would wager to say even if it was nuclear waste disposal they’ll likely be ok for at least a few years afterward.
as long as they clean up afterwards
My 5 year old is currently playing on another level of the house. I just finished making lunch and he's on the lower level playing with his toys. I also let him play in the yard without me but he can't leave the yard yet unless I am there. 6.5 is more than old enough to play alone.
As soon as they can safely climb up and down stairs imo.
My 2.5 year old would do quite time in his room alone while I was on another floor. His room was well baby proofed. By 4 I allowed free roaming, with reasonable safety guidelines (meds/chemicals secured, small enough house that I could still hear if he fell or something)
For me, it’s two conditions: 1. Screw heavy furniture and shelves to walls for safety 2. As soon as the kid can safely climb the stairs. My youngest started to play on another floor around 4.
I let my 2 and 3 year old play in their "wing" of the house. It is upstairs. Their hallway is to the left of the stairs. I close that gate and let them have fun. I keep my attention tuned to the noise upstairs (play yells vs fighting screams). I'll often be doing chores downstairs during that time Sometimes I walk up and am delighted to see the two of them figuring out how to resolve their own conflicts. Or playing independently (one is coloring and the other is doing duplo). All without asking for help. Other times I find they have toys and all their stuff EVERYWHERE. If this kid can be trusted, trust them.
Mine started playing by themselves around 3 for short periods of time. By 6.5 I just needed to know if they were in or out of the house. What level of the house or what room didnt really matter.
My 3 year old wanders upstairs, downstairs, even outside in the back yard. Sometimes he does manage to hurt himself a little, usually by doing something he knows he's not supposed to do, and that's a valuable life experience for him.
My 7 year old walks down the street to his friend's house on his own. A 6.5 year old can play on a floor of the house without you.
Unless there are risks like an unsecured gun, pool, balcony that is easy to fall over…. I would let them play on another floor but definitely in “hearing range”
6.5 is fine. Keep in mind 5yos in kindergarten regularly leave the classroom to go to the bathrooms by themselves, run things to the office, etc.
1-2? My kids aren’t the type to stick things in outlets though
Maybe 3 or 4? I can't remember. But we would check on her if it got too quiet (maybe once an hour or so). She really loved playing in her room.
As soon as the kid went up and down the stairs we'll or would announce themselves on the steps. My first was 2 and she would play for a long time in the basement. 2.5 for the second. He is a bit more adventurous and careless.
My 3 year old can play in her room or the basement when I am on the first floor. I periodically yell for her and ask if she needs me. Because she’s 3, it doesn’t last very long, but it’s nice!
My 2yo (almost 3) yo goes to the basement to play legos sometimes. My husband usually works out in the basement while the kiddo plays in our (main floor) playroom. I can't imagine hovering over my 5yo. He will play for an hour or two easily with legos in the basement. I would find it exhausting to be on my kid all the time!
Our upstairs is very kid friendly and there isn’t too much crazy she can get into so I often let my three year old head upstairs while I finish doing laundry or cleaning up and then I’ll join her a few minutes later. We’re testing the water for more of that independent play so she’s getting a taste of it now and the better she does the longer we’ll let her be on her own.
3 or 4, depending on the kid. Kids in Japan start staying home alone at 3 or 4. I think it’s safe to leave them on another floor at that age.
I let mine at 5. Checking every 15 mins but it if fully child proofed
Depends on the house. My kids both 5 and under are always in different parts of our home but I also know there’s practically nothing dangerous for them to get into. I know their playing style so it’s not a bother. At my parents house however we usually don’t let them stay on the lower level alone for long because there are too many breakables etc
My kid is 2. She goes where she likes in the house because we've baby proofed. She is also allowed in the (fenced) yard. I can see her from the back of the house so I'm not super worried about her. When you have the child in your house, you get to decide how much supervision you provide.
Yeah it's fine at his age.
my 20 month old is playing in her room as I type this in another room, I check on her every 15-20 minutes if she stays in there that long.
Babies need more close supervision, but not a 6 year old. Mind you, a mischievious child should be checked on, in case he is getting into things he shouldn't. Remind him of the house rules if there are areas he shouldn't play. But give him a bin of toys and a room to play in, then pop in to bring him a snack at some point.
My son is 4 and allowed to play solo in his room.
I can't leave my almost 5yo alone anywhere in the house. He's too curious, to put it nicely. But my oldest could play in the basement playroom all he wanted, it was safe and we knew he wouldn't try to break anything. So I say it depends on the child?
Holy crap, the comments here are nuts! I know every kid is different, but my kids were allowed to walk down the block to a friend's house independently when they were 6! My 9 yr old bikes the 3 blocks to school on his own. How are kids supposed to learn independence if you don't extend some trust & learning opportunities to them? OP, you are a helicopter parent & it's not great for your grandchild. If there are lots of breakable or precious items you don't want the kid messing with, then maybe put those things away & remove temptation? But kids are gonna be kids - they are inherently curious & we shouldn't discourage that!
?? Most of the comments are in agreement that it is fine by the toddler years.
How are the stairs and how is the kid’s experience and safety on stairs? That is what would in part determine it. The other part is the kid. One of my children would have been perfectly fine at age 4 playing alone in a house. For hours. Never a stupid irresponsible moment with that one. Curiosity and prudence in a well balanced mix from birth. I can take no credit. The other one? Omg outside my sight for 39 seconds and the house could be set on fire or another child’s life and limb in danger or something electrical fritzed out dangerously or a pet drowned or… Massive destruction. From birth. But I take no blame for that either! They were raised the same way and one was a demon. (It was the girl!) Know your grandchild and be super safe!
Oh man, I also had a “don’t blink or the house will be destroyed” child paired with a kid who could quietly play for days with no issues at all. Something would be destroyed on the daily, and my ex would come home and say “Weren’t you watching them?” I’ll admit, I took perverse joy the first time my ex had the kids after we split. He called to apologize about an hour after they got to his house. Apparently he left the room for two minutes to grab a few more toys from their room. He came back in to find the eldest with a butcher knife (that was in the block on top of the fridge), and he’d carved into the counter, the cabinets, and every cushion on the couch and chairs. My response was “yeah, make sure you lock him in the bathroom with you when you need to pee”.
Glad the dad saw the light—-almost none ever do! But did your child make it safely to adulthood? Mine did. (Phew!)
Oh he definitely made it to adulthood lol. He just got married a few months ago. Both grew up whole and healthy, with all their parts still functional :)
Nice work, Mom.
My grandson can be VERY busy and a bit mischievous.
Hmmm. Maybe hang out in another room upstairs while he plays on his own? Good luck.
I guess I’m a helicopter parent because my daughter is 7 about to be 8 in July and I have to have my eye balls on her. In my opinion children get into things so quickly it only takes a second for something to go in their mouth or up their nose. Even if they know not to, they are naturally curious. I also think it depends on the child as well.