Home Alone
Posted by a_solid_6@reddit | Xennials | View on Reddit | 52 comments
How old were you the first time you were left at home alone? Did you love being home by yourself, or was it terrifying?
I was 8. My folks were taking me and my older brother to pick up food from Hardee's. I begged them to let me stay home and they did. I felt so grown up lol. From there I was occasionally left alone. By 10 I was home alone all the time, and by 12 I was babysitting my little cousins during the summer.
Ckn-bns-jns@reddit
I had an older brother, unfortunately.
When we were left alone my life was a living hell. I used to lock myself in a bathroom and call the restaurant my parents were out at. One time I slammed a door with a window behind me while running from my brother and he put his arm through it cutting a big vein. He almost died and got all the attention when he was literally chasing me down to beat my ass. He broke my arm, threw scissors at me that stuck in my leg, would pin me down and tap my chest and spit loogies in my face.
trainwreckhappening@reddit
Hahaha, how could you think any of us could remember that far back? I don't even remember the first time I went to the store by myself. Let alone the first time I got left at the store.
Exciting-Argument-67@reddit
About 5, but I was well behaved. I would sit, drawing, for hours, and lose track of time.
Quato815@reddit
I walked a mile to school in 1st grade with my 3rd grade sister. And our parents were already out of the house, so we were very independent kids. I think today, parents would be investigated.
freshboss4200@reddit
This sounds so great though
dl_mj12@reddit
Similar experience here with my younger brother.
georgeamberson1963@reddit
I was 8 years old. My entire family went on vacation to Paris and forgot about me after I got sent to the third floor following an altercation with my brother over pizza.
Luckily, nothing happened until everyone got back.
BritOnTheRocks@reddit
Not sure, pretty young though. Mum just worked in the corner-shop up the road if we needed her.
Same-Manufacturer773@reddit
echochilde@reddit
Mom drove 3 hours home, called my teachers and told them I’d be out for the week and took me back with her.
CravinMohead13@reddit
5 or 6
ineffable_my_dear@reddit
I was babysitting a 4yo and an infant when I was 8. My parents were right next door but still.
The 80s were feral.
Legal_Scientist5509@reddit
9 or so taking care of my siblings
LilBennyPoo@reddit
My mom got a job for the first time after having kids when I was in the 4th grade. On her second day our house burned down at around 10 am. She didn't try to go back to work after that.
Knight_thrasher@reddit
I was watching my siblings by 12 when mom worked at the corner store. Home alone weekends when I was 15 because I had a part time job and they would go camping.
lilith96@reddit
Not sure about the first time. But regularly at age 9 do about an hour till my older brothers got out of school and came home. For me it was a joy because I got to control and make all decisions about tv. As the youngest that was a rarity at that age.
Spare-Actual@reddit
I was 8 for short periods. By 10-11 I was a true latchkey kid, left to my own devices for 2 hours everyday after school. I LOVED it. I would either need out over whatever had my interest at my house, or I’d head out and play with the neighborhood kids. And all the loose dogs lol. The 80’s and early 90’s were definitely different.
apf6@reddit
Don’t remember the exact age but probably around 8 or 9. There were so many nights where my sister and I cooked our own Kraft mac and cheese for dinner while the parents stayed late in NYC. It felt pretty normal and I don’t remember caring one way or the other. Definitely a different parenting philosophy back then!
MrsMethodMZA@reddit
It was around 5th or 6th grade so around 11 or so.
HighGlutenTolerance@reddit
I walked home from kindergarten alone, used the key tied to my lunchbox to open the door, and wait for the babysitter to drop off my baby sister. She would go into the play yard to watch Sesame Street until our mom got home. My friends down the street would walk over and we would get out all my baby sister's fluffy baby dresses and dress her up like a little doll. I was babysitting at night within a couple of years after that.
dl_mj12@reddit
I must have been around 7-8, we'd get home from school and be home alone until they finished work. In the mornings we'd take ourselves to school too. I've learned the US call the experience being latchkey kids.
Wild_Replacement8213@reddit
8ish? I was babysitting at 11
Grammarhead-Shark@reddit
Pretty sure I was 8. That is when I was allowed to walk to school on my own.
Though it wasn't anything long. Maybe just an hour while mum popped around to the shops and was happy to have one less kid to lug around.
Plus I often got MacDonald's brought home as well because mum was in a good mood (probably from having one less kid on her arm!)
Wild-Sky-4807@reddit
I think I was eight for short errands and then by nine slightly longer ones. I started staying home alone around age 9. At first it was scary but then I realized how cool it was
ExcitingAntelope5005@reddit
I was 8, consistently babysitting my 5 year old brother for extended hours.
archliberal@reddit
Probably 6. The 9 year old was in charge.
SweetCosmicPope@reddit
I can remember exactly one time. I was maybe 4 or 5, and I begged to stay at home alone. My dad let me stay home for like ten minutes while he ran up the road to buy a pack of smokes.
After that I was never home alone until I was 15, because I lived with my grandparents and they were retired AB’s by grandma almost never left the house. I started at 15 when she was spending days at a time in the hospital with multiple strokes and lung cancer treatments. Gramps left me money for dinner and told me to bum rides from my friends so we could drive to get food or to stay the night at a friend’s house.
Extension_Chart2641@reddit
My Dad would just send me to the store with a note and a $5 to buy him smokes lol
BrandyBunch805@reddit
I was 8. Oddly I was scared my grandma was going to show up and I was going to get in trouble for being home alone
polipolimist@reddit
I was probably 7, but not all alone. I was staying the night at my BFF’s. Her mom worked the graveyard shift & her older sister was supposed to watch us. She thought we’d fallen asleep & snuck out to see her boyfriend. She was gone for hours. My friend & I had so much fun! We fed the cat ice cream & the poor thing had diarrhea in the bathtub. Her mom wasn’t pleased. 😂
Extension_Chart2641@reddit
I was 11, basically watching my younger brother on Friday nights when our parents went out to play darts at the Legion. Saturday nights were quickly added so my parents could go out to play darts at the Scottish club.
House key and neighbourhood babysitting at 12.
BigRagu79@reddit
Technically, probably about 4. If my mom had to run a quick, quick errand (fifteen minutes or less) she would call my grandpa (my favorite person in the world) and have him talk on the phone with me until she got back. I always remembered those conversations but wasn’t aware I was home alone for them until she told me when I was in my thirties.!
For real home alone situations, probably about 12.
Shaydee_plantz@reddit
I was 7 I think. I wasn’t scared, I couldn’t WAIT to hunt down the candy my mom had hidden.
GrandPipe4@reddit
9
SlackerDS5@reddit
I was at least 6. I know I was home alone when I was in 1st grade, because I would walk home from school (it was down the block), make myself cereal and watch cartoons until my older siblings got home.
I was not scared at all. It enjoyed not being bothered and watching my favorite shows since it didn’t happen when everyone was home.
optimaloutcome@reddit
Probably 8 or so. Then in my early teens they'd leave me alone for the whole weekend when I didn't want to go on the family trip to grandmas. Then at 16 they left me home alone for a month! That was pretty awesome
ButterscotchAware402@reddit
At least 8. I was an only child and those hours alone watching old school talk shows and reading were the best.
Deep-Interest9947@reddit
Young. My mom was a stay at home mom but I the youngest and was often sick and she wasn’t going to let me cramp her style or chores. 6 or 7.
RedSolez@reddit
I'm the middle child so I was rarely left completely alone. I was left in charge of my younger brother for short periods of time, starting at 8 years old if my older sister wasn't around 😂
HopelessMagic@reddit
Never. My Dad was convinced we'd end up dead if he did.
Cabaline_16@reddit
I think 9 or 10... and my brother who is 2 years younger than me was allowed to stay with me. When I was 12 I was allowed to babysit the neighborhood kids. At 13 I took the American Red Cross babysitting certification class & became ✨️official✨️. 💅
Diseman81@reddit
Probably 8 or 9. My grandparents and great grandmother lived next door and my sister is 3 years younger so I wasn’t really left home alone much until I was a little older.
nate_7667@reddit
(1988) I was 8 and my sister 10. I asked her to cut me an apple, she cut her hand bad enough the neighbor took her to get stitches.
She still brings it up pointing out the scar haha
Azcrul@reddit
I was 5 and I left the school bus and went inside my house. I remember saying “I’m home!” and no one answered. I ended up panicking and hid behind the recliner crying lol. The bus driver must have noticed my parents weren’t there and knocked on the door, and I saw who it was and they drove me around the streets for a few minutes until bringing me back home where my dad was outside and laughed it off. I don’t recall the reason for he or my mom not being there, but it was something ridiculously simple that I couldn’t comprehend other than maybe he was just running a few minutes late from work.
Chemical_Butterfly40@reddit
5 or 6, I don't remember being any more scared than usual
Disastrous_Bother173@reddit
Probably 8ish for short periods of time. I was babysitting by 12.
Polymox@reddit
Longjumping-Cry-1863@reddit
I was eight when I started staying home alone during the summer. By the time I was 12, I was babysitting for a family with 3 children under the age of 5, one of them was a literal infant. I was paid $20 a day for that, and thought I was really making a lot of money. It's insane to me that I had that kind of responsibility.
StillhasaWiiU@reddit
Too young to recall. pre-school age? It was for short stuff like smokes and beer runs, i was 7-8 when i was trusted to be fully alone for 1-2 hours.
MissMushroomBerry@reddit
I must have been 4 or 5. I was upset or throwing a tantrum in the car and my dad who was very strict said ‘You are not coming to eat ice cream with us, I’m taking you home’.
Next thing I remember my mom is telling me ‘don’t open the door for anybody’, and then they left. The last thing I remember is me going from room to room, running, turning on every light and making noises to make sure that whoever was coming to get me (I was sure someone would break into the house) wouldn’t want to come in because they would know there was people in the house 😂😅
This was before the Home Alone movie came out. I was traumatized for a while.
usernames_suck_ok@reddit
9.
I'm far more scared of being home alone now than I was then, with as crazy as shit has gotten, guns/violence being everywhere now and how often I hear sirens outside.
segacs2@reddit
I was probably about 7 or 8 when I started being left home alone or watching my little sister for short periods. We still had a babysitter at that age if it was evening or long stretches.
By age 12, I'd gotten certified by the local civic centre's red cross babysitting course, and was getting regular babysitting jobs watching the neighbours' kids. I funded most of my purchases in my teens through babysitting and after-school tutoring jobs.