In the state where I live a 10 year old can be left alone for one hour as long as there are no other children present. However, with her level of maturity, I would not trust my daughter at home by herself for more than a few minutes. Her father on the other hand had started leaving her alone for one to two hours before and after school when she was 9 years old. She is 12 in 5 days. I'm still not comfortable leaving her home alone. It does depend a great deal on responsibility and maturity of the child. And a full complete understanding of safety and rules helps too.

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