Another question we are often asked is: how old can my child babysit? In Quebec, a child is considered capable of caring for other children from the age of 12 (see: Legal age for leaving children unsupervised in Canada, Ruiz-Casares and Radic, 2015). CSC provides online safety checklists (e.g., telephone, security, fire safety, first aid and power outages) and advises parents and children to communicate clearly and prepare children to stay home alone. CSC also offers structured on-site programs, such as the Home Alone program and the babysitter training course, in several provinces and territories, as well as online. Through ten sessions (25 hours) of interactive group learning, the first provides children aged 10 and over with the skills and knowledge they need to stay home alone „for a short period of time.” The babysitter training course, designed for 12-year-olds, includes information on topics ranging from child development and nutrition to basic play and first aid. Another program, the Babysitter Training Program, offered directly by the Canadian Red Cross, is for children between the ages of 11 and 15. Over the course of 8 hours, participants will learn basic skills in safety, first aid and grooming, how to prevent and respond to emergencies, and how to apply to become babysitters to expectant parents. There is no legal age at which a teenager can start babysitting. As a parent, you need to ask yourself if a teen is responsible enough to provide a safe environment for your young children. „You want to make sure the house is as safe as possible,” says Smith, who recommends good locks on doors and an answering machine so kids don`t have to answer the phone and let people know they`re home alone. Ontario has three main types of child care: licensed child care (also known as child care), licensed home child care and unlicensed child care.
You can read more about your childcare options in our Child Care article. On Greyhound buses, anyone under the age of eight must be accompanied by a person who is at least 15 years old. Children between the ages of eight and 14 can travel alone on the bus, but certain conditions must be met, including: the journey must not last more than five hours, children cannot switch from one bus to another, and the journey must start during the day and end at 10 p.m., among other things. „Being home alone is not an event, but a process!” Being home alone should be a process that is initiated in gradual, supervised phases. Start with small periods of time and slowly increase the time with the child`s increasing abilities and maturity. Make sure the child is monitored and supported remotely at all times and has direct access to help in difficult or scary situations. Parents are encouraged to regularly reinforce household safety rules and, most importantly, talk to your child about how they feel when they are home alone. Parents should closely monitor the process and offer or revoke „home alone” time that coincides with the child`s proven level of maturity. That`s the question thousands of parents ask Child Safe Canada every year.
The age at which children in Canada can be left home alone for a reasonable and short period of time varies from province to province and ranges from about 10 to 12 years. There is no law in Alberta that sets an age at which a child can be safely left home alone. Alberta has left this decision to parents or guardians (as long as they do not put a child at risk). For Alberta and Manitoba, where the working age is 12, compared to 14 in most other provinces and territories, there is a fixed number of hours a child is allowed to work on school nights, which usually means not working at night. In the case of British Columbia, children can technically enter the workforce as early as age 12 or younger, but a child work permit issued by the Director of Employment Standards is required. However, all employees under the age of 15 must be supervised at all times by a person over the age of 19. It is important that you remember that every child and every situation is different and that you should only consider it as a guideline. Like theme parks, most professional sports teams trust the judgment of responsible adults. According to Rogers Centre, it is at the discretion of parents to allow children to attend a Toronto Blue Jays game unsupervised – there is no minimum age and no special service for children watching independently. This is a significant source of parental confusion about the age and circumstances in which children may be left unattended. There is no legal age for children to become babysitters in Canada, and it is not uncommon for them to start as early as age 12. The Canadian Red Cross offers a child care course for children aged 11 to 15, a program focused on child care, first aid, injury prevention, leadership and business skills.
Justice Wright of the Provincial Court of British Columbia recognized that children under the age of 10 could not be left alone safely and found that there were reasonable grounds to believe that A.K. was in need of protection. The Director obtained an interim supervision order for A.K. pending a protection hearing. In B.R. v. K.K., 2015 BCSC 1658, the complainant`s mother, B.R., has two children, A.K., an eight-year-old and Q.K., a four-year-old child. B.R. is separated from the children`s father. B.R.
left her four-year-old with a caregiver, but she left her eight-year-old son home alone every day of the week after school from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. until she came home from work. When a social worker learned of A.K.`s situation after school, she went to the house while B.R. was present. She informed B.R. that a child under the age of ten could not be left unattended and asked B.R. to agree to a „safety plan.” B.R. refused. Under the Child, Family, and Community Service Act, R.S.B.C. 1996, the Director then applied to C.46 regarding the care of the children by B.R. and requested the following supervision order: In addition to these expectations, all parents/guardians have a responsibility to assess the risks and benefits to the child and to make a responsible and safe decision about it: when the child can safely stay home alone.
Alberta`s Child, Youth, and Family Enhancement Act states that if a child`s safety is compromised when left home alone, that child may be considered neglected.