There are no laws stating minimum ages for leaving childrenunsupervised, as these agencies acknowledge. This is just as it shouldbe. Some 11-year-olds are mature enough to set up in business, whilesome 18-year-olds are barely ready to buy a bus ticket. Our daughter hasoccasionally been left at home for short periods since she was eight. Wetake the view that the risks are minimal, and always talk things throughwith her. She says it makes her feel quite grown up.
The NSPCC and CLC might respond by saying that some parents are confusedand want help. But one-size-fits-all guidance is not just unhelpful, itactually undermines the position of parents. I agree with Frank Furedi,author of Paranoid Parenting, that one of the biggest problems facingparents is a collapse in confidence. They simply have too many peopletelling them how to do their job. While some common sense andreassurance might not go amiss, in the end the 'experts' should behonest enough to tell parents, 'you might not want to hear this, but thefinal decision has to be yours.'
As I argue in my book No Fear, childhood is a journey. And at the heartof this journey is the gradual transfer of responsibility from parent tochild. This task is not always easy. But it cannot be ducked, and itcannot, except in extreme circumstances, be handed over. Anyone whothinks otherwise might as well start dishing out advice to parents onthe other side of the world.