S/o "kids alone:" Has your child been alone in an emergency?

amother

Magenta

Sun, Feb 26 2017, 10:21 pm

My niece was 10 and left alone with her four younger siblings and two of her neighbors small children. There was a bomb siren (Israel). She had the presence of mind to grab a handful of Popsicles, bring all the children to the bomb shelter, get everyone settled, and hold the two youngest on her lap and sing to them. (her mother was across the street and came running home when she heard the siren. By the time she got there, all seven kids were calmly eating popcicles in the bomb shelter). In Israel they teach responsibility very early, maybe too early. But hey, the 10 year olds there take city buses alone, cook for shabbos, mop the floors, and watch their siblings in during bomb scares! Which, I guess, is why they can get married at 17.

amother

Taupe

Sun, Feb 26 2017, 10:26 pm

I was 12. My mother went out for half an hour, leaving me in charge of my 4 week old brother. I heard weird sounds from his crib and found him gasping for breath. I picked him up and ran outside, hysterically banging on a neighbor's door. He was fine b''h, but I was forever traumatized. I check on my babies constantly.

amother

Vermilion

Sun, Feb 26 2017, 10:29 pm

Not emergencies per se, but more like running into the unexpected. I was once home alone for a bit when I was 10 when there was suddenly a blackout. I lived in an apartment building and though I knew where the flashlights were, I felt nervous about the sudden loss of electricity so I walked down the stairs and hung out in the lobby with the doorman until my mom got back (she returned well before the power did).
When I was 13 I was babysitting for a sleeping toddler (who I had babysat before and who always stayed asleep the whole time). He woke up vomiting. I called the parents to come home. Cleaned up the best I could but he threw up a few times. It was definitely the right move to have the parents come home.

ora_43

Mon, Feb 27 2017, 1:53 am

I think part of what gives me confidence in my kids is that they haven't had an emergency, because they've listened re: emergency prevention... They don't use the stove when I'm out, and they don't open the door (I check by sometimes knocking when they aren't expecting anyone). When we had a small fire in the house when I was home, they left quickly and gathered outside like we'd discussed.

There have been a couple times where a child was hurt when adults were in the area but not watching them directly (eg on school playground). They always immediately helped the hurt kid while one kid ran to get help.

My kids have also helped prevent emergencies a couple times when I didn't realize what one kid was up to - eg running to get a kid who escaped the stroller, while I was helping a kid who fell down.

Our neighbor's kid responded correctly to a rocket siren while her parents slept.

But BH no real big emergencies - if I thought that floods or tornados were likely, I wouldn't leave them... When there's a high chance of a rocket siren or something like that they are not without adult supervision.