What is the legal age to leave a child home alone in the state of California?

Answer 1

12 California as the majority of states does not have established "home alone" laws. As difficult as it may be to understand the general criteria used when incidents are brought to the attention of investigators is; "Can this child take care of themselves?" and "Was the child left in a dangerous or unsuitable environment?" States that have "home alone" laws have made them so vague and difficult to enforce that the reality is, a child of any age can be left at home for any length of time and it is not against the law unless (until) the child is injured or worse.

Answer 2

The legal age in California to leave a child home is 9 years old. There is no legal age set for leaving a child home in California, but there are guidelines. The legal status of leaving a child home alone all determines whether there are any disturbances within the neighborhood as a result of the child being left home alone. This means that the child must be both responsible and trustworthy in order to be named LEGAL.

Answer 3

I found from multiple sources that there is no legal minimum age. It is up to the parent. Basically, you can leave your child home alone if they are old enough to handle it. A lot of sources seem to throw around "12 years old" as a recommended minimum, but if you're confident your 10-year old, or 8-year-old, is up to it, there's no law in California against leaving them home alone. Myself, I wouldn't *possibly* consider it before 8, but it's your call. Here's a collection of related messages: http://answers.Google.com/answers/threadview?id=134504