Kids Are You Ready?
When your parents agree that you may stay home alone, they think you are responsible. At first, they probably want you to try staying home alone for a short time to see how you do. By talking with your parents about your feelings, you can help decide whether the time is right for self-care.
Kids, please complete the Kids: Are You Ready? checklist.
Kids: Are You Ready? (printable copy)
If you answered no to the first four questions and yes to the last three, you are probably ready to start planning for self-care.
If not, you may want to wait before beginning self-care. Talk with your parents about the results.
If you feel you are ready to begin self-care, please watch the following video, “Kids Are You Ready?”.
The video shows four kids who share their experience of what is was like to stay home alone.
While watching the video think about if you can relate to the feelings they share?
Now that you have heard others talk about this topic, take some time to think about how you feel.
Answer the following questions and discuss them with your parents to see if you feel ready to stay home alone.
- When I’m by myself, I feel…
- When I’m by myself, I really like to…
- When I’m by myself, I get scared about…
- When I’m by myself, I wish I knew…
- When I’m by myself, I wish I could…
- When I’m by myself, the best thing is…
- When I’m by myself, the worst thing is…
Now that you’ve taken the time to discuss your feelings about being home alone, it’s time to create your home alone plan.
