How Young Is Too Young To Leave Your Kid Home Alone In Colorado

I remember being left home alone for the first time because it was the most amazing feeling. I'm the youngest of four, and when you throw in Mom and Dad, you can imagine the house was never empty.

I was seven years old. Stick with me on this because I'm going somewhere. And, to my surprise, my parents were indeed breaking the law. Just kidding, because Colorado doesn't have a law regarding this. But they have suggestions. And they definitely broke the...suggestions.

Here's what the experts say.

Colorado rules

According to Colorado guidance, it's strongly recommended that kids be in the double digits in order to stay home alone for a SHORT period of time.

That means you can't run off to Vegas for a crazy weekend.

What if you need a little more time away? Anything below the age of ten things might go off the rails, according to experts who have never met my child.

The good news is that once your kid turns twelve, they can not only stay home alone but also watch other children.

So, for example, if your kid is eleven and you have to run to the Timnath Costco, and then you realize you don't have gas and need to stop to fill up, so you drive to the nearest gas station in Fort Collins. And then maybe you drive by a pizza shop in Greeley, and you decide to stop and grab dinner because after grocery shopping, who even wants to cook?

All of those things mean you'll probably be back home in around three hours. In northern Colorado, is that too long? Not if your kid is twelve or older.