Adult opinions about the age at which children can be left home alone, bathe alone, or bike alone: Second Injury Control and Risk Survey (ICARIS-2)☆,☆☆,★

Details

• Alternative Title:
  J Safety Res
• Personal Author:
  Mack, Karin A. ; Dellinger, Ann ; West, Bethany A.
• Description:
  Problem
  
  This study describes adult opinions about child supervision during various activities.
  
  Methods
  
  Data come from a survey of U.S. adults. Respondents were asked the minimum age a child could safely: stay home alone; bathe alone; or ride a bike alone. Respondents with children were asked if their child had ever been allowed to: play outside alone; play in a room at home for more than 10minutes alone; bathe with another child; or bathe alone.
  
  Results
  
  The mean age that adults believed a child could be home alone was 13.0years (95% CI=12.9–13.1), bathe alone was 7.5years (95% CI=7.4–7.6), or bike alone was 10.1years (95% CI= 10.0–10.3). There were significant differences by income, education, and race.
  
  Discussion
  
  Assessing adult’s understanding of the appropriate age for independent action helps set a context for providing guidance on parental supervision. Guidelines for parents should acknowledge social norms and child development stages.
  
  Impact on Industry
  
  Knowledge of social norms can help guide injury prevention messages for parents.
  
  
• Subjects:
  Accidents, Home Adolescent Adult Aged Age Factors Baths Bicycling Child Data Collection Female Humans Male Middle Aged Parent-Child Relations Parenting Parents Safety Young Adult

  More +
• Source:
  J Safety Res. 43(3):223-226.
• Pubmed ID:
  22974688
• Pubmed Central ID:
  PMC4606916
• Document Type:
  Journal Article
• Funding:
  CC999999/Intramural CDC HHS/United States
• Volume:
  43
• Issue:
  3
• Collection(s):
  CDC Public Access
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha256:2d7869a97a66fc7172a9318563cc4f9e5c1278624e64cff3e2107f540a350496
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/34978/cdc_34978_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 388.46 KB ]