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On the subject of children being at home by themselves...my own son was a latch-key kid at the age of 8 and was very responsible about security. For any of you that want to shake the finger of shame at me, well I had neighbors that called child protective services, who in turn called my son before I got home from work one day...their ruling was that he was intelligent enough and responsible enough to be fine on his own for an hour every weekday. It did become a rule after that (which he followed) not to answer the phone at all while I was not home.
It really does depend on the kid...I was a latch-key kid along with some siblings and as responsible as I was, that did not stop one of my siblings from literally burning down the house before mom came home one day. If you have worries about the security of your belongings and your son while he is home alone, by all means, make other arrangements that will insure he is looked after by a responsible adult.
Saz makes good points about it being something just beyond a lack of responsibility and you really should seek some professional opinion to determine if there is an underlying cause.
About the bike...if you feel bad enough for him to buy him another, make him work and save up for it...let him see money come in, accumulate slowly, and then go out all at once on one item...it might make him appreciate its value more. Good Luck with the whole ordeal, you sound like you really have your hands full!
[ 07-15-2002, 08:23 PM: Message edited by: Moni ]
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