Latchkey kid

The key is often strung around the child's neck or left hidden under a mat (or some other object) at the rear door to the property.

The term seems to first appear in a CBC Radio program called "Discussion Club – Topic: How War Affects Canadian Children" in 1942,[2] due to the phenomenon of children being left home alone during World War II,[3] when the father would be enlisted into the armed forces and the mother would need to get a job.

In general, the term "latchkey" designates "those children between the ages of five and thirteen who care for themselves after the school day until their parents or guardians return home".

[12][13] The behaviors might stem from "unspent energy, peer pressure to misbehave, or hostility because of the lack of appropriate adult attention".

[15] If, however, there are enough stimuli at home, such as books, computers, games, solitary hobbies such as modelmaking, etc., the negative effects can be averted.

Children from lower income families are associated with greater externalizing issues (such as conduct disorders and hyperactivity) and academic problems.

Deborah Belle, author of The After-School Lives of Children: Alone and with Others While Parents Work suggests that being left home alone may be a better alternative to staying with baby-sitters or older siblings.

[citation needed] This issue becomes critical, particularly at closing time when "parents who are late picking up their children also create safety, and, possibly, legal problems.