Resources: Know How - Parental responsibility

Parental responsibility is defined as "all the rights, duties, powers, responsibilities and authority which by law a parent of a child has in relation to a child and his property". So what are they? PJ White answers some of the common niggling questions 1. Asking at what age it is legal to leave a child alone in a house misses the point. Situations vary according to circumstances and individual maturity. Crude rules do not work. General advice from the NSPCC is that a baby or very young child should never be left alone at home, whether asleep or awake, even for a few minutes. They can injure themselves surprisingly quickly. Most children under 13 should not be left for more than a short period. No child under 16 should be left overnight. These are guidelines from a voluntary organisation, not a law.