Today, of the 34 million children, ages 6-13, three-quarters have working moms. Due to increased divorce rates, family mobility, a changing economy, the soaring cost of good day care, and lack of before- and after-school programs, many working parents feel they have no alternatives but to leave their kids at home, alone.

The result? Roughly 10 million kids are left home alone in the summer or come home to an empty house during school days. Leaving older children home unattended leaves working parents worrying, guilty, and hoping for the best. In fact, an increase in employee accidents and errors occur around 3 p.m., when school lets out and working parents grow anxious and restless, waiting in suspense for the phone call signaling their children made it inside the house.

As an experienced father of a latchkey child, an adjunct professor in Educational Psychology, and practicing school psychologist for over 29 years, I’ve talked with a legion of mothers and fathers of home-alone kids. I’d like to share what I’ve learned from them: three master key strategies and fourteen specific, passkey tips to unlock the door to successful latchkey kid parenting.

I: Determine if your child is mentally developed enough to be left home alone....

Tip No. 1 - Adhere to recommended guidelines set forth by children’s service and police agencies throughout your state. I contacted these agencies in four states, and found the guidelines to be similar: Children, ages 11-12, can be left home alone for a short time, but not for a complete work shift; children, ages 13 and older, can be left unattended during the day, but even 13 to 18-year-olds should never be left alone overnight.

Tip No. 2 - Consider your child’s maturity level. Most kids, age 7-8, can handle being left alone while you run a short (25 minute) errand, and most 10-year-olds can handle a few hours by themselves. Even if your child’s age falls within the recommended guidelines, remember, some kids are more careless and unwary than others. Determine how you honestly feel about leaving your child unattended at home. Hint: Ask yourself if he/she has shown maturity when left alone for shorter time periods in the past and whether he/she could deal with certain situations that may crop up while left unattended.

Tip No. 3 - If your child appears lonely or apprehensive after being left unattended, find a reputable sitter.

II: Appraise how "child safe" coming home to your empty house is....

Tip No. 4 - Keep the house key out of sight, not on a key chain or necklace, but in a small pouch clipped to an inside pants pocket. It should also contain several quarters for phone calls and a laminated card with your child’s name and an emergency telephone number.

Tip No. 5 - Figure into the safety equation how available, dependable, and helpful your neighbors are. Can you leave a spare key with them instead of hiding it? If anything looks amiss when your child comes home, can he/she immediately proceed to a designated neighbor’s house? Hint: If no such “safe house” exists, ask your local police how you may initiate a Block Watch program in your neighborhood.

Tip No. 6 - Once inside the house, instruct your child to immediately lock the door and call you or a designated person. All latchkey children must be able to reach a responsible adult at all times.

III: Exercise vigilance while your child is inside the house, to reduce the number one fear of latchkey kids—that someone will break in and harm them....

Tip No. 7 - A frightened child cannot always find or recall vital telephone numbers. Type phone numbers of your work place, police, fire, and a collaborating neighbor on address labels and stick them on all phones, including a well-charged portable phone to carry around the house. Hint: Purchase a powerful rechargeable Battery Pack, with over 270 current, 900 Series. Recharge each night.

Tip No. 8 - Don’t scare your child, but teach a healthy suspicion of strangers. Discuss how most people are good, but a few are not. Hint: Try bibliotherapy. Choose a book on the topic of strangers which is not frightening and read it with him/her. Consult with the librarians in the children’s section of your local library; they will steer you toward additional picture books and videos on this topic which are age appropriate. For example, I found the book Who Is a Stranger and What Should I do? by Linda Girard to be cautionary but not overly scary.

Tip No. 9 - Screen phone callers and front door visitors by installing an answering machine and a peephole in the door at your child’s level (or have stepstool nearby). Phone callers are told you’re unavailable, not gone from the house.

Tip No. 10 - Write a non-negotiable list of visitors allowed inside or who can say a predetermined secret password. Otherwise, the door is opened for no one. Include a short list of places your child may visit, which you have the phone numbers of at work.

Tip No. 11 - Devise a non-negotiable list of off-limit places—deserted areas, public restrooms(in parks), short-cut alley ways, etc.

Tip No. 12 - Several parents I know have purchased a latchkey kid’s best protection...a pooch. A barking dog will unnerve unwelcome callers with wrongdoings on their agenda. Companionship is a bonus. One parent recorded her friend’s barking Rotweiler for her child to play whenever strangers called via the front door or phone.

Tip No. 13 - Devise a “break-in” plan, similar to a fire escape plan. Direct your child to immediately escape to a designated neighbor's and call police. If that's not possible, install a lock on the bedroom door. Instruct him/her to call 911 on the portable phone; and while staying in communication with the dispatcher, proceed into the bedroom, lock the door, and hide underneath the bed. The troops will arrive pronto, and 911 dispatchers are trained in how to comfort scared children, and to ascertain their location in the house.

Tip No. 14 - Lastly, purchase the book The Handbook for Latchkey Children and Their Parents by Tom and Lynette Lone, which contains useful ideas for dealing with minor and major crisis.