First, the boring part: there’s no federal law that says, “Thou shalt not leave a child alone until they’re exactly twelve years, four months, and three days old.” Most states don’t have a magic number, but a handful do. For example, Illinois says 14 is the minimum, while Maryland says 8 (though that feels like letting a puppy run the house).
Check your local laws—they’re usually on your state’s website, buried under weird links like “Child Safety and Also How to Register a Llama.” Trust me, you don’t want to be the parent who gets a lecture from a nosy neighbor who definitely knows the llama registration rules.
