latchkey child

A generation ago, the suburban phenomenon was latchkey children, fending for themselves after school in houses left empty by two working parents.

Their figures contradict previous estimates of 7 million or more latchkey children among the 30 million children age 5 to 13.

These and many others are "latchkey children," left on their own after school as parents juggle jobs.

While there are many latchkey children under 12, she said, the law usually comes into play only if a child is injured while alone.

Librarians, who usually worry about getting youngsters to love books and reading, now must cope with supervising these latchkey children.

They were inseparable as latchkey children in Dallas and still speak daily.

An estimated 1.2 million latchkey children of elementary-school age have access to guns in their homes.

It is a no-frills program for 56 mostly latchkey children, 5 to 12 years old.

California is the acknowledged leader, but its year-old program so far serves only 14,000 of the state's estimated 800,000 latchkey children.

Many latchkey children have parents who can take calls from them at work only in an emergency.