Parents of 6- to 11-year-olds were asked if their children had spent any time caring for themselves, without the supervision of an adult or older child, for even a small amount of time in the past week. Overall, 15.9 percent of children in this age group had been home alone for some amount of time.

Boys are somewhat more likely to spend time home alone than girls. Of 6- to 11-year-old boys, 17.1 percent were reported to have been home alone for some amount of time, compared to 14.7 percent of girls in this age group.

Spending time home alone also appears to vary by race and ethnicity. Hispanic children aged 6-11 were the least likely to spend time home alone (10.1 percent), followed by Black children (16.7 percent) and White children (16.9 percent). Of multiracial children, 18.9 percent were reported to have spent time alone, as were 21.2 percent of children of other races.