Kids Need Supervision During After-School Hours

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Sometimes it's tough for parents to find after-school care for kids, but a New Mexico State University Child and Family Life Specialist says kids need adult supervision until they become adults. Anna María Pérez-Wright has more.

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The movie "Home Alone" may have given kids the idea that being home unsupervised was cool. Many times, working parents can't be home when their children are. But Child and Family Life Specialist Diana Del Campo with New Mexico State University's Cooperative Extension Service says kids need adult supervision until they leave home for college, especially during after-school hours.

"Research studies show that many things can happen during the hours of three to six. There's a lot of peer pressure out there to do things that children may not really feel comfortable doing. And it makes children as well as adults feel pretty uneasy."

A report by federal Education and Justice departments found that the after-school hours are the time when juvenile crime and risky behaviors such as drug and alcohol abuse peak. Del Campo says arranging for after-school care or after-school programs with adult supervision can keep kids of all ages safe and out of trouble.

"It could be that your children would go to a neighbor after school. It could be that you have an adult relative come into your home until you get home from work. It might be that you put them in after school activities, but it's really important between the hours of three to six that children have some adult supervision no matter what their age."

Del Campo says even if an adult cares for your kids in your home, post your phone number and address as well as your work number next to the phone, because in an emergency, people may not recall them. For N-M-S-U's College of Agriculture and Home Economics, I'm Anna María Pérez-Wright.