You also need to leave a few numbers for your children to call either near the phone or on fridge that they can get to quickly if they feel that their safety is being threatened; in other words – scared.  As well as, know the emergency number to call.

If you, as a parent, go through safety steps that you have set up in your home with the child(ren) every time you plan on leaving them home alone.  You can also review the procedures often so that its fresh in their memory like how schools go through fire and lock down drills.

You can also try it out with different time spans like, a 2 minute walk to the mailbox (if your neighbourhood uses a community mail box).  10-15 minutes to the babysitters or to pick up something quickly at the drug store or supermarket. 

It all comes down to how well you think your child(ren) know the safety procedures within your home, how comfortable you are about leaving them home alone and for how long.

You can always do a test drill with the neighbour and see how well your children did.