Juvenile curfew and supervision

  • Published
  • By Family Advocacy Program staff
MACDILL AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. --  Did you know the juvenile curfew policy is 10 p.m. to 5 a.m., Sunday through Thursday nights and 12 a.m. to 5 a.m., Friday and Saturday nights and evenings before legal holidays? 

This policy applies to everyone on base under the age of 16. Violations of the curfew may result in the child being detained by 6th Security Forces members until the parents are contacted and possibly a referral to the Juvenile Corrections Board.

Did you know a child under the age of 9 should not be left unattended in a vehicle for any period of time unless supervised by a child of at least 12 years of age or older. Furthermore, the vehicle should not under any circumstances be left with the keys in the ignition?

Did you know a child under the age of 8 should never be home alone for any period of time?

Those of us parents with children can attest to how easily and quickly children can get into bad or inappropriate things or a dangerous situation. This can happen even when parents are providing appropriate supervision. Now, imagine that same child being unsupervised and how much more danger is present when the parents are not accessible.

To assist parents in making the safest and best decision regarding appropriate supervision of their children, MacDill AFB officials have written an instruction providing policies and guidelines for parents (Juvenile Curfew and Supervision 31-200) which affects all military family members and guests. The complete instruction can be found at the following website: www.e-publishing.af.mil. It is the responsibility of each parent to be familiar with the Juvenile Curfew and Supervision Base Instruction.

It's recommended the following are considered in making a decision to leave your child alone: Consider your child's comfort level in terms of being alone; whether he is emotionally mature enough to be left alone; and that there is an acknowledged safety plan in place. Also, whenever your child is unsupervised or unattended there must be no emotional, behavioral or medical problems that can affect his judgment or decision making skills. As stated above, parents must have a safety plan in place which should include but not limited to: how to access the parent, caregiver or responsible adult; acceptable behaviors while unsupervised; and what to do in case of an emergency to include knowledge of emergency telephone numbers. It's equally important your child can demonstrate the ability to follow whatever safety plan you have put into place.

Many parents tend to think their children are safer by living on a military base. However, dangers are present here as well as in the community to include traffic, large bodies of water nearby, illicit drug use, and other forms of misconduct or dangerous activities. Understand if you decide to leave your child unsupervised or unattended and something unfortunate happens that could have been prevented with adequate supervision, you may be held responsible for the outcome.