Teaching Your Child to Be Home

An estimated eight to 10 million American children are ``latchkey kids'' who after the school day return to an empty house or apartment and take care of themselves until their parents get home from work. This helpful book is written for members of such families to read together. Chapters covering situations like loneliness, illness, emergencies and how to use public transportation include brief examples, with follow-up questions for children to consider and a checklist of suggested preparatory steps that can ameliorate the problems illustrated here. Grollman ( Living When a Loved One Has Died ) and Sweder, a child development specialist, conclude with a readiness scale (by which parents can evaluate their child's ability to be left unsupervised), a communication scale and a section for emergency phone numbers. (Sept.)