latchkey kid

a minor, left at home unsupervised while the parents are out or away; also called latchkey
the average amount of time a latchkey kid is home alone either before or after school is approximately two to three hours.
1. a child who comes home from school in the absence of his/her parents. a child who is not ready to be a latch key kid should be sent either to daycare or a friend’s house in the afternoon.

2. could also mean a young/apprentice locksmith.
1. jimmy was a latch-key kid because his mom works afternoons and his dad is in jail for burglary and arson. maybe he shouldn’t have been going home alone because he’s been missing since last thursday. probably got lost, the dumb little b-st-rd.

2. jimmy, our latch-key kid, got electrocuted while trying to unlock an outlet cover.
a child (usually younger like age 7-13) who comes home (usually from school) to an empty house and is left unsupervised and to fend for themselves until someone older comes home to watch over them. this is usually done for 2-4 hours. this name/phrase originates from the latchkey of a door because the child is often given the responsibility/privilege/burden of carrying a key to the house around with them (even in school). the key is typically worn around the neck or kept in a hidden area of the book bag but is also sometimes hidden under a door mat of the house, or in some other hidden location near the door.

see also: child neglect
every day little stephen has to come home to an empty house and raise himself from 3-6. he bears the burden of being a latchkey kid.
1. a kick -ss song by bad religion
2. a kid who carries a key to the latch on there house door to let themself in because his/her parents are not home after that kid get home from shcool.
latch-key kid

“in this world today there ain’t n-body to thank,
just blame it on the kids and toss ’em into the tank.
and if they yell for justice we’ll hide them from the light
so that when they learn the truth they won’t be scared of the night.
(1, 2, 3, 4)
put the key in the hole when you get home from school.
i’ll be home by 8:30, your father will too.
if you cause any trouble then i don’t want to see,
’cause you’ll go straight to bed and you won’t have no tv.”

-bad religion
a child who is forced to return home to an empty house after school because women fought for suffrage and rights so they could get jobs and leave their children unsupervised and to their own devises while they convinced the world they didn’t belong in the kitchen.
“hey! want to go home and play with my dad’s guns? mom started working so my parents are never home after school!” thus the life of a latch-key kid and the increase in accidents due to lack of supervision.
a latch-key kid is someone who goes to a public area (i.e a park, playground) because they have nothing else to do. they spend most of their free time there, and eventually learns the names of everyone who visits that area. may partic-p-te in activies such as frisbie, basketball, etc.
latch-key kid nathan likes to spend all his free time at the public gym to play basketball with all other latch-key kids.