What age can kids stay home alone in Texas? 

LUBBOCK, Texas -- Kids in Texas are kicking off summer break from school. However, that doesn't mean their parents are off as well. This poses the question, "At what age can parents leave kids alone?"

The short answer, according to Texas law, all boils down to “reasonableness."

The Texas Penal Code for Abandoning or Endangering Child defined abandon as leaving a child in any place “providing reasonable and necessary care for the child.” The code said, “any place under circumstances that expose the child to an unreasonable risk of harm. 

However, the law for leaving a child in a car during the summer is more straightforward. The penal code for Leaving a Child in a Vehicle says that a child under the age of 7 and not accompanied by someone 14 years or older for more than five minutes is against the law.