The parents coming to Florida moms defense: We were more independent than children are today

In this era of helicopter parenting, how long is too long to leave kids home alone? And what’s the line between fostering independence in your kids and abandoning them?That’s the debate on parent group chats in New York and beyond as a Florida mom faces a shocking arrest for leaving her four kids home alone.Irene Miller, 50, was slapped with four counts of child neglect after allegedly leaving her children, ages 9, 11, 12, and 14, at their Kissimmee home while she traveled to Las Vegas for a five-day work trip.Miller claimed that a sitter made frequent check-ins to the house, although the kids were left alone at night.And when a dumbbell fell on one kid’s head — and the others called 9-1-1 — police arrived at the scene, leading to Miller’s arrest.Should she have been charged at all?New York parents like Dr.

Nina Izhaky aren’t sure.Dr.Izhaky is a Manhattan dentist who told The Post she has real sympathy for Miller, especially in this economic climate.“Childcare — especially overnight childcare — is the one thing money and planning still can’t reliably buy,” she said, noting that often, a sitter might cancel when the parent is already en route to a crucial work shift that’s needed to support the family.“Then the overnight coverage that was supposed to exist doesn’t,” she told The Post.Izhaky said there was a big difference between very young children being left alone overnight and an 11-year-old being trusted to remain independent for a few hours after school.“That’s independence, and our generation was raised on it,” she said, referencing the Gen X and Millennial phenomenon of “latchkey” kids who regularly let themselves into empty homes after school every day while their parents worked later hours. Florida attorney and mother of two Stacy Kemp Ferrari told The Post that when she first heard of Miller’s arrest, she assumed the children left alone were babies — not middle schoolers.“I was honestly surprised to know th...