For more than six million American children, coming home after school means coming to an empty house. Some deal with the situation by watching TV. Some may hide. But all of them have something in common. They spend part of each day alone. They are called "latchkey children". They're children who look after themselves while their parents are working. And their bad condition has become a subject of concern.
Lynette Long was once the headmistress of an elementary school. She said, "We had a school rule against wearing jewellery. A lot of kids had chains around their necks with keys fastened. I was constantly telling them to put them inside their shirts. There were so many keys. It never came to my mind what they meant," Slowly, she learned they were house keys.
She and her husband began talking to the children who had them. They learned of the impact(影响) working couples and single parents were having on their children. Fear is the biggest problem faced by children at home alone. One in each three latchkey children the Longs talked to reported being scared. Many had nightmares and were worried about their own safety.
The most common way latchkey children deal with their fears is by hiding. It might be in a shower stall, under a bed, or in a closet. The second is TV. They'll often play it at high volume. It's hard to get statistics(统计数据) on latchkey children, the Longs learned. Most parents are slow to admit they leave their children alone.
