Latchkey kid

Posted by ESC on May 09, 2009 at 12:11

In Reply to: Latchkey kid posted by David FG on May 09, 2009 at 08:28:

: : What is the meaning of 'a latchkey kid' and where does it originate?

: It is a name given to children whose parents are away from the family home working, so they are given their own key to let themselves into the house or whatever. Basically, they are children who are left to fend for themselves while their parents work.

: Whatever the individual circumstances, it is not generally a term of approbation.

: DFG

One reference has "latchkey kid" in a section devoted to Generation X (new demographic term, 1980s, taken from a 1964 book by the same name, Charles Hamblett and Jane Deverson) but says "latchkey child" dates back to 1944. "Speaking Freely: A Guided Tour of American English from Plymouth Rock to Silicon Valley" by Stuart Berg Flexner and Anne H. Soukhanov (Oxford University Press, New York, 1997).

• Latchkey child Smokey Stover 09/May/09
  • Latchkey child ESC 09/May/09
    • Latchkey child David FG 10/May/09
      • Latchkey child Smokey Stover 10/May/09
      • Latchkey child ESC 10/May/09
        • Latchkey child Smokey Stover 12/May/09