An 11-year-old boy left home alone with a mild cold last week had a close call when burglars broke into his home -- police chased off the prowlers after the child hid under his bed and called 911.

Yet despite the scare, the boy's mother said she believes her son was fine to stay home by himself for a couple of hours while she took her daughter to school and helped a teacher. He proved that when he kept poised during a nerve-racking emergency, she said.

"I was horrified. I felt terrible to think that my son had to go through that," said his mother. "But I feel like him watching out for himself for a couple hours in the day is fine. And evidently it was."

The mother said her family has not designated an age at which it's OK for the kids to look after themselves but rely instead on maturity levels. Local experts say that's exactly how parents should judge whether their kids are ready to stay home without supervision. Like most states, there is no age-based endangerment law in Utah for leaving children home unattended. Only Illinois and Maryland have minimum-age laws that take into account the amount of time a child is left alone and the child's general well-being, according to the National Child Care Information Center.

"Typically it's not necessarily an issue of age, but it's more important if they know what actions they need to take to remain safe," said Liz Solace, spokeswoman for Utah's Department of Child and Family Services. "The thing parents need to focus on most is the child's ability to know what to do."

The Utah Red Cross has a minimum age requirement of 11 for kids looking to sign up for baby-sitting certification courses. Red Cross Health and Safety Director Mary Matthiessen said that age is an average of the point at which most states agree kids can safely be left home alone or allowed to baby-sit.

But Matthiessen added that kids' maturity levels are more important than an age.

"We all know 12-year-olds who probably don't act 12, but then there are those who act well beyond 12, like they're 16," Matthiessen said.

In the midst of a recession, more parents might be forced to wrestle with the question of when kids might be able to look after themselves.

In 2005, 20 percent of Utah families with children under 18 saw both parents working full-time jobs. That number climbed to 22 percent in 2007, according to the U.S. Census Bureau's latest figures. Nationwide, the numbers likewise were up 2 percentage points, from 28 percent to 30 percent of families.

When interviewed, most parents said they would not leave their kids at home longer than an hour or two unless they were older than 12.

"It gets hard because there just aren't a lot of day-care options after 12," said Kathy Quartermaine, a mother of two. "But I think it's OK to leave them at home at that age. I would just check on them, and tell them not to answer the door or phone."

A mother of three with eight grandchildren, South Jordan's Virginia Pelaez said in today's world she would never leave a child at home for more than an hour or so.

"Bizarre things happen," she said, adding that she now regrets leaving a 9-year-old child at home alone for five hours in a rural town during the 1970s -- even though she was only 2 miles away and constantly calling to check up. "Parents have to work sometimes. But even in a small town in the 70s, I took the kids to a neighbor or friend after that."

Pelaez said she would never leave a child at home alone for more than a couple of hours, even if they were in high school.

"I'd want to be there to make sure they're not into inappropriate things," she said, citing possible dangers from intruders, strangers or even the influence of computers and TV.

Bill Renik, a father of a 12-year-old boy, said he has thought about the issue lately as his son nears his teen years.

"It all depends on the kids and how they're raised. I'd say 14 or 15 is OK," Renik said, adding that he would feel comfortable leaving a teen home during work hours, but never overnight.

Renik said he would not consider leaving a child at home earlier than 14.

"Anything can happen," he said. "Sometimes all it takes is an hour."

In Utah, prosecutors have filed criminal charges in cases where it has been apparent children should not have been left on their own. A 23-year-old father pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of reckless endangerment for leaving his 2-year-old son in the car during a midnight showing of "The Dark Knight" earlier this year. Charges were also filed against a mother who left three of her children, ranging in age from 7 years to a 3 weeks old with pneumonia, home alone in July while she went out to party.

"If the child is endangered by being left at home -- because of a special need or a situation in the home environment -- then the [parents] can be nailed for endangerment," said Bonnie Peters, executive director of Utah's Family Support Centers.

"Obviously you're not going to leave an infant, but again I've seen some really mature 7-year-olds," Peters added. "But would I recommend leaving [a 7-year-old] home alone? Not necessarily."

Said Matthiessen: "They have to be able to handle emergencies, handle someone choking, handle first aid. They have to have the maturity level to make those decisions -- and make the right decisions."