Your legal responsibilities

School attendance

By law, all children of school age must receive full-time education and it’s up to you to ensure they get it. If you're having problems because your child is refusing to go to school or is playing truant, you can get help and support from your local education authority.

If you don’t seek help you may be issued with a penalty notice of £50, which rises to £100 if it’s not paid within 28 days. If you don’t pay the penalty fine you'll be prosecuted.

Home schooling

If you're educating your child at home, Directgov has details about your legal responsibilities

As an alternative to penalty notices, your local authority may prosecute you. You can get a fine up to £2,500, a community order or, in extreme cases, a jail sentence of up to three months.

Courts may also impose a parenting order, which requires you to attend parenting or support classes to help you deal better with the problems you may face.

Alcohol

One in five secondary school pupils admits having been drunk in the previous week and nearly two-thirds say they drink at home, at friends' houses or at parties, according to an NHS survey.

But what does the law say? Perhaps surprisingly, children over the age of five are legally allowed to drink alcohol at home. It’s up to you when you think it's appropriate for your child to consume alcohol.

Sex, drugs and driving

Is your child or teenager aware of their legal rights? Why not do a quick 'true or false' test and see how much they know?

Some parents argue that giving an older child a small glass of wine or a beer with a family meal occasionally encourages a responsible attitude to drinking.

Children under 16 can go into pubs as long as they're supervised by an adult, but they can't have any alcoholic drinks.

Some premises may be subject to licensing conditions preventing children from entering, such as pubs that have experienced problems with underage drinking.

Children can drink beer, cider or perry (pear cider) with a meal in a restaurant when they're 16, if it's bought for them by an adult.

It's illegal for anyone under 18 to buy alcohol, or for adults to buy alcohol for anyone under 18 to drink in a pub or a public place. If the police catch children with alcohol, they can confiscate it.

Directgov has detailed information about your alcohol, your child and the law.

Home alone

When is it appropriate to leave your child home, alone? The law doesn’t state a specific age but parents can be prosecuted if they wilfully neglect children and leave them unsupervised 'in a manner likely to cause unnecessary suffering or injury to health'.

The National Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) says most parents would think it was acceptable to leave a 16-year-old alone for the evening, but it would be unacceptable to leave them for a weekend. The NSPCC says no child under 16 should be left alone overnight.

If you do plan to leave your child alone:

• Make sure your child's happy to be left alone and won’t be worried or frightened
• Leave a contact phone number, plus the name and address of where you'll be
• Set a time you'll be back and stick to it
• Leave the number of a trusted friend or relative living nearby that your child can call in an emergency
• Make sure your child knows what to do in an emergency
• Talk to your child afterwards to find out how he or she felt about being left alone

If you're leaving your child with a babysitter, then it's not advisable to leave them with someone under 16. If your babysitter is younger, you remain legally responsible for ensuring your child comes to no harm.

The NSPCC has detailed advice about leaving your child alone.

Children and paid work

A part-time job can be very useful - it not only gives children extra money but also a greater sense of responsibility and can be a good basis for the future. But there are legal requirements governing child employment.

• A child must be at least 13 before they can get a part-time job
• Each local authority has bylaws about which jobs children can do and you'll need to check the job your child wants to do is on the list
• All work must be 'light duties only'
• No child under school leaving age can work before 7am or after 7pm on any day including school holidays
• No child can be employed for more than two hours on a school day and not during school hours
• No child can be employed for more than 12 hours in a school week and that includes the weekend
• On Saturdays and in school holidays, 13 and 14-year-olds can work a maximum of five hours a day and those aged 15 and 16 can work up to eight hours a day
• Employers must inform their local council's education department that they've employed a school-aged child

Before your child takes a part-time job you should discuss how much time it will take up and if it will affect homework or other activities at the weekend.

You should also satisfy yourself the job is safe and the employer is reputable. And discuss how your child will get to and from work – will you be expected to act as a taxi service?

Directgov has more information about your child and paid work.