A latchkey kid or latchkey child is a child who returns from school to an empty home because their parent or parents are away at work, or a child who is often left at home with little parental supervision.
History of the term
The term refers to the latchkey of a door to a house. The key is often strung around the child's neck or left hidden under a mat (or some other object) at the rear door to the property. The term seems to first appear in a CBC radio program called "Discussion Club - Topic: How War Affects Canadian Children" in 1942, due to the phenomenon of children being left home alone becoming common during and after World War II, when one parent would be enlisted into the armed forces, so the other would have to get a job. Given that the "Discussion Club" participants are all familiar with the term and allude to it being in colloquial usage, it likely predates 1942. In general, the term latchkey designates "those children between the ages of five and thirteen who care for themselves after the school day until their parents or guardians return home".
So many stories to be told across the ages young and old. Could it be that we've become immune to all we hear on daytime news, Where is the passion to unite? Because divided we can't fight all the troubles in this life. There's so many things that we are fighting. Yeah. There's so many people out there trying. Yeah. And there's a little girl only six years old. Her daddy does drugs. Her mama's on the road. She's a latchkey kid before she's even grown. What we really need to do is give the girl a chance. Put her on the road where there's no way back, To a life that she's always known. We gotta do something. Yeah. Can't do nothing. Yeah. A&E is full of life. Somebody's son got in a fight. Doctors say it's touch and go, So nobody's going home. Friday night is where it starts. Kids all high and having fun. There will be a loss of life. Trivial things that start a fight. There's so many things we could be fighting. Yeah. But do we give a damn and are we trying? Yeah. And there's a little girl only six years old. Her daddy does drugs. Her mama's on the road. She's a latchkey kid before she's even grown. What we really need to do is give the girl a chance. Put her on the road where there's no way back, To a life that she's always known. We gotta do something. Yeah. Can't do nothing. Yeah. It's a crazy world we're living in. Yeah. It's a crazy world we're living in. Yeah. Across town in a club, a girl's on the floor. She's lying in the dark. She did it once before. Her body's full of drugs. She did it for a rush. Don't it make you wonder just how many more? We gotta do something; it's not right. Can't keep saying our hands are tied. Gotta do something but it's too late: There'll be another mother digging a grave. There's so many things that we are fighting. Yeah. But do we give a damn and are we trying? Yeah. And there's a little girl only six years old. Her daddy does drugs. Her mama's on the road. She's a latchkey kid before she's even grown. What we really need to do is give the girl a chance. Put her on the road where there's no way back, To a life that she's always known. We gotta do something. Yeah. Can't do nothing. Yeah. It's a crazy world we're living in. Yeah. It's a crazy world we're living in. Yeah. The world's gone crazy that we are living in. The world's gone crazy that we are seeing in. The world's gone crazy more than a little bit. The world's gone crazy. Yeah. The world's gone crazy that we are living in. The world's gone crazy that we are seeing in. The world's gone crazy more than a little bit. The world's gone crazy.
In her own series, the Duchess makes reference to her time spent in the garden as a child where she first fell in love with planting - another contrast perhaps to her 'latchkey kid' upbringing.
Also in the series, the “Suits” alum — who now goes by Meghan Sussex — called herself a “latchkey kid” and opened up about her modest childhood to connect with viewers, claiming she “grew up with a lot of fast food and TV tray dinners.”.
Meghan's estranged father Thomas Markle Sr hit back at Meghan's claims in her Netflix series that she was a 'latchkey kid' ... childhood she portrayed by discussing her 'latchkey kid' upbringing.
He particularly took issue with her decision to distance herself from the Markle name and her claims about growing up as a “latchkey kid”, according to the Daily Mail" ... “Sending kids off to school with edible flowers on their food is silly.
The unequivocal best moment of With Love, Meghan is arguably the most revealing, when Meghan tells Kaling that she grew up a latchkey kid who “ate a lot of fast food”, including Jack in the Box and ...
'You have kids and you go, "No, I share my name with my children" ... At one point, Meghan claims she was a 'latchkey kid' who grew up eating TV dinners ... She was never a latchkey kid ... Sending kids off to school with edible flowers on their food is silly.
At one point, Meghan claims she was a “latchkey kid” who grew up eating TV dinners... It feels like such a different time but that was so normal with the microwavable kids meals.”.
I’ve gifted this book to kids and adults ... She called herself a 'latchkey kid' who 'grew up with a lot of fast food and TV tray dinners', listing off US chains Pollo Loco, TacoBell and Jack In The Box.
In one of the episodes of her series, Meghan tells Mindy that she was a “latchkey kid” and survived on quick-fix meals. “I was a latchkey kid, so I grew up with a lot of fast food and TV tray meals,” Meghan said.
903. 'Fake' ... share ... Thomas Markle Jr., who has not spoken to his half sister in over a decade, took issue with her statement that she was a latchkey kid who relied on fast food and microwavable meals ... .
... children, PrinceArchie of Sussex, 5, and daughter Princess Lilibet of Sussex, 3, Markle explained that she was a “latchkey kid” who “grew up with a lot of fast-food and TV tray dinners.”.
