Discussions

I know the legal age to be left home alone is 12 (i think), but does anyone else out there have "latch key" kids who are younger, that are left at home alone for short periods of time?  
 
Here is the situation. My daughter, who is almost 8, hates going to daycare in the morning. Most mornings, her father is home with her when she gets picked up by the school bus. However, there is the odd day where he has to be gone early in the morning, and I have to leave for work before the bus arrives. My daughter is pretty self-sufficient, even when we are with her in the morning. She insists she will be fine for the half hour she would be left alone until the bus arrives. She knows all of our cell numbers, and her grandparents live very close.  
 
I am torn. I know how much she hates going to the daycare for that half hour before school, but is she too young to be left at home alone?