latchkey
Front door opener
A latchkey is a key to an outside door, especially the front door of a house.
The term evokes children who let themselves in after school because parents are at work—the latchkey kid, a phrase suggesting both independence and mild neglect.
The latch in latchkey refers to the door's lock mechanism.
Without oversight or guidance
- after-schoolFollowing final bell
- self-careMaintaining personal wellbeing
- aloneWithout others present
- self-reliantAble to provide independently
homework · television · snacks · waiting · playtime · school-age · caregiver · solitude
Loop holding keys
- doorHinged room barrier
- lockMechanism requiring a key
- housekeyHome entry device
- deadboltKey-operated door lock
doorknob · lanyard · pocket · backpack · doormat · flowerpot · string
Depending on oneself alone
- autonomyIndependent decision-making capacity
- freedomAbsence of constraint
- self-sufficiencyIndependence from outside aid
- maturityFull growth achieved
responsibility · self-care · trust · accountability · coming-of-age
Stored past experiences
- childhoodLife's earliest phase
- eightiesYears from eighty-nine backward
- nineties1990-1999
- generationAge-defined peer group
reminiscence · bygone · suburban · PSA · retrospect
unsupervised
Without oversight or guidance
- after-schoolFollowing final bell
- self-careMaintaining personal wellbeing
- aloneWithout others present
self-reliant · homework · television · snacks · waiting · playtime · school-age · caregiver · solitude · boredom
keyring
Loop holding keys
deadbolt · doorknob · lanyard · pocket · backpack · doormat · flowerpot · string
self-reliance
Depending on oneself alone
- autonomyIndependent decision-making capacity
- freedomAbsence of constraint
- self-sufficiencyIndependence from outside aid
maturity · responsibility · self-care · trust · accountability · coming-of-age
memories
Stored past experiences
generation · reminiscence · bygone · suburban · PSA · retrospect
entry
Access or submission
- childcaredaycare, after-school programs, babysitter, nanny, babysitting
- youth programsyouth groups, youth programs, Girl Scouts, youth camps, after-school programs
- unsupervisedunattended, unwatched, unmonitored, unguided, unchaperoned
latchkeypadlock key
Tool freeing portable locks
combination lock · skeleton key · master key · biometric access · keypad entry
latchkeysupervised
Directed with oversight
attended · chaperoned · watched over · looked after · stay-at-home parent
- latchkey kidsChildren caring for themselves after school
- latchkey childUnsupervised kid after school
- latchkey childrenKids home alone after school