At what age can children be trusted to be left alone at home? That answer varies by state (and by the child), but a Maryland mom found out that in the state of Delaware, ages 8 and 9 is not old enough.

Susan Terrillion, 55, was arrested last week for the grievous crime of leaving her 8- and 9-year-old kids alone at their vacation rental in Rehoboth Beach, Del., while she went out to pick up food, according to a report by the News Journal.

Police were called to the rental by a neighbor, who reported that the kids were home alone. The neighbor saw the kids when their dogs ran into the road in front of his car. This (extremely) helpful neighbor helped wrangle the dogs when he learned the kids were alone.

Then he called the local police.

When Terrillion returned 45 minutes later she was arrested and charged with two misdemeanor counts of endangering the welfare of her children, police stated. The children and the dogs were not injured.

Terrillion was released on $500 unsecured bail and no further details were released on the case.

The comments section of the story was flooded with outrage ... over the mother's arrest. Plenty of people on Facebook chimed in with stories of being latchkey kids at that age to "When I was 7, I rode public transportation to school and walked home."

Others not-so-kindly told the "Good Samaritan" to mind their own business.

As parenting website Scary Mommy points out, there is no federal law that governs over what age children can legally be left at home alone. States determine that age on their own and the standards vary wildly from either no age limit to 14 years old being the age of choice.

For the state of Delaware, there is no minimum age restriction, but the state's website does say it will investigate reports of children 12 and under who are left alone.

If this case is as straightforward as it sounds, what's the lesson learned here? We're not sure either, but maybe next time, bring the kids along for the ride to pick up food.

Or, order delivery if you have nosy neighbors. Just a thought.