phrasal verb: look after vs. look in on

[lia]

English Language Tests, Intermediate level

ESL/EFL Test #195 "Phrasal Verbs (L)", question 6

Norma promised she would ......... Cara's children while she was away on a business trip.

(a) look in over
(b) look in on
(c) look down on

English Language Tests, Intermediate level

ESL/EFL Test #195 "Phrasal Verbs (L)", answer 6

Norma promised she would look in on Cara's children while she was away on a business trip.

Correct answer: (b) look in on

Your answer was: correct
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look in on does make since to me but i got it correct?

lia

[Yankee]

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I thought there had already been some discussion about this sentence. Where did it go?

Without any context, it would seem more logical to say "Norma promised she would look after Cara's children while she was away on a business trip."

Using 'look in on' in the sentence suggests to me that, except for a couple of quick checks by Nora, Cara's children were left completely unsupervised and alone while Cara was away on business.

With 'look in on' in the sentence, we can only hope that Cara's kids were already quite grown-up, responsible and self-sufficient.
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[Linda]

Hello,
Your assumption is right. Maybe the children are teenagers who only need someone to look in on them once in a while. The student should choose the best answer - the answer that makes sense.
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[Alan]

Hi,

Of course the word 'children' doesn't always have to refer to the very young!

Alan
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[Yankee]

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No one said it did, Alan.
Just out of curiosity, however, what would you say the minimum age of a child would have to be before said child might appropriately be left home alone while Mom is away on a business trip of say five days? And do you think it would make any difference if the child was named Kevin?
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[Mickey]

I think 13 is the minimum age.

I heard that parents are leaving their 13 years old daughter with two younger children at home for more than 1 year.