What is the most appropriate age to let your child[ren] walk alone to school* [ in your opinion ]?
9 December 2009 9 Responses
A Parent asks, (and walk back home alone)
*Primary and Secondary school age range.
1) Does it depend on the location, distance and maturity of the child?
2) At what age did you walk alone to school?
3) If you have children when did you let them walk alone to and back from school?
a) How did you introduce them to walking on their own?
b) How did you and your child(ren ) feel?
Thank you for answering.
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depends on the child, the area and also the number of other kids that walk from the same area… my kids aren’t in school at all yet… i remember the first time i walked to school as a kid, i was 10, i actually missed the bus and was afraid i’d get in trouble if i went back home so i walked… it was pretty far (again typically i was a bus student) but i survived… it was almost all busy roads but with sidewalks and traffic lights at every one of the busy side roads… so again depending on the above i would say 10 is not too young, but i wouldn’t force my kids to walk at that age, it would only be if they wanted too… and personally i have a special needs child so i expect ill be taxiing her to and from school til she graduates so i have no expectation of forcing any of my kids to walk to school ever
1. Yes distance, maturity, location, and definitely whether the child would have to cross any roads.
2. I was about 8 or 9 when I started walking alone to school, or walking with friends. I had to cross at one crosswalk, and my school was only 3 blocks from my house.
3. I do have children, I don’t let them walk because of the distance to their schools from home.
I would base it on
location
distance
maturity
AND MOSTLY SAFETY — sidewalks, traffic patterns, other pedestrian traffic, crossing guards, etc
My children (three teens) have never walked to school because we live too far, no sidewalks, heavy traffic, etc.
Thirty years ago I rode my bike to school from the time I was 5th grade … totally different situation … about 2 miles, very small town, etc.
In a nutshell … go with your gut. Do you feel that it is safe for your child to walk? Does your child have the maturity to handle unexpected events? Ask him/her questions about what to do if …?
1) Yes it does.
2) At 12 I walked to school one mile, alone, in the mornings, on Monday.
Every other day I got a ride.
1. Yes, for sure.
2. Home from primary school by 5th grade or so, but it was 2 miles from my house, so it really wasn’t an option until that point. We never walked to school because it wasn’t feasible. Secondary school was even further away- 7 miles, so walking didn’t happen.
3. Our primary school is more than 2 miles from our house, and across what is basically a highway, so they’ll probably never walk to it. However, the high school is practically in our backyard (you can see it from the 2nd floor), so they’ll be walking there from day 1.
3b. I really don’t care what they think about walking to school in high school. They will just do it, and not complain, because there’s no good reason for them not to walk the 1/4 mile from our house to the high school.
1) yes
2) 5 or 6 but I think my parents were irresponsible. I would never let my child walk home alone at that age.
3) i don’t have a child but I do have experience with taking care of kids and I wouldn’t let my kid walk to school alone around here before they are 13 and even then I would worry.
I don’t leave my son unattended in our own back yard…Or at the store….Or anywhere else…
I don’t think there would be any circumstance that I’d push him out the door and let him walk 3 blocks or 3 miles at the mercy of whoever may happen by.
I’ll be taking my son to school when the time comes.
Look at that little girl in florida (?)…walking a mile home from the bus stop WITH her siblings and gangs of kids and she ends up sexually assaulted, and dead in a land fill….They suspect she was picked up a few houses away from home.
It doesn’t matter the route, the number of kids, or their maturity….no level of maturity is going to stop a predator that wants to rape and then kill your child.
My house work can wait for half an hour while I take my kid to school.
Depends on how far the school is.
I walked to school in 1st grade with my sisters (my twin sister was also in 1st grade and my older sister was in 3rd grade); the school was about 10 blocks from our house, all residential.
My oldest is in 2nd grade and my other school aged child is in kindergarten, and I walk them to school every morning (it’s 7 blocks, all residential area), with my preschooler (because his preschool is on the way) and my toddler. I walk back at 11.30 to pick up the two little ones (also with my toddler). We usually go to get my 7-year-old, but sometimes she walks home after school with her friend who lives just two doors down from us (also in 2nd grade).
right now my kids are 5 so i never let them out of sight. And i will let them walk alone or ride her bike when i can see the school. If i can see the school from my house she cant walk
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