How old does a child have to be to wait for a school bus alone?
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Anonymous
I'm only 35, and at 6 I was allowed to be out alone anywhere on my block, and allowed to cross the street I lived on to play with the kids on the other side. I also walked to school alone, but I agree with other posters, though that's different than standing and waiting for a bus on a corner. (Which I did starting at 9.) My DS is 5, and he is allowed to play alone only in our yard (front or back) and in front of the next door neighbor's. I recognize that times have changed, and today I have to worry about other adults reporting me to CPS, which is a risk I try to minimize. Times have also changed in that there are practically no other children outside these days, even though there are many kids in the neighborhood. |
Anonymous
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I used to walk by myself 8 blocks to K in the early '80s. It was half day afternoon K so I walked home with my first grade brother.
That said, since a K'er must be at the bus stop with an adult, and its a PITA for OP, I would let riding the bus be a special once-in-awhile privilege he could earn. When he's in first grade, he can walk by himself four houses and wait with the other kids, and if you are nervous about it, you can walk until you can physically see him and keep an eye on him the first few times. |
Anonymous
| OP, I think your plan is a good one. Once they are eight, a lot of these worries go away. They change a lot between Kinder and third grade. |
Anonymous
Who are the adults who are calling CPS? I would think that most people would mind their own business unless a child was truly in danger. This idea that neighbors run around reporting judgement that differs from their own is troubling. Who does that? |
Anonymous
Yes, although that's kind of a circular argument -- the reason most kids can't do it now is because people don't expect them to do it now. If somebody did expect them to do it now, could they? Since most kids used to be able to do it, I think that most kids could do it now, too. |
Anonymous
Have you heard of this case? http://www.wjla.com/articles/2015/03/silver-spring-parents-charged-with-child-neglect-for-allowing-kids-to-walk-home-alone-112094.html |
Anonymous
I would reconsider. Kids love the bus, and in Kindergarten especially, it's a huge deal to ride the big yellow school bus. |
Anonymous
| 6 is wayyy to young to have a kid walk alone to the bus stop. Op, don't do it. If I saw the kid walking alone, yes I would call 911. Sorry, but it's better you know the reality than end up with a case. |
Anonymous
Funny thing is, I'm a big proponent of lengthening the leash on kids. In many ways I think that the constant supervision and hovering that is sometimes done is incredibly stunting. A reasonably responsible 9 year old should be able to ride his bike around the block without his (loving, good, responsible) parents being reported... Unfortunately there are parents that don't use great judgement or even seem to care - maybe they allow their 3 year old to ride his trike up and down the sidewalk and into the street alone, no supervision. Later on, they let their 14 year old stay out all night..and do God knows what. Somehow we all wind up lumped in with these folks which is sad.. |
Anonymous
Seriously? |
Anonymous
We're talking about a 6 yr old walking "half a block" so presumably this 6 yr old you see walking alone to the bus stop would be a neighbor, a kid you know. You would seriously call the cops on his parents? |
Anonymous
Really? Even if he's clearly walking to a bus stop and there are other kids around? What do you say to the dispatcher? That some kid is walking to the bus stop alone and the cops should rush over and grab him before the bus comes? |
Anonymous
Yes. They allowed their 6 year old to walk home from a park unsupervised and they got called out for breaking the supervision laws in their state (which they did in fact break because a 10 yr old can not supervise a 6 year old). So I have limited sympathy for them. I think these were the same folks who gave their kids those stupid "my kids are free range kids" cards to carry around- ugh. If I give my 16 year old a card that says "my child is a free spirit and can drive as fast as he wants to" does that mean that he can go 65 in a 25mph zone. Nope. You can't allow your kids to break the law. But you can work to change a law that you do not agree with. |
Anonymous
| The saddest part of this thread is OP isn't willing to get up a half-hour earlier in order to let her son have more time with his friends. |
Anonymous
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Sorry if this has already been mentioned.
On the morning of Friday, May 25, 1979, six-year-old Etan Patz left his SoHo apartment by himself for the first time. He was to walk two blocks to catch the school bus, and he wore a blue captain hat, a blue shirt, blue jeans, and blue sneakers that day. He never reached the bus stop. When he did not come home when school ended, his mother called the police. An intense search began that evening, using nearly 100 police officers and a team of bloodhounds. The search continued for weeks. At first, detectives considered the Patzs as possible suspects, but they quickly determined the parents had no involvement. A massive search involving neighbors and police covered the city with missing child posters featuring Patz's face, but resulted in few leads. Patz's father, Stan Patz, a professional photographer, used a collection of photographs he had taken of his son in the effort to find the missing boy. His photos of Etan were printed on countless missing child posters and milk cartons, and they were projected on screens in Times Square. |