My mom claims that my grandma made her ride the bus by herself when she was three years old

[Anonymous]

My mom grew up in NYC (she was born in 1941) and took the bus alone starting very early also.

[Anonymous]

Kids in Japan ride the bus and get themselves to school around age 5. I saw a documentary about it and it’s culturally acceptable bc the parents needed to be at work.

[Anonymous]

I commuted to preschool alone on my three wheeled chain bike when I was 4. The preschool had a parking area for tricycles. This was in New Zealand. When I was five and at elementary school I walked home with two boys the same age because we were released earlier than the older kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't think she was 3, but she could have been 6? The expectations in the 50s, 60s and even 70s (and forget about the decades before that when little kids worked in sweat shops!) were more less hands-on raising kids. I definitely grew up in an out of sight, out of mind household. As long as we showed up for dinner all was good.

She’s told this story for years. Maybe 20 years.

Assuming it’s true, what are the implications?

Also, she grew up in a very safe and idyllic neighborhood. It was a city bus but likely a short trip lasting less than 10 minutes I suspect

Why do you care what the implications are of a bus ride 70 years ago? Really. What is the point?

Oh, you! You're never late!

Why does anyone post anything?

It's a ~mystery~.

-DP

This! Never late and always nasty. What is their point?

[Anonymous]

Yes, it could have happened. Remember that was an era where Shirley McLaine put her then two-year-old on an airplane alone to Japan. (Of course the flight attendants took care of her, but still.) Did it happen at exactly that age? Maybe, maybe not.

Here’s what we know: whether she was 3, 4 or 5 at the time, your mom was alone on the bus, and it scared her enough to leave a lasting impression. And any feelings of stress and abandonment can stay with a child and, yes, cause PTSD.

We all have baggage. Sometimes we know exactly where it comes from, sometimes not.

[Anonymous]

Was a public bus or a school bus? I put my kid on a school bus at age 3 too, as did most people in our neighborhood.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't think she was 3, but she could have been 6? The expectations in the 50s, 60s and even 70s (and forget about the decades before that when little kids worked in sweat shops!) were more less hands-on raising kids. I definitely grew up in an out of sight, out of mind household. As long as we showed up for dinner all was good.

Three sounds like a stretch but definitely 6. My Mom rode the train, bus and a jitney to get to her Quaker school in Philadelphia in the 1950's (by herself).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes, it could have happened. Remember that was an era where Shirley McLaine put her then two-year-old on an airplane alone to Japan. (Of course the flight attendants took care of her, but still.) Did it happen at exactly that age? Maybe, maybe not.

Here’s what we know: whether she was 3, 4 or 5 at the time, your mom was alone on the bus, and it scared her enough to leave a lasting impression. And any feelings of stress and abandonment can stay with a child and, yes, cause PTSD.

We all have baggage. Sometimes we know exactly where it comes from, sometimes not.

Are you a counselor looking for work?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't think she was 3, but she could have been 6? The expectations in the 50s, 60s and even 70s (and forget about the decades before that when little kids worked in sweat shops!) were more less hands-on raising kids. I definitely grew up in an out of sight, out of mind household. As long as we showed up for dinner all was good.

She’s told this story for years. Maybe 20 years.

Assuming it’s true, what are the implications?

Also, she grew up in a very safe and idyllic neighborhood. It was a city bus but likely a short trip lasting less than 10 minutes I suspect

Why do you care what the implications are of a bus ride 70 years ago? Really. What is the point?

Oh, you! You're never late!

Why does anyone post anything?

It's a ~mystery~.

-DP

np Well what is the point of your post, pp? It is also a mystery!

[Anonymous]

This does seem exaggerated. But keep in mind a lot of the cultures where kids running errands, walking to school without adults, etc. is the norm, actually have a lot of collective adult supervision for the kids. I read a book about parenting in Germany where the American expat mom is horrified that 6-year-olds walk or bike to school but the reality is there are parents chaperoning from their porches the whole way there, and the kids are all in a group. Maybe it was something like that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't think she was 3, but she could have been 6? The expectations in the 50s, 60s and even 70s (and forget about the decades before that when little kids worked in sweat shops!) were more less hands-on raising kids. I definitely grew up in an out of sight, out of mind household. As long as we showed up for dinner all was good.

She’s told this story for years. Maybe 20 years.

Assuming it’s true, what are the implications?

Also, she grew up in a very safe and idyllic neighborhood. It was a city bus but likely a short trip lasting less than 10 minutes I suspect

Why do you care what the implications are of a bus ride 70 years ago? Really. What is the point?

Oh, you! You're never late!

Why does anyone post anything?

It's a ~mystery~.

-DP

This! Never late and always nasty. What is their point?

dp How is it "nasty" to ask a question? Ugh are you the "nasty" poster? Every time someone says something you don't like it is "nasty" That word is like moist...but worse.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This does seem exaggerated. But keep in mind a lot of the cultures where kids running errands, walking to school without adults, etc. is the norm, actually have a lot of collective adult supervision for the kids. I read a book about parenting in Germany where the American expat mom is horrified that 6-year-olds walk or bike to school but the reality is there are parents chaperoning from their porches the whole way there, and the kids are all in a group. Maybe it was something like that.

In my NZ childhood there was no neighborhood chaperoning. Things were just different back then. The only incident I had was encountering a roaming dog that scared me. My parents addressed that problem by getting us a dog.

My sister's kids were raised more recently in NZ. We were going to be late to pick up so she told them to just go to the neighboring playground for half an hour and wait for us. My kids' school in the DMV wouldn't have released my kids without an adult present.

[Anonymous]

I was walking to school alone just after I turned five and also taking the city bus, as we called it then. And I see five year olds alone on the metro. Hard to say if she took it at three. But traumatic? No.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Was a public bus or a school bus? I put my kid on a school bus at age 3 too, as did most people in our neighborhood.

+1

But any deeper psychological issue has nothing to do with the school bus. I highly doubt she was three years old alone on a public bus.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes, it could have happened. Remember that was an era where Shirley McLaine put her then two-year-old on an airplane alone to Japan. (Of course the flight attendants took care of her, but still.) Did it happen at exactly that age? Maybe, maybe not.

Here’s what we know: whether she was 3, 4 or 5 at the time, your mom was alone on the bus, and it scared her enough to leave a lasting impression. And any feelings of stress and abandonment can stay with a child and, yes, cause PTSD.

We all have baggage. Sometimes we know exactly where it comes from, sometimes not.

Are you a counselor looking for work?

And for a moderate fee she can uncover some repressed memories.