Will elementary kids miss anything by not going via school bus

[Anonymous]

Not at all necessary, but fine to use occasionally if its easier for you of course.

[Anonymous]

My (extroverted) kids have made some of their best friends on the bus. I'm sure they would have made different friends if they hadn't ridden the bus, but I am glad they do, and I'd say it is one of the highlights of their day.

[Anonymous]

pp here -just wanted to add that I'm an introvert and hate the networking with other parents part, but it has proven helpful to have that network over the years

[Anonymous]

I'd do the bus because it works for your schedule. If it does, awesome, give it a try. If it doesn't, dont' force it.

I would have your kids at least try it a handful of times so that they understand how it works in case you *need* them to take the bus.

We are assigned a bus that we never use because it's easier to walk (we have to cross a very busy road, which is why we have a bus, but I walk with my kids). But my kids go to after care, so there's no confusion after school on where to go for them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Does your neighborhood bus have room for your kids?

Yes. They have to. NP but that’s the rule - her kids are entitled to the bus even if it’s the last day of school and they have never ridden it before.

Uh, this is not universally true. Its not “The Rule.”

[Anonymous]

Possibly but kid dependent

[Anonymous]

My kids like the socialization but there have been bullying issues and some kids (even in ES) have phones. Who knows what they're looking at. Very little supervision.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Does your neighborhood bus have room for your kids?

Yes. They have to. NP but that’s the rule - her kids are entitled to the bus even if it’s the last day of school and they have never ridden it before.

Uh, this is not universally true. Its not “The Rule.”

It is in APS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Bullying!

+1

[Anonymous]

Older DC used to ride school bus, until after pandemic the bus was really delayed due to lack of drivers, also the backpack were heavy ( one DC has wrist injury few times) and I had 2 ES DCs so I started to drive them. Now both DCs are each in ES & MS and I let them ride school bus again. I don’t really join other parents since I don’t know what to say, but it’s ok. I was worrying about MS school bus safety but so far it’s fine no issues. Let your kids try and they probably will like it, or at least don’t dislike it for safety reasons. It will be easier for kids to transit to MS & HS bus since they may have found some bus buddies to ride together.

[Anonymous]

My kid did not ride the bus in elementary school because we lived too close. He didn't miss anything socially.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The bus could either be a good or a bad thing.

When I was a kid, buses were a vector for bullying. Mean kids rode in the back of the bus. I had to sit up front with the nerd kids to avoid issues.

A few minutes of talking to other friendly kids a day doesn't make any difference. But being around bullies is memorable.

It also matters how long the routes are. Long bus trips are annoying.

I also walked to school in elementary school (4 blocks). That was pretty ideal. But kids did harass and bully while walking to and from school.

I had to do car dropoffs and pickups K-12. My kids rarely observed any physical bullying the whole time they grew up. I attribute this to the fact that they were rarely unsupervised with classmates. Also there are more anti-bullying trainings now. And people don't think it's acceptable for boys to spar with their hands.

+1

MCPS buses are packed full, really full. My kid only rode in the afternoon. Did not miss that experience on days we'd do dropoff.

[Anonymous]

Mine didn’t ride the bus in elementary but started in middle school. I don’t see how it matters much either way. Do what is most convenient for your schedule.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Does your neighborhood bus have room for your kids?

Yes. They have to. NP but that’s the rule - her kids are entitled to the bus even if it’s the last day of school and they have never ridden it before.

Yes but that does not mean they keep empty seats for every kids that could possibly show up every day of the school year. If your bus is full and extra kids show up randomly (often happens on a delayed opening morning) and there are not enough seats, they need to call for an extra bus. It can take a very long time for it to arrive.

[Anonymous]

My kids got before and aftercare until this year and don’t feel like they missed anything. There’s not a lot of socializing happening in the 15-20 minutes they are on the bus. And not much socializing among parents at the bus stop (our neighborhood isn’t one with 1000 kids).