How old does a child have to be to wait for a school bus alone?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

It was a 1-mile walk, involving Georgia Avenue, on a Saturday (lower traffic than weekdays). They had practiced the walk before with their parents, and had done shorter walks on their own successfully. This hardly seems like bad parenting to me.

I think it was crazy parenting. Forget being hit by a car or being nabbed by a weirdo. If one of those kids had gotten injured at the playground or on the walk home, how would they have handled it? They were a freakin' mile from home with no trusted adult anywhere nearby. I guess these folks were just trusting that "the village" would step in if that happened? Well, the village has indeed stepped in...

40 years ago it would have been crazy parenting to think that a six-year-old and ten-year-old are too young to walk a mile home from the playground by themselves.

40 years ago kids played outside in their own yards and on their own streets. They didn't walk miles and miles away to play. They just didn't.

Really? In elementary school I would regularly walk a mile to a friend's house. I told my parents I was going and called when I got there. By the time I was in middle school I was allowed to walk the ~4 miles to town on my own. I ran on the XC team in high school and ran all around our town (5, 8, 10 mile runs) at all hours of the day/night. My 16 year old self was much more confident on those long runs since I'd been allowed to walk "miles and miles" to play when I was younger.

Yeah, me too. But we're talking about 6 year olds (kindergartners). I doubt that you were doing 8 mile runs as a kinder or walking miles alone to your friends' houses.

I was responding to the PP who said that 40 years ago kids didn't walk miles and miles to friend's houses, and I was indicating that as a "kid" (elementary school age) I did walk that far, and that learning to do so was important when I got older. But yes--no "miles and miles" of walking alone as a kindergartner!

The OP's six year old isn't walking miles and miles, though, or even a mile. He's walking half a block. I was pointing that these little experiences of independence build upon each other to foster independence in the older years.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Old enough to remember my childhood and young enough to remember it well I guess. Back in the day, Kindergarten was half day because we kinders still needed our naps and were viewed as not much more than babies. That is what I remember.

Yes, kindergarten was half a day, and afterwards the kindergarteners walked home unaccompanied by parents or older siblings.

Starting in first grade, students who lived nearby walked to school, walked home for lunch, walked back to school, and then walked home after school -- unaccompanied by parents, and unaccompanied by siblings unless they happened to have siblings at that school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

It was a 1-mile walk, involving Georgia Avenue, on a Saturday (lower traffic than weekdays). They had practiced the walk before with their parents, and had done shorter walks on their own successfully. This hardly seems like bad parenting to me.

I think it was crazy parenting. Forget being hit by a car or being nabbed by a weirdo. If one of those kids had gotten injured at the playground or on the walk home, how would they have handled it? They were a freakin' mile from home with no trusted adult anywhere nearby. I guess these folks were just trusting that "the village" would step in if that happened? Well, the village has indeed stepped in...

40 years ago it would have been crazy parenting to think that a six-year-old and ten-year-old are too young to walk a mile home from the playground by themselves.

40 years ago kids played outside in their own yards and on their own streets. They didn't walk miles and miles away to play. They just didn't.

Really? In elementary school I would regularly walk a mile to a friend's house. I told my parents I was going and called when I got there. By the time I was in middle school I was allowed to walk the ~4 miles to town on my own. I ran on the XC team in high school and ran all around our town (5, 8, 10 mile runs) at all hours of the day/night. My 16 year old self was much more confident on those long runs since I'd been allowed to walk "miles and miles" to play when I was younger.

Yeah, me too. But we're talking about 6 year olds (kindergartners). I doubt that you were doing 8 mile runs as a kinder or walking miles alone to your friends' houses.

I was responding to the PP who said that 40 years ago kids didn't walk miles and miles to friend's houses, and I was indicating that as a "kid" (elementary school age) I did walk that far, and that learning to do so was important when I got older. But yes--no "miles and miles" of walking alone as a kindergartner!

The OP's six year old isn't walking miles and miles, though, or even a mile. He's walking half a block. I was pointing that these little experiences of independence build upon each other to foster independence in the older years.

It's the fact that this particular child's very short walk takes him out of the view of his mother. It's not the distance as much as her not being able to see that he safely gets on the bus. I used to let my kinder run a half a block down to his friend's house while I stood in the yard and made sure that he got there safely. That was perfectly reasonable. I would not have felt comfortable allowing that same child to round the corner out of my view. And no way would I have allowed him to walk (wander) a mile or so away from home without adequate supervision. Once they were older, yeah, of course the leash has lengthened considerably.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Old enough to remember my childhood and young enough to remember it well I guess. Back in the day, Kindergarten was half day because we kinders still needed our naps and were viewed as not much more than babies. That is what I remember.

Yes, kindergarten was half a day, and afterwards the kindergarteners walked home unaccompanied by parents or older siblings.

Starting in first grade, students who lived nearby walked to school, walked home for lunch, walked back to school, and then walked home after school -- unaccompanied by parents, and unaccompanied by siblings unless they happened to have siblings at that school.

All I can say is that was not the case for me. I was picked up/dropped off at K and lunch was always served in the cafeteria although I would have loved to go home for lunch and I would have loved to have my own kids come home for lunch although they've always lunched in their cafeterias too! I'm late 40's how old are you?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

All I can say is that was not the case for me. I was picked up/dropped off at K and lunch was always served in the cafeteria although I would have loved to go home for lunch and I would have loved to have my own kids come home for lunch although they've always lunched in their cafeterias too! I'm late 40's how old are you?

47.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

All I can say is that was not the case for me. I was picked up/dropped off at K and lunch was always served in the cafeteria although I would have loved to go home for lunch and I would have loved to have my own kids come home for lunch although they've always lunched in their cafeterias too! I'm late 40's how old are you?

47.

I'm older than you. We must have had different experiences I guess.

[Anonymous]

I let my kindergartener walk around the corner by himself to the house his carpool leaves from. I'm sure some people in my neighborhood think I'm neglectful, but I'm comfortable with it and get text confirmation from the other parent when he arrives. This is not out of laziness - I sincerely believe that giving him small opportunities to be independent and resourceful will pay off in the long run for him. This is calculated parenting on my part: we practiced several times before he went solo, and we have ungoing conversations about how to handle various situations that might arise. The benefits I see in him taking more responsibility for himself far outweigh any perceived risks during the 4 minutes he is out of an adult's sight. I totally respect other people making different decisions for their own kid, but do not appreciate anyone interfering in my ability to parent the way I choose. I don't think it unreasonable at all to let my 6 year old walk to the bus-stop alone (assuming the school allowed kindergarteners to do so), but I would probably take him there myself the first few weeks until you and he both get a good sense of how the bus-stop thing works.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I let my kindergartener walk around the corner by himself to the house his carpool leaves from. I'm sure some people in my neighborhood think I'm neglectful, but I'm comfortable with it and get text confirmation from the other parent when he arrives. This is not out of laziness - I sincerely believe that giving him small opportunities to be independent and resourceful will pay off in the long run for him. This is calculated parenting on my part: we practiced several times before he went solo, and we have ungoing conversations about how to handle various situations that might arise. The benefits I see in him taking more responsibility for himself far outweigh any perceived risks during the 4 minutes he is out of an adult's sight. I totally respect other people making different decisions for their own kid, but do not appreciate anyone interfering in my ability to parent the way I choose. I don't think it unreasonable at all to let my 6 year old walk to the bus-stop alone (assuming the school allowed kindergarteners to do so), but I would probably take him there myself the first few weeks until you and he both get a good sense of how the bus-stop thing works.

Yes, I would have allowed that too. Not the same thing as allowing a kid to round a corner and wait unsupervised for a bus - in that case you either walk with your child or you drive them or you find a neighborhood parent who can confirm that the child made it to and on the bus safely. Or at least that is what I would want.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I let my kindergartener walk around the corner by himself to the house his carpool leaves from. I'm sure some people in my neighborhood think I'm neglectful, but I'm comfortable with it and get text confirmation from the other parent when he arrives. This is not out of laziness - I sincerely believe that giving him small opportunities to be independent and resourceful will pay off in the long run for him. This is calculated parenting on my part: we practiced several times before he went solo, and we have ungoing conversations about how to handle various situations that might arise. The benefits I see in him taking more responsibility for himself far outweigh any perceived risks during the 4 minutes he is out of an adult's sight. I totally respect other people making different decisions for their own kid, but do not appreciate anyone interfering in my ability to parent the way I choose. I don't think it unreasonable at all to let my 6 year old walk to the bus-stop alone (assuming the school allowed kindergarteners to do so), but I would probably take him there myself the first few weeks until you and he both get a good sense of how the bus-stop thing works.

You have another adult confirming that your child arrived. You have an adult waiting for *your specific* child to show up.

Very different than the OP's situation.

I'd allow what you're allowing in your situation.

No way I'd allow a child that young to walk out of my line of sight if the situation were different.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I let my kindergartener walk around the corner by himself to the house his carpool leaves from. I'm sure some people in my neighborhood think I'm neglectful, but I'm comfortable with it and get text confirmation from the other parent when he arrives. This is not out of laziness - I sincerely believe that giving him small opportunities to be independent and resourceful will pay off in the long run for him. This is calculated parenting on my part: we practiced several times before he went solo, and we have ungoing conversations about how to handle various situations that might arise. The benefits I see in him taking more responsibility for himself far outweigh any perceived risks during the 4 minutes he is out of an adult's sight. I totally respect other people making different decisions for their own kid, but do not appreciate anyone interfering in my ability to parent the way I choose. I don't think it unreasonable at all to let my 6 year old walk to the bus-stop alone (assuming the school allowed kindergarteners to do so), but I would probably take him there myself the first few weeks until you and he both get a good sense of how the bus-stop thing works.

You have another adult confirming that your child arrived. You have an adult waiting for *your specific* child to show up.

Very different than the OP's situation.

I'd allow what you're allowing in your situation.

No way I'd allow a child that young to walk out of my line of sight if the situation were different.

Exactly.

[Anonymous]

One of my kids had a friend who lived around the corner and whose parents both worked. My son would invite him over and he would call his parents to get permission to come and play at our house and once he got the go ahead he would come over (I would be waiting for him). When it was time for him to go home I would have my son walk him back to his house, make sure that he got into his house safely and then my son would come right back home (I was waiting for him). The boy's parents never asked us to do this but I did what I would have wanted done for my own child in that situation.

[Anonymous]

OP -- give your kid a firefly phone or whatever and have him call you when he gets on the bus safely. That's pretty much what we did, but for first grade not K.

All problems and objections solved.

[Anonymous]

I don't remember OP saying where she lives. This is what I found for FCPS. It appears that your K student can walk himself to the bus stop, but a parent needs to be there in the afternoon. FCPS does recommend that kids walk together.

Starting School for Kindergarten

Transportation

Students arrive at school by bus, by walking, or by private car (Kiss and Ride).

Bus

Bus service is provided for elementary-age children who live more than one mile from school, for secondary school children who live more than one and a half miles from school, and for children of any age where walking is unusually hazardous. Schedules for bus riders are mailed to each student or are available to parents at each school prior to the opening of school.

All kindergarten students who are eligible for bus transportation are transported by bus, along with students in other grades. Those kindergarten students who are not eligible for bus transportation will walk in the morning and afternoon.

All kindergarten students riding regular afternoon school buses are to be met at their bus stop by
•parent
•guardian
•student in 7th grade or higher

Bus riders should follow these guidelines:
• Refrain from crossing or playing on private property.
•Cooperate with the safety patrols and obey the bus drivers.
•Arrive at the bus stop five to ten minutes before the scheduled pickup time.
•Remain seated and talk quietly after boarding the bus.

Walking

Younger walkers are encouraged to travel to and from school with older children from their neighborhoods. The PTA student directory available in the school office is a resource should parents need to contact neighborhood families. At some schools, crossing guards help walkers at intersections near the school. Parents may also meet their children at the school at dismissal time to walk home with them.

Walking students are encouraged to use designated paths or sidewalks where safety patrols are stationed

[Anonymous]

I am 30 and starting in 1st grade I walked to school, walked home for lunch and back to school, and then walked home again at the end of the day. starting in 3rd grade you had to do a bike safety thing and pass to be able to ride your bike to school. Safe, high SES neighborhood. I think maybe in 1/2 day kindergarden my mom walked me with my younger brother in a stroller, or maybe drove me, I don't remember.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm well above 40 and I'm all for giving kids some independence. But 6? That's still a little kid. Just because they *can* do something doesn't mean that they are *ready* to do something. If your kinder trips and skins his knee on the walk to the bus stop. if a strange dog scares him, if a big kid steals his lunch...his confidence in handling situations all by himself could be shaken forever. That may sound dramatic, but what seems like a minor thing to an adult can seem very scary to a 50 pound kid.

I've volunteered in kinder/first grade classes and I met a lot of super bright and funny little kids (my own kids were pretty capable at that age and they were tall/big for their age too), but none of them were ready to fend for themselves just yet. And I never met a parent who expected them to...

If you're well above 40, then when you were six, almost all six-year-olds were ready to do it. What has changed?

I disagree that most kids were getting themselves off to school and carrying around house keys when they were in Kinder. It is possible that some of you are remembering walking to school or waiting at the bus stop with older siblings and/or friends. But even back in the day 6 year olds were generally not walking the neighborhood all by themselves.