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

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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.

The kid wouldn't really be getting himself off to school alone & would not need to carry around a house key. His mom would be home while he got ready & to see he left for the bus stop on time. He would be driven to school by an adult (the school bus driver).He would not need a house key because his mother would still be home to let him for another 40 minutes should the bus not come.

All he would be doing alone would be walking half a block & waiting a few minutes for the bus on his own block. I'm 36 & honestly know not a single person my age who wouldn't have been allowed to do that as a 6-year-old.

[Anonymous]

A HUGE pet peeve of mine is when parents drive their children when there's bus service available. OP: you are never, ever, ever allowed to complain that the kiss and ride line is too long or too slow. You are part of the problem.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The kid wouldn't really be getting himself off to school alone & would not need to carry around a house key. His mom would be home while he got ready & to see he left for the bus stop on time. He would be driven to school by an adult (the school bus driver).He would not need a house key because his mother would still be home to let him for another 40 minutes should the bus not come.

All he would be doing alone would be walking half a block & waiting a few minutes for the bus on his own block. I'm 36 & honestly know not a single person my age who wouldn't have been allowed to do that as a 6-year-old.

I agree with this. Its not like the kid is going to be alone at the bus stop either. He'll likely be with a group of kids and probably some parents too. I'd say let him do it but try to find an older kid to buddy with or mom can stand outside and watch from a distance while the younger kid sleeps inside.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: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.

Out of curiosity what part of the country was this and are they still doing it that way? It sounds nice.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: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.

Out of curiosity what part of the country was this and are they still doing it that way? It sounds nice.

suburb of Chicago...it was a really great way to grow up. starting in 5th grade the kids in my class would all meet up (on foot or bike) around lunch time every Saturday in the little down town area and then be out and about all day and just knew to be home for dinner. From what i can tell this still happens but the town has significantly fewer SAHMs than when i was growing up so I think parents are a little more protective, don't know the other kids & their parents as well, and do more driving. (Just guessing, but I assume knowing there's a SAHM mom at nearly every house makes parents feel a bit more comfortable letting kids roam free from the hours of 3-6 after school). My dad says that the only families he knows moving into the town now are dual-income high earners.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:A HUGE pet peeve of mine is when parents drive their children when there's bus service available. OP: you are never, ever, ever allowed to complain that the kiss and ride line is too long or too slow. You are part of the problem.

+1000

This is a constant issue at our school and the biggest complainers at PTA meetings are people who could put their kids on a bus and avoid it all, but they always have an excuse for why they can't.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A HUGE pet peeve of mine is when parents drive their children when there's bus service available. OP: you are never, ever, ever allowed to complain that the kiss and ride line is too long or too slow. You are part of the problem.

+1000

This is a constant issue at our school and the biggest complainers at PTA meetings are people who could put their kids on a bus and avoid it all, but they always have an excuse for why they can't.

No, they don't have excuses, they have reasons.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Can't you just walk him to the stop?

I have a second younger child whose preschool starts at 9. I am not even sure what time the bus comes but I know it would be about 40 min earlier than when we need to be out the door.

I would never let a child that young do that. Not for many years.

Not for many years? Give me a break. Kids can be alone by 8yrs old.

[Anonymous]

6 might be fine depending on the kid. If you are insecure why not see if he can walk with other kids from the neighborhood? I remember my Mom would walk to school with me when I was 6, then towards the end of that year she was sure I knew the way and how to behave etc. and she let me walk alone. Once I was ready to do the same thing by bike (after a school lead bike safety class) I went by bike. I would do it the exact same way. Except bus instead of bike for you. Walk with him until you know he knows what to do. Then let him go alone. Sure it takes some extre effort but letting your child take that first important step towards independence is worth it IMO.

[Anonymous]

My early childhood was spent in a rural, Western Pennsylvania small town. It was idyllic, and everyone considered it to be a very safe place for kids. We played outside in our yards, in the woods, and at friends' houses, and everyone walked to and from the bus stops. Until:

When I was 7, my mom stopped allowing me to walk to the bus stop, from the bus stop, or even in the backyard alone because Cherrie Mahan (google her), an 8 year old girl at my tiny country school, was abducted after getting off the school bus. She never made it home from what should have been a two minute walk FROM HER BUS TO HER FRONT DOOR. After that, everything changed, and I remember the hushed conversations between my moms' friends about how they could make us safer, and their fear, and the stories on the playground. The little girl, by the way, was never found.

So I tend to opt for caution. They say that people who abduct children often know the child, and have the chance to figure out the child's schedule for that small window of time in which they can seize the child. Better safe and paranoid than sorry.

[Anonymous]

The reason people remember Cherrie Mahan (who was abducted in 1985) is because cases like hers are very, very, very, very, very, very, very rare.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The reason people remember Cherrie Mahan (who was abducted in 1985) is because cases like hers are very, very, very, very, very, very, very rare.

Exactly.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:A HUGE pet peeve of mine is when parents drive their children when there's bus service available. OP: you are never, ever, ever allowed to complain that the kiss and ride line is too long or too slow. You are part of the problem.

Why does it bother you that parents drop off their children at school?

You need a life.