Is it common for middle schoolers to be home by themselves in the mornings?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It doesn't seem crazy to me (though I'm not sure my 6th grade ds would be up to it), but what happens if the daughter wakes up and is sick. Does she just stay alone?

OP here. It doesn't seem crazy to me either, but it certainly seems less than desirable.

Maybe for your kids, it is undesirable. This is an expensive area, with intense jobs so people have to work. People make choices/trade offs that work for their families. By middle school it's fine if the kids take some responsibility. Stop being so judgmental and MYOB.

Oh dear God relax! I'm not "passing judgement" and FYI. She is very nervous about how this is going to go over. I'm just wondering if it's common for middle schoolers to be in a situation where if they don't make the bus they are basically on a situation where they have to stay home.

Yeah, it's normal. And the solution is - she can not miss the bus. The parents need to make sure that she has an alarm clock and if it was me I would give her a wake up call using a house phone that she literally had to get out of bed to answer.

On the rare occasion where the kid does miss the bus, one of the parents can high tail it home to take her to school. She'll probably miss a class or two but not the whole day.

If the bus proves to be unreliable transportation for whatever reason then the parents have to look into a carpool situation. Maybe pay the neighbor to take her to school in the morning. They could even get her up early and drop her off at the neighbor's house on their way to work.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My neighbor does this. He missed the bus once and asked me to drive him. His mom needs to work to pay the bills and feed her family. I work at home a few days a week so it was not a big deal.

My son would take the bus home and be alone in the afternoon some times. I don't see why he couldn't do it in the am.

If he were sick I would have him call me and I would drive home. I have left my sick middle schooler at home by himself.

You are a great neighbor!

I would have no problem doing this for a neighbor every now and again either. In fact, I have done similar things for neighbors. I wouldn't want the kid to be using me as their free taxi service but helping out once in a blue moon would not be an issue at all. That's what neighbors do.

[Anonymous]

My kids have been doing this since fourth grade. Missing the bus has never been an option and none of them ever has. If they miss the bus, they are required to walk to school, which was NBD for ES or HS because they were close enough. But the MS would have been tough. As I said, it wasn't an option and it never happened.

[Anonymous]

No, it not common. The ones I know at that age have their parents at home, or they go to school early for before school programs.

[Anonymous]

our sixth grade girl is home alone from 4:30-6:30ish. No difference if it was morning routine. It's not a big deal, and in fact, I view it as a positive small step in creating maturity, responsibility, and independence.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Über, taxi, neighbors these are all back up plans. Not a big deal. My kids have been getting up, lunches packed, door locked since the youngest were in 2nd/oldest in 5th. I'm usually in the shower or still sleeping when they are getting ready for the day. Sometimes I'm up and already ready and will make their lunches, walk them to the bus, etc. Independence is a beautiful thing!

You do realize this is different from being out the door before they wake up?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It doesn't seem crazy to me (though I'm not sure my 6th grade ds would be up to it), but what happens if the daughter wakes up and is sick. Does she just stay alone?

OP here. It doesn't seem crazy to me either, but it certainly seems less than desirable.

What is the big deal, most middle school kids take an Advil and go back to sleep, maybe eat some Oodles of Noodles.

The big deal is that they don't wake up in time to catch the bus.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:our sixth grade girl is home alone from 4:30-6:30ish. No difference if it was morning routine. It's not a big deal, and in fact, I view it as a positive small step in creating maturity, responsibility, and independence.

Um yes, there is a difference. The difference is not being able to get to school if she misses the bus.

[Anonymous]

I suppose your child will never be alone in the morning during HS. That is weird. MS is a great time to promote maturity, choice and independence.

[Anonymous]

My kids do this. If they miss the bus, they have $20 of emergency money and they would get a cab. Neither has ever missed the bus. I do wake them up when I leave to make sure they don't over sleep. The older one wakes up to her alarm anyway before that. They are 6th and 9th grade and have been doing this for 2 years. No problems yet.

[Anonymous]

I did this. It might not have started until 7th grade though. And my mom was home when I got up, but left before me. Not a big deal at all. I also came home to an empty house every day. I didn't do a single drug, just my homework...

[Anonymous]

I started getting myself to school in 4th grade. It's really not a big deal. I never "missed," the bus, but once in HS, the bus drove by me and a few other kids without stopping to pick us up. We called another kid's mom and she drove us to school. If my kid overslept and missed the bus, he'd pay for his own cab/uber or he'd walk the 3 miles to school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My kids do this. If they miss the bus, they have $20 of emergency money and they would get a cab. Neither has ever missed the bus. I do wake them up when I leave to make sure they don't over sleep. The older one wakes up to her alarm anyway before that. They are 6th and 9th grade and have been doing this for 2 years. No problems yet.

Are cabs allowed to transport children without an adult?

[Anonymous]

Yes

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No, it not common. The ones I know at that age have their parents at home, or they go to school early for before school programs.

Middle schools have before school programs?

I know several middle schoolers who are currently home by themselves before school & I got myself off to school starting at age 9.