If your child takes the school bus home from school, does an adult meet the child at the bus stop?

[Anonymous]

My son will start kindergarten this year. We have about 30 minutes to 1 hour of childcare that we need after school 4 days per week. I have a SAHM who can watch DS for the time but I don't think she wants to wait for him at the bus stop. Our house is less than a block away from the stop and our neighbor's house would be about 1.5 blocks.

Would you be ok with your 5 year old walking 1.5 blocks to your neighbor's house?

I don't feel comfortable with this. I think I may need to find someone else who will wait for DS at the bus stop daily and walk him home.

Another option may be to have an older kid on the bus walk my son to my neighbor's house daily and pay the kid. There are a few kids (~8-11 years old) that would be at the same bus stop. I have not explored this at all so it may or may not even be a viable option.

[Anonymous]

I think our bus takes the child back to school if an adult is not there to meet the kid.

[Anonymous]

Depending on where you are, I think kindergartners have to be met at the bus by an adult or older child. At least I think that is the case in Fairfax County.

[Anonymous]

I live in Frederick and an adult has to be at the bus stop to pick up a kindergartener. The concern I'd have about paying a kid to do it is I'd worry about if that kid got sick/didnt ride the bus that day. What would happen and when would you know about the older kid's not being able to walk your child to the caregiver's house?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My son will start kindergarten this year. We have about 30 minutes to 1 hour of childcare that we need after school 4 days per week. I have a SAHM who can watch DS for the time but I don't think she wants to wait for him at the bus stop. Our house is less than a block away from the stop and our neighbor's house would be about 1.5 blocks.

Would you be ok with your 5 year old walking 1.5 blocks to your neighbor's house?

I don't feel comfortable with this. I think I may need to find someone else who will wait for DS at the bus stop daily and walk him home.

Another option may be to have an older kid on the bus walk my son to my neighbor's house daily and pay the kid. There are a few kids (~8-11 years old) that would be at the same bus stop. I have not explored this at all so it may or may not even be a viable option.

There was a 52-page (or so) post on this a month (or so) ago.

[Anonymous]

Yes, in Fairfax County and Loudoun County, an adult is required to meet a K student at the bus. If the authorized adult is not there, the K student rides the bus back to school and must be picked up at the school by an authorized adult.

[Anonymous]

I think it will save you a lot of hassle if you just hired a regular babysitter to meet him at the bus.

[Anonymous]

The bus driver can't let a kindergartner off the bus without a guardian there to take him or her. You'll need to find someone who can be at the stop on time daily.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The bus driver can't let a kindergartner off the bus without a guardian there to take him or her. You'll need to find someone who can be at the stop on time daily.

Is this just for kindergarteners?

[Anonymous]

Oh hell no. If the bus is going to insist an adult be there, then the bus can damn well drive them to their houses.

Especially with kindergartners being like 8 and 9 years old these days, they really do NOT need to be met at the bus stop.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Especially with kindergartners being like 8 and 9 years old these days.

Citation please.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Oh hell no. If the bus is going to insist an adult be there, then the bus can damn well drive them to their houses.

Especially with kindergartners being like 8 and 9 years old these days, they really do NOT need to be met at the bus stop.

Ask to be added to the list of speakers at the next school board meeting and raise your concerns then. In the meantime you might want to work on your talking points.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The bus driver can't let a kindergartner off the bus without a guardian there to take him or her. You'll need to find someone who can be at the stop on time daily.

Is this just for kindergarteners?

Yes, in Fairfax County, this rule is only for K. They will let off a 1st grader or older without an adult present.

[Anonymous]

hell no I wouldn't let him walk on his own.

[Anonymous]

MCPS requires that someone be there to meet a kindergartener when they get off the bus. Even without that requirement, I would not have let any of my kids walk home alone from the bus at that age...and we are half a block from a bus stop, in a very safe neighborhood. It is just too young.