Do your teens walk home from school?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:All of the HS students walk to our HS. It’s 0.75 miles from our house.

The MS is too far to walk, but all the kids wait at the bus stop and walk to and from by themselves at 11/12. Distance home is as much as your HS kid would walk.

Grandparents get over anxious which cracks me up considering how must of us were raised. Things have t gotten more samgerous except for shootings INSIDE of school.

Dangerous

Mollie Tibbetts attacker stalked her as she jogged through her community and waited for her to turn onto a more isolated stretch of country road before he got out, chased her down and attacked her.

Not all half mile stretches are the same.

I agree. Ours is a very urban area with tons of other kids, dog walkers, etc. it’s heavily populated which makes me more comfortable than a remote area. There is literally a steady stream of kids of all ages coming from the bus stop or walking to and from the HS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:All of the HS students walk to our HS. It’s 0.75 miles from our house.

The MS is too far to walk, but all the kids wait at the bus stop and walk to and from by themselves at 11/12. Distance home is as much as your HS kid would walk.

Grandparents get over anxious which cracks me up considering how must of us were raised. Things have t gotten more samgerous except for shootings INSIDE of school.

Dangerous

Mollie Tibbetts attacker stalked her as she jogged through her community and waited for her to turn onto a more isolated stretch of country road before he got out, chased her down and attacked her.

Not all half mile stretches are the same.

I agree. Ours is a very urban area with tons of other kids, dog walkers, etc. it’s heavily populated which makes me more comfortable than a remote area. There is literally a steady stream of kids of all ages coming from the bus stop or walking to and from the HS.

We live in a more far out suburb now. Plenty of neighbors home during the day, I can see the bus stop from my kitchen window. You can be more remote and still have that sense of safety.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:All of the HS students walk to our HS. It’s 0.75 miles from our house.

The MS is too far to walk, but all the kids wait at the bus stop and walk to and from by themselves at 11/12. Distance home is as much as your HS kid would walk.

Grandparents get over anxious which cracks me up considering how must of us were raised. Things have t gotten more samgerous except for shootings INSIDE of school.

Dangerous

Mollie Tibbetts attacker stalked her as she jogged through her community and waited for her to turn onto a more isolated stretch of country road before he got out, chased her down and attacked her.

Not all half mile stretches are the same.

it was also NIGHT TIME

[Anonymous]

My 7th grader walks 1.5 miles home from school. Alone. Do I like it? No. Do I have a choice? No.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:All of the HS students walk to our HS. It’s 0.75 miles from our house.

The MS is too far to walk, but all the kids wait at the bus stop and walk to and from by themselves at 11/12. Distance home is as much as your HS kid would walk.

Grandparents get over anxious which cracks me up considering how must of us were raised. Things have t gotten more samgerous except for shootings INSIDE of school.

Dangerous

Mollie Tibbetts attacker stalked her as she jogged through her community and waited for her to turn onto a more isolated stretch of country road before he got out, chased her down and attacked her.

Not all half mile stretches are the same.

No one is suggesting that nothing ever happens, but in most communities where DCUMers live, it’s generally going to be safe to walk .5 mile. And OP herself described a nice residential area. There is, of course, no way to be 100% safe all the time. But if we want kids to learn to assess the situation and the relative risk, we have to allow to actually take risks. Not to mention that we are continually conscripting kids’ lives, making them smaller and their experiences fewer. Don’t they deserve more?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:All of the HS students walk to our HS. It’s 0.75 miles from our house.

The MS is too far to walk, but all the kids wait at the bus stop and walk to and from by themselves at 11/12. Distance home is as much as your HS kid would walk.

Grandparents get over anxious which cracks me up considering how must of us were raised. Things have t gotten more samgerous except for shootings INSIDE of school.

Dangerous

Mollie Tibbetts attacker stalked her as she jogged through her community and waited for her to turn onto a more isolated stretch of country road before he got out, chased her down and attacked her.

Not all half mile stretches are the same.

it was also NIGHT TIME

It was the evening when more people were likely home and it was still light outside. Neighbors saw her jog by. The road she turned onto was just isolated with homes further apart and set back much further from the road. I actually suspect that Mollie was terrified and making a beeline for one of those remote houses when the guy stopped his truck and chased her down. But, of course, I can't know that for sure. We may never know exactly what happened.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:All of the HS students walk to our HS. It’s 0.75 miles from our house.

The MS is too far to walk, but all the kids wait at the bus stop and walk to and from by themselves at 11/12. Distance home is as much as your HS kid would walk.

Grandparents get over anxious which cracks me up considering how must of us were raised. Things have t gotten more samgerous except for shootings INSIDE of school.

Dangerous

Mollie Tibbetts attacker stalked her as she jogged through her community and waited for her to turn onto a more isolated stretch of country road before he got out, chased her down and attacked her.

Not all half mile stretches are the same.

No one is suggesting that nothing ever happens, but in most communities where DCUMers live, it’s generally going to be safe to walk .5 mile. And OP herself described a nice residential area. There is, of course, no way to be 100% safe all the time. But if we want kids to learn to assess the situation and the relative risk, we have to allow to actually take risks. Not to mention that we are continually conscripting kids’ lives, making them smaller and their experiences fewer. Don’t they deserve more?

Yes, the point is that we can talk to our kids about how to stay safe. One way to stay safe is to be aware of their surroundings. If a car is following them go to the nearest neighbor's door and knock, make noise, set off a car alarm if you have to. It's almost a guarantee that the creep will drive away - they don't want witnesses.

Of course, if you are in an isolated spot, with no one else around, you have much fewer options available to you.