Would you feel comfortable with your 7th grade DD...

[Anonymous]

Waiting for a ride outside her school by herself for 30 minutes (after school has let out)?

She attends a public school that’s not in our area so we don’t have bus service (long story). I have to leave work to pick her up by 3pm, which will work every day but Wednesdays, when I won’t be able to get to her until 3:30pm. This would mean DD (who turns 13 in November) would wait for me in front of the school for 30 minutes after school buses have left. There’s a bench and it’s under cover in case there’s rain or inclement weather.

She would sit and read or look at her phone until I pick her up. I would probably call her from my car and keep her on speaker phone while I drive to her.
I’d have to come up with a plan B when it’s freezing outside.

Would you feel comfortable with this?

[Anonymous]

Just to add...it makes me very uneasy, even though DD will be 13 soon, but I tend to be overprotective.

[Anonymous]

Why can't she wait in the library that day?

[Anonymous]

Agree on waiting in the library or maybe going to a teacher's class for extra help. Is there a store or coffee shop nearby? What happens if it rains or it's cold? Is the street deserted or active?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why can't she wait in the library that day?

It is not common for libraries to be open after school now. OP, is that an option?

I was going to suggest her walking to something nearby. It is common in my area for kids to walk to the closest coffee shop or fast food place - sometimes it is a starbucks, sometimes a mcdonald's.

[Anonymous]

Yes. I have dropped my 4th grader off 30 minutes early for the bus which she waits for at the neighborhood elementary school. I try not to do it often, but if I have an earlier than usual meeting, she does it. There are teachers and admin people around coming to the school and she can ask the office for help if the bus is super late.

I would be fine with 30 minutes after school. There are adults she knows still in the building if she needs help. Kids that age walk home from school alone all the time. I don’t see the problem at all.

[Anonymous]

Yes, I would. She has a phone.

[Anonymous]

OP, most likely the school office is open. She could wait right in front of the school or in the office. Our school office is open until 4 but some are open until 4:30. I have been in so many middle schools and they all have chairs for waiting. She just needs to be sit quietly and not be loud.

[Anonymous]

This wouldn't bother me in the least. However, would it be possible for her to stay in the office until it was time for her to leave?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, most likely the school office is open. She could wait right in front of the school or in the office. Our school office is open until 4 but some are open until 4:30. I have been in so many middle schools and they all have chairs for waiting. She just needs to be sit quietly and not be loud.

(And remind her that anything she hears is not her info to repeat - sometimes parents are coming in for meetings, who is going for a meeting is not her business.)

[Anonymous]

Totally fine. Although I would make my kid walk for the 30 minutes rather than just hang out in front of the school, because 1. exercise and 2. helps foster independence and 3. she would just be on her phone the whole time, which she already spends too much time on (IMO). So I would meet her wherever there was a convenient spot about 30 minutes on her way home from school.

[Anonymous]

Can she ride a school bus and get off at the stops that near library or shopping center? My DS used to do this. He bought some food and waited until I picked him up at small restaurant/Starbucks.

[Anonymous]

No, partly safety, partly cold. I would find another way or send her to her local school.

[Anonymous]

Why can't she stay in the office or hang out inside?
Not for safety but for cold in the winter.
I would be fine with it anyway. She should bring a warm coat, mittens, hat, etc if there's a risk she has to wait outside in winter. Well covered, there's no hypothermia risk.
I'm not even going to address the safety concerns. They are non-existent.

[Anonymous]

I don’t see a safety concern at all- school will still have tons of students/staff parents around for awhile after dismissal.

I’d say it isn’t completely ideal (especially in poor weather) but it isn’t a huge deal. If I were you I’d probably do this temporarily (because it’s fine) while being in the lookout for any alternatives (catching a ride with a friend, etc) if you can. Id be hoping to find a carpool which would be ideal for you since you are available to pickup on the other days