How old were your kids when they could wake up and get to the bus stop on their own?

[Anonymous]

I’m a soon-to-be-single mom, and worried about how mornings are going to work. I have to be at work by 8. Next year my son starts middle school and the bus comes at 6:40, I can make sure he gets there on time. But my daughter is still in elementary and is not a natural early riser and I think we’ll away from being able to get up and ready on her own. What is a reasonable expectation for this and how did you get there? Staying home in the morning until 8:30 is not an option, and morning SACC not much better.

I have some extra bedrooms in my house and thinking about finding a female college student who can stay here for free in exchange for helping DD in the morning and some very few, very light housekeeping duties.
Anyone go this route? We’ve had an au pair before and she was wonderful, but I don’t think it would be worth the expense at this point since we only need a little help.

[Anonymous]

My child was 8 when she could do this. We set an alarm
for wake up and an alarm for when you leave the house. She got up dressed, made breakfast, made her lunch, and left on time. If she didn’t handle this she would not get to school on time and she knew this. Incidentally she was never late. No issues at all.

However I was in the house at the time. I was just completely indisposed.

[Anonymous]

Mine were in sixth grade. But if I got them up they could get themselves ready and get themselves to school on time by third grade.

[Anonymous]

How long is your morning SACC waitlist? I have it for peace of mind for mine. My daughter gets distracted and I worry too much she’d either fall back asleep or lose track of time in the house. She will be dropped off at 7am for SACC for all of elementary school. Kids are different. My other child would have been fine getting up and ready by 5th grade. I also have an early job.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My child was 8 when she could do this. We set an alarm
for wake up and an alarm for when you leave the house. She got up dressed, made breakfast, made her lunch, and left on time. If she didn’t handle this she would not get to school on time and she knew this. Incidentally she was never late. No issues at all.

However I was in the house at the time. I was just completely indisposed.

Come on now. There is a huge difference between someone being in the house and no one being in the house.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My child was 8 when she could do this. We set an alarm
for wake up and an alarm for when you leave the house. She got up dressed, made breakfast, made her lunch, and left on time. If she didn’t handle this she would not get to school on time and she knew this. Incidentally she was never late. No issues at all.

However I was in the house at the time. I was just completely indisposed.

Come on now. There is a huge difference between someone being in the house and no one being in the house.

Which is why I added the disclaimer. But for all intents and purposes I was not in the house. Only if there were an emergency would I intervene.

[Anonymous]

What time do you have to leave the house, and what time does your daughter have to leave the house?

Do they get breakfast in before-care?

[Anonymous]

Many middle schoolers can. It helps if your practice a few weeks prior to the real thing.

[Anonymous]

Grade 4, but I did have lunches packed and breakfast prepped. Backpacks were done and ready to go the night before.

[Anonymous]

I’ll let you know. Mine’s 15 and I still have to roust him out of bed after two alarms in his bedroom! Once he’s physically out of bed AND in the bathroom, we’re good to go. It’s just getting him there - and this includes one alarm where he has to get out of bed to turn it off (assuming he hears it!).

[Anonymous]

4th grade. If your family dynamics are changing, this is a good time to change the responsibilities of the kids. They are getting older and able to take on more responsibility, and if there is just one primary adult, there are some things the kids will need to do for themselves and for the family.

[Anonymous]

That is a sad way to start the day. I say this as a single mom who has had to rush kids out the door for years. If you have the option of a college student staying with you, definitely go that route.

One of my kids could reliably get out the door by the beginning of 9th grade -- alarm, making lunch, etc. I would not expect an elementary school kid to do this. Even if they could, they could burn down the house, get abducted, leave the door unlocked, forget their key, etc. I realize it's from necessity but keep in mind that they still deserve to be taken care of.

Again, single mom myself who has turned down plenty of job options so I could be there at both ends of the day for my kids. They deserve it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:That is a sad way to start the day. I say this as a single mom who has had to rush kids out the door for years. If you have the option of a college student staying with you, definitely go that route.

One of my kids could reliably get out the door by the beginning of 9th grade -- alarm, making lunch, etc. I would not expect an elementary school kid to do this. Even if they could, they could burn down the house, get abducted, leave the door unlocked, forget their key, etc. I realize it's from necessity but keep in mind that they still deserve to be taken care of.

Again, single mom myself who has turned down plenty of job options so I could be there at both ends of the day for my kids. They deserve it.

NP, wow, way to make OP feel horrible. Work on your empathy.

OP, my oldest asked to do this in 4th grade. She preferred the extra time to get ready and the quiet house to before care. Our bus stop is right by our house. I used cameras and Ring to make sure it was going well ans we never had any issues. She was never late, never dressed inappropriately for the weather, etc. She also waited until other parents showed up at the bus stop before exiting our house.

[Anonymous]

Oh and another thing. We installed a keyless entry on our door.

[Anonymous]

It’s so kid-dependent I’m not sure how the experiences of others would help. Also, kids do often rise to the occasion when needed. I bet most parents on this board would think their kids couldn’t be latchkey kids at the ages where our generation did that regularly. I’d try it and see how it worked before deciding it’s not possible.