Anonymous
06/03/2016 19:03
Subject: Latchkey kid: Can I ask 10 year old to text me when he gets on the bus or home?
Anonymous wrote:We are new to this latch key situation. 10 year old has a key and walks to and from the bus stop while I am at or on my way to work. Will be home alone 1 hour after school. Is it OK to ask my kid to text me once he has gotten on the bus in the morning and when he gets home at night? Since I am leaving for work when he leaves the house for school, I need to know immediately if he has missed the bus so I can circle back to drive him. There are no other neighbors home to drive him, etc. Having the text helps me relax and feel free to stay a little longer at work, run and errand etc. It helps if I know he is safely home or on the bus. How will this go over with the other kids on the bus in middle school? Someone posted previously they feel sorry for kids who have to text their parents when they get on the bus. This never occurred to me. The texting seems so practical and helpful. Thank you.
Hey, I have a 12 year old that tends to be a bit forgetful so I got a Piper home security device for about $300, it detects motion and when the door opens. I also but Life360 on her phone and set up home and school as her two locations and it lets me know when she checks into both places.
Anonymous
06/03/2016 14:50
Subject: Re:Latchkey kid: Can I ask 10 year old to text me when he gets on the bus or home?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:OP here. No smart phone yet. Just tracfone for texting and calling so aps will not work. But great idea!
If you're in MCPS, you have to get the school's permission to have the phone at school.
no you don't. My 5th grader has been walking to school all year. Her phone cannot be with her during the day. The school would like it off. We compromised at turning off the ringer and any other notification because through Kajeet I get an automatic phone locate at 9am to make sure she is at school. I get another one at 4pm to make sure she is home. She also calls me when she gets home.
Sadly, the flaw in this system is she often keeps the phone in silent mode and doesn't notice I texted or called, if I need to get her. And, because the phone is highly useless to her at school, she often does not take it with her. So, the locate shows me the phone is at home when I know she is at school.
10 y.o. is just fine for this. It's been great for my daughter, giving her a sense of control.
Anonymous
06/03/2016 14:44
Subject: Latchkey kid: Can I ask 10 year old to text me when he gets on the bus or home?
I was a latch-key kid starting at 10 with my 8 year old brother...during the entire summer, as well. (We had no money for camps or anything extra) When we got off the bus, I called my mom and then I would start dinner.
Anonymous
06/03/2016 14:40
Subject: Latchkey kid: Can I ask 10 year old to text me when he gets on the bus or home?
I make my kids do this. I also remind them to make sure their phones are with them, charged and the volume is on at times when they will be away from me (on bus, etc) so they won't miss a text or call from me. And I check to make sure, since if I don't check, they will head out to door with an uncharged phone or the sound muted, and I will freak out if I don't hear from them or they don't respond.
Anonymous
06/03/2016 14:37
Subject: Re:Latchkey kid: Can I ask 10 year old to text me when he gets on the bus or home?
Anonymous wrote:OP here. No smart phone yet. Just tracfone for texting and calling so aps will not work. But great idea!
When my son first started walking home by himself, I told him to call me from home. He had a phone for emergencies, but I preferred to know that he was home. He can call from anywhere with a cell. Wasn't so worried about it at that age but more when he was older.
Anonymous
06/03/2016 13:10
Subject: Re:Latchkey kid: Can I ask 10 year old to text me when he gets on the bus or home?
We plan to put a video camera on the house to be able to see our dd come and go from the house and that's what our neighbors do, so a text is fine.
Anonymous
06/03/2016 13:02
Subject: Latchkey kid: Can I ask 10 year old to text me when he gets on the bus or home?
He's your child. You don't "ask" him to do things. You TELL him to do things.
FWIW, when my DD was ten and taking the train to school she had to call me just before she walked into the school.
FWIW, when my DD was ten and taking the train to school she had to call me just before she walked into the school.
Anonymous
06/03/2016 12:58
Subject: Re:Latchkey kid: Can I ask 10 year old to text me when he gets on the bus or home?
Anonymous wrote:OP here. No smart phone yet. Just tracfone for texting and calling so aps will not work. But great idea!
If you're in MCPS, you have to get the school's permission to have the phone at school.
Anonymous
06/03/2016 12:57
Subject: Latchkey kid: Can I ask 10 year old to text me when he gets on the bus or home?
Yep, texting an affirmative "I'm home safely." sort of message works. When I started doing this with DS, I put the fear of God in him by telling him that if I didn't get this or a call, the cops were getting called.
Anonymous
06/03/2016 12:47
Subject: Latchkey kid: Can I ask 10 year old to text me when he gets on the bus or home?
Yes, still ask my 16y son to do this. It's a peace of mind.
Anonymous
06/03/2016 12:07
Subject: Latchkey kid: Can I ask 10 year old to text me when he gets on the bus or home?
yes when he gets home. it will be harder to get compliance when he gets on the bus and is surrounded by friends. school will call if he doesn't show up.
Anonymous
06/03/2016 11:40
Subject: Latchkey kid: Can I ask 10 year old to text me when he gets on the bus or home?
We use find my friends all the time.
Anonymous
06/03/2016 11:00
Subject: Re:Latchkey kid: Can I ask 10 year old to text me when he gets on the bus or home?
OP here. No smart phone yet. Just tracfone for texting and calling so aps will not work. But great idea!
Anonymous
06/03/2016 10:46
Subject: Re:Latchkey kid: Can I ask 10 year old to text me when he gets on the bus or home?
I track my kid on find my iPhone, and I also expect her to call/text me when she gets on the bus, and when she gets home. She's 11, and she occasionally forgets, and then I call her to remind her WHY she has the phone in the first place. 
Anonymous
06/03/2016 10:34
Subject: Latchkey kid: Can I ask 10 year old to text me when he gets on the bus or home?