Anonymous wrote:Seems like the OP should have looked into before school care before this. Consider this the cost of having a job. Perhaps you can find another parent to drive your kid to school 10 minutes later with her child. But as a parent, I wouldn't do this for your child (everyday for a school year) without compensation. So better to get before care at school.

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Anonymous wrote:Remember the good ole days when kids ages 5-11 actually had a backbone and normal parents raising them. When they walked to school or the bus stop on their own and then freely played on the school grounds and playground until the bell rang and we all ran in refreshed and ready to sit down for the day. If they lived too far away they took a city bus or the subway to school.

What a sad coddling world MCPS and you all are raising your kids. Structured before and after care. Walking or even DRIVING them to the bus stop (it may be too cold for Suzy to walk 100 yards!!) Driving instead of biking or walking and if you decide to walk, you better walk right next to them and warn them of all the dangers of this world. No using playground equipment once arriving at school. Sit in a straight line in the cafeteria for 10-15 minutes BEFORE sitting in school all day.

Just stop and realize. Kids are fat. Kids are anxious. Kids are oblivious. Kids have ADD/ADHD/anxiety and depression issues. Kids are dependent. Kids aren't critical thinking solvers. We are honestly ruining our kids by over-parenting and over structuring.

A 4th grader could easily walk or ride a bike to school, even crossing a road with a (gasp) traffic light!!! If it is too far then take a ride-on bus to school. There is no reason a mom should have to worry about this. And there is no reason a 4th grader needs paid before care for a 15 minute gap. If anything, drop her off a block before school and have her walk the rest of the way to make up the time difference. This is honestly no big deal.

So by your thinking 5-6 year olds should be allowed to do this too? Or only kids 4th grade and up? What about a 4th grader with a sibling in kindergarten? How would these kinds of exceptions go over with parents? That's why there is a blanket rule.

Anonymous wrote:Do all the low income parents get before school care? I doubt it, they are just not on this board commenting. Just drop her off a few times after school starts to see what happens.

Anonymous wrote:It seems that many parents have gotten used to school=child care. It is really not the school's fault if their hours of operation don't match with your work hours. School also does not run clear thru 6pm, which is why people come up with other arrangements to fill that time. Many of us even scale back our hours and our careers to make school time match work time. So people who are not impoverished don't get a lot of sympathy from me when they have to pay for before or aftercare.

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Anonymous wrote:

So by your thinking 5-6 year olds should be allowed to do this too? Or only kids 4th grade and up? What about a 4th grader with a sibling in kindergarten? How would these kinds of exceptions go over with parents? That's why there is a blanket rule.

According to MCPS, kindergartners are walkers. So yes, why not a kindergartner?

And kindergartners did used to walk to school by themselves, and play on the playground before school started, in the days before people's main consideration apparently became "Could somebody sue me about this?"

But that's the world we live in today. It sucks, but MCPS can't just ignore we live in an extremely litigious society in order to placate parents who don't want to have to pay for before care.

Yes, that's the world we live in. MCPS has to consider the possibility of getting sued. But I feel pretty ok about disregarding rules that MCPS only has because they might get sued.

Well, it may also be that they're interested in the safety of children, but who cares about that aspect, right?

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

So by your thinking 5-6 year olds should be allowed to do this too? Or only kids 4th grade and up? What about a 4th grader with a sibling in kindergarten? How would these kinds of exceptions go over with parents? That's why there is a blanket rule.

According to MCPS, kindergartners are walkers. So yes, why not a kindergartner?

And kindergartners did used to walk to school by themselves, and play on the playground before school started, in the days before people's main consideration apparently became "Could somebody sue me about this?"

But that's the world we live in today. It sucks, but MCPS can't just ignore we live in an extremely litigious society in order to placate parents who don't want to have to pay for before care.

Yes, that's the world we live in. MCPS has to consider the possibility of getting sued. But I feel pretty ok about disregarding rules that MCPS only has because they might get sued.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

So by your thinking 5-6 year olds should be allowed to do this too? Or only kids 4th grade and up? What about a 4th grader with a sibling in kindergarten? How would these kinds of exceptions go over with parents? That's why there is a blanket rule.

According to MCPS, kindergartners are walkers. So yes, why not a kindergartner?

And kindergartners did used to walk to school by themselves, and play on the playground before school started, in the days before people's main consideration apparently became "Could somebody sue me about this?"

But that's the world we live in today. It sucks, but MCPS can't just ignore we live in an extremely litigious society in order to placate parents who don't want to have to pay for before care.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

So by your thinking 5-6 year olds should be allowed to do this too? Or only kids 4th grade and up? What about a 4th grader with a sibling in kindergarten? How would these kinds of exceptions go over with parents? That's why there is a blanket rule.

According to MCPS, kindergartners are walkers. So yes, why not a kindergartner?

[/b]And kindergartners did used to walk to school by themselves, and play on the playground before school started, in the days before people's main consideration apparently became "Could somebody sue me about this?"[b]

Anonymous wrote:

So by your thinking 5-6 year olds should be allowed to do this too? Or only kids 4th grade and up? What about a 4th grader with a sibling in kindergarten? How would these kinds of exceptions go over with parents? That's why there is a blanket rule.

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Anonymous wrote:

Could not agree more and am willing to take legal action to make change.

So essentially you're willing to spend money fighting the current policy so that you won't have to spend money on before care and have assurance that your child is under adult supervision? Makes sense...

Anonymous wrote:what if...parents organized and volunteered to supervise the playground? at recess time i think there are ~100 kids and 2 adults...if a handful of parents each volunteered once a month this could take care of a lot families problems...

or is that not allowed?