Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A middle school-aged child is perfectly capable of coming home band watching TV for a couple hours.

They're also perfectly capable of doing other stuff they shouldn't be doing when they are home alone.

OP knows her kids. We shouldn’t judge if they need supervision. There’s a lot of criticism on this board of working class parents whose MS kids are unsupervised after school.

Anonymous wrote:A middle school-aged child is perfectly capable of coming home and watching TV for a couple hours.

Orrrr..... doing their chores and setting the table for dinner for when parents arrive home?! I did that from age 9 and so do my kids.

Op if you post the city you will get more specific help. Theres an afterschool club at our school through the city. They take them on a bus to the youth center. It is very affordable.

Anonymous wrote:

This is op. My kid is special needs. Even though he needs minimal support at school with IEP, I don't know if I trust him walk home from school by himself. He will be fine once he is at home because he can watch screen for hours. If there are options, I want him stay at school after school clubs, but I doubt they have it available for Mon to Fri till 5:30pm or 6pm. I also don't mind if he get bused to somewhere doing activities with some supervision Mon to Fri. I don't want him randomly walking on the street or get bullied. He has no friends.

I have not given him a phone yet because I don't trust him on social media or messages.


I would really recommend a basic phone like a flip phone in this case. You can monitor it.

Gabb Wireless offers a phone that is for talk/basic texting only. No social media, no photos in texts.

My DS had a gizmo watch in late elementary and early middle. It was $5 a month through Verizon. It was perfect for texting. You can only text through pre-approved numbers plugged in on the app. Highly recommend that. The gps was a little wonky but if you don’t really need that then it’s a really good alternative to a phone.

Those of you advising high school or college age kids to babysit her son: STOP. It's not a good idea unless she KNOWS that person intimately. High school and college age kids are notoriously unreliable and not always the best at communicating. Furthermore, to my point about the rec center, older kids can influence your kid in harmful and negative ways without you knowing.

I'm the poster who warned about the rec centers and my family member who was influenced negatively by the older boys at the rec center also was influenced negatively by HS seniors and college freshmen who were part of a college prep mentoring program for underclassmen. I was stunned that this was happening right under MCPS's nose, but these seniors and college freshmen were helping kids skip school, buy drugs and pulling them into fights with other kids for their amusement and entertainment.

You need an ADULT, who's over 21 and who is a reliable caregiver for your son with special needs. Do not outsource this to other older kids you don't know. It's not safe.

OP,

Try the SN board here, lots of parents have no idea what it's like to parent a kid other than their own and those of friends.

Years ago we were seeking similar options for 6th grade. Many middle schools have after school programming, though not M-F and late. We also hired a PT person a few times a week.

High school or college age kid to pick him up and bring him home, take to activities etc. I didn't have any special needs but had this through at least part of middle school because both parents worked until after 5 and I had activities I couldn't always walk to and a younger sibling so that was part of it but still, it was helpful.

When my kids were in MS, they were in fee-based afterschool clubs and activities from M-F till 6 pm.

My kids did not need aftercare per se, but the clubs provided that.

Is there a local martial arts studio nearby that might provide care?

If your child has special needs and has no friends, there's a lot to unpack here because it sounds like he needs extra care than a normal kid his age.

This is op. My kid is special needs. Even though he needs minimal support at school with IEP, I don't know if I trust him walk home from school by himself. He will be fine once he is at home because he can watch screen for hours. If there are options, I want him stay at school after school clubs, but I doubt they have it available for Mon to Fri till 5:30pm or 6pm. I also don't mind if he get bused to somewhere doing activities with some supervision Mon to Fri. I don't want him randomly walking on the street or get bullied. He has no friends.

I have not given him a phone yet because I don't trust him on social media or messages.


I would really recommend a basic phone like a flip phone in this case. You can monitor it.

Gabb Wireless offers a phone that is for talk/basic texting only. No social media, no photos in texts.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Be careful with the MoCo rec centers. A lot of delinquents hang out there. We had a family member who used to go to the rec center after school to hang out for the same reason the OP posted. Next thing we know, his personality changed and he started getting into street life.

Come to find out much later, that the older boys at the rec center pushed him to do weed and pulled him into all kinds of horrendous street activity.

OP, I would recommend looking to your network. Start with extended family, and if that's not an option, neighbors.

which rec center? My 11yo goes to Praisner on Fridays sometimes for their youth basketball time. He loves it. Walks there with a friend and I walk and meet them. There are plenty of staff members and I’ve never seen anything like this happening.

It was the White Oak rec center.

I'd hire a high school kid to drive him home, and that person could also drive him to activities. There are a ton of activities for MSers, but kid specific and location-specific. If the driving seems to be working well, then you could as the HS kid to stay and do a few activities (either homework help or else home-help like chopping vegetables or whatnot for dinner prep when you get home). That will give your son both a ride home and some companionship.

Once school begins, most MSs have a lot of after school activities, but you can't use them for childcare-- they don't occur everyday, don't occur til the time you get home, get canceled sometimes, etc. But a good option for keeping him occupied.

Anonymous wrote:Private school. Sports, clubs, and activities are all late in the day and run after school. These are mandatory at the school unless the kid opts for PE, which not many kids do. The PE kids are typically the ones that are highly competitive at a sport not offered at the middle school level, e.g., gymnastics, ballet, martial arts, etc.

I pick my daughter up at 5; she gets dropped off at 720.

Sir, this is the public school forum.

The after care at the elementary school my kids went to was open for 6th graders. A few kids did it every year. Other than that, I would say after school clubs or county/local rec centers.