Our sixth graded walks to school. A half mile away. By herself.

My 6th grader rides a public transportation bus to and from school by herself. But yes, she walks on busy urban streets to get to the bus stop and the place is quite busy even at 7:30 am.
But even in a sleepy suburban neighborhood, the chances of anything bad happening (i.e. kidnapping by a stranger) are very very slim. I would let her wait a couple of minutes at the bus stop, if she is comfortable with that.

Anonymous wrote:She is the only middle schooler on our street, and we live in a safe neighborhood. The bus stop is not on a busy road.

I will be honest. No I wouldn't if I were in this situation. And we live in a very safe HHI neighborhood.

Anonymous wrote:I prefer kids to have at least one buddy when they are walking or waiting for the bus. I would not be comfortable having my daughter wait for the bus alone.

This.
And the reality is most kids want someone else there too. Heck even as an adult, I would rather wait with someone else at the bus stop than by myself.
Can you drive her to the next closest stop and have her wait there?

I prefer kids to have at least one buddy when they are walking or waiting for the bus. I would not be comfortable having my daughter wait for the bus alone.

Anonymous wrote:Yes. Most sixth graders walk to school by themselves here in my Arlington neighborhood.

+1 I walked a mile in 6th grade.

Get her a Life Alert necklace if you're nervous.

Anonymous wrote:Call me crazy, but I would wait with her. I enjoy the time at the bus stop in the morning with my 5th grader. It's just the two of us and we have great conversations because there are no distractions.

I was the last person on earth my son wanted at the bus stop. I started waiting elsewhere in third grade. By fifth, I left for the metro before the bus came.

OP - I think I would just drop her off at school in the middle of winter when it would be dark and cold and during any kind of bad weather such as rain or when there has been snow and the bus is likely to be behind schedule. In nice fall and spring weather when there is early morning light, fine for her to walk and wait. Just use common sense.

On the other hand, I would really have to think about having a 3rd grade boy walk to school alone in DC..

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Of course. I let my third grader walk to school on her on. So do most people in the neighborhood.

Yes, but presumably there are other kids around. In this case, no one else would be around.

Whatever. It is crazy paranoia not to allow an 11 year old to stand outside for a few minutes.

I am trying to imagine a close-in suburb where there would be literally nobody else around or awake at 7 am, but I'm not succeeding. Could you help, please, OP?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Of course. I let my third grader walk to school on her on. So do most people in the neighborhood.

Yes, but presumably there are other kids around. In this case, no one else would be around.

Whatever. It is crazy paranoia not to allow an 11 year old to stand outside for a few minutes.

Nope. I let my daughters walk home from the bus alone, but not walk there by themselves. I do tend to be overprotective, but I'm not the only one. At my bus stop there are a group of middle school and high school kids. Virtually all, if not all, are brought by a parent who then waits with them. Our neighborhood is not wealthy, but it's no slum either, comfortably middle class. I didn't like the idea of my girls waiting in the dark, especially on a regular schedule that somebody could anticipate.

An additional factor is the cold. Sometimes in inclement weather the bus runs late, and once school was called off with short notice. I want to make sure my kids aren't stranded in freezing temperatures.

Hey OP, I go to the bus stop with my sixth-grade girl. She's often the only one there, though there are two other kids who sometimes ride the bus. Our neighborhood is apartments and townhouses, low crime in most ways, but packed with creeps and passing-through types. Registered sex offenders move in and out regularly. I can't feel peace of mind having my daughter wait alone for the bus. She enjoys the company and chatting with me, luckily.

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Those of you talking about elementary schoolers are not making relevant comments. For many months of the school year it is pitch black when my middle schooler waits for the bus. I think it is up to your DD. If she feels comfortable standing alone in the dark, I'd let her. I have two kids waiting for the bus so they are out there together. If it was just one, I might think twice.

This is absurd - do you live in an area with no electricity and cars with no lights? Or are there no cars driving on the adjacent road? Do bad things only happen in the dark? Or do you have no idea what pitch black means?

I'm not sure what you are getting at. It is a quiet street. No streetlights, the houses don't have their lights on yet and there are almost no cars on the road at 7 when the bus comes. We are in the close-in burbs, not the city.

I think there is some hyperbole here - it is only dark at 7AM two months of the year here:

http://www.timeanddate.com/sun/usa/washington-dc

And the sky starts to light up about 20 minutes before sunrise.

There is nothing even resembling pitch black inside the beltway because of atmospheric reflection so even if you do live in a close in suburb that for some odd reason has no streetlights pitch black is just not the condition your child is waiting for the bus in.

I had to catch a 655AM bus all through high school in a much less developed area than this and still have not forgiven my parents because it was cold and I would have gotten more sleep with a ride but lack of light was never an issue.

Anonymous wrote:Of course. I let my third grader walk to school on her on. So do most people in the neighborhood.

Yes, but presumably there are other kids around. In this case, no one else would be around.