Back to school night is pretty useless. You can skip it!

That would be too late for me. I’d leave the kid at home in bed! But if it were daytime, sure. My 9yo walks to the library, reads for a while or checks out books, and comes home.

PP. I had to take my kids to back to school night once. And once I arranged an elaborate mutual support protocol with another mother (we intended to swap off supervising each other's kids outside the school on the playground). That night it thunderstormed so badly we had to bring the kids inside AND the event was cancelled while it was happening because the storm was so bad.

Just bring your kid to the night and let them sit outside in the hall. Schools really should be able to figure out how to be family-friendly.

Anonymous wrote:See the post about the sexual predator at the Quince Orchard library. NO, don't leave your child at a library alone.

We had a flasher at our library and it's in a town center sort of like Bethesda. But an ordinary middle class town. So that's once in 20 years. The kid who reported him was a few stacks away from their parent. We also have unhoused people in town who hang out inside and outside the library. But they are usually quiet and unobtrusive.

There are a lot of random people at libraries that are accessible without cars. Because they are open to all, climate controlled, and have bathrooms. I don't mind these principles, but librarians in some areas really struggle with tough situations. It's a recognized issue in the profession.

See the post about the sexual predator at the Quince Orchard library. NO, don't leave your child at a library alone.

I'm a teacher. Our school says "no kids" at Back to School Night each year, and some, especially younger siblings, always come. It's not actually a big deal, especially if this is a public school.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My public library says no children allowed can be without a supervising adult under the age of 15 which I think is crazy. A 9th grader can’t go to the library? I have neighbors who have their 4th graders bike through traffic to the 7 11 store alone which is way more full of weirdos (plus the danger of traffic) than our library.

Look at what happened at six flags.

These rules exist for a reason.

What happened at Six Flags?

Its closing.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My public library says no children allowed can be without a supervising adult under the age of 15 which I think is crazy. A 9th grader can’t go to the library? I have neighbors who have their 4th graders bike through traffic to the 7 11 store alone which is way more full of weirdos (plus the danger of traffic) than our library.

Look at what happened at six flags.

These rules exist for a reason.

What happened at Six Flags?

Anonymous wrote:My public library says no children allowed can be without a supervising adult under the age of 15 which I think is crazy. A 9th grader can’t go to the library? I have neighbors who have their 4th graders bike through traffic to the 7 11 store alone which is way more full of weirdos (plus the danger of traffic) than our library.

Look at what happened at six flags.

These rules exist for a reason.

Anonymous wrote:Can a third grader be left in the children’s section of the public library to read while parent attends school back to school night 3 blocks away for a hour or so? Safe suburb, never seen any homeless people at the library or in town. Child is used to occupying self. Will librarians or other parents report this to police or something?

Skip back to school night. You aren't missing anything

Anonymous wrote:Can a third grader be left in the children’s section of the public library to read while parent attends school back to school night 3 blocks away for a hour or so? Safe suburb, never seen any homeless people at the library or in town. Child is used to occupying self. Will librarians or other parents report this to police or something?

No

Just skip back to school night and ask a friend for details

Your school can’t prevent child from sitting in hall.

My library says kids 7 and under must be attended by someone 12 or older.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why wouldn’t you just leave them at your home

It’s 30 minutes each way. Can I leave a 9 year old home alone for 2+ hours?

Sure. That sounds fine.

The library would be fine in practice, but probably violates their rules.