[Closed] How young, would you let your child go to school on their own?

It's a no from me. I would say 10/11

I would have let Jr Sr (now 10) go when he was 9, but since I also have to take Jr Jr (turning 7 next month) I take them both anyway.

We have similar 1 mile walk, with 1 main road crossing (v good visibility) but no zebra/crossing help.

Jr Sr could probably have done it aged 8, but as for Jr Jr I'm not sure I trust the little devil shit straight unsupervised, let alone cross a road...

Completely different per child.
I trusted our eldest at 9, but only just felt confident with child #2 when he was 11

We tend towards to the 10-sh range in the Saxon house.

Whilst I did at that age, I doubt there are many doing so now. I will walk my 2 in up to 10/11. We've also got a very narrow pavement next to a fast road, and my 2 have a habit of squabbling and pushing each other at the wrong moments. There's no margin for error in not being aware of your surroundings on parts of our walk in.

Not until big school for us.

Can you do a 'walk halfway' with them or similar to help at start?

Small highland village, walk down main street including a section without pavement over a bridge and one small side road crossing. We walked them over the bridge from age 6 and let them head down the pavement themselves.
Aged 8 they walked totally themselves.

Our youngest since 8 has walked about 0.8 of a mile, across a river bridge, three road crossings (one sort of busy, no zebra or pelicans), across graveyard etc by himself in Dunblane.

For me the two big factors are - how much traffic? Is that child a sensible child? Remember under about 12-14, kids *cannot* judge fast moving objects (including cars) as well, and certainly get distracted or just *miss* things that are happening around them at times.

Not until big school for us.

this.

8 is still young, no matter how 'sensible' they are.

Last year of junior school here.

got a very narrow pavement next to a fast road, and my 2 have a habit of squabbling and pushing each other at the wrong moments.

you are me and yours are mine, Yak.

10.

I would agree with you lot if I in the UK.

Here in Switzerland my kids walked to school from 5 ... in fact they all do.

wear their little reflective bibs and come in by foot, scooter and bike, very few are dropped off by car.

It's actually nearly frowned apon for parents to take their kids to school.

I wouldn't let my 8 year old take the car, He's already got 9 points.

It's actually nearly frowned apon for parents to take their kids to school.

Now that is a culture we should try to get going...

I wouldn't let my 8 year old take the car, He's already got 9 points.

you are me and yours are mine, Yak.

Sounds like the outcome of an accident with a time machine, matter transporter and a faulty contraceptive.

Watching with interest. Eldest now eight and bidding for increased independence.

I also forgot to add - we have never driven them, and this is a great way of them learning the way, the responsibilities etc.

We have a friends pal who has *always* been driven to school, now going to big school, and doesn't know the way let alone where is safe to cross etc. It's scary watching her in a morning at the end of our road...basically a quick look and then *run* and hope...

Dad police issue points now?

Nah, Scathing cultural pastiche of the prevalent youth car crime culture and the variance in perceived risk awareness between the children of bourgois middle class parents and deprived inner city scumbags, innit?

I was walking to school, about half a mile or so, when I was around eight, possibly earlier; I can certainly remember walking to school in the heavy snow in 1963, I was the first boy at my school to wear long trousers because it was so cold, started snowing Boxing Day, snow melted end of March, my brother was born at home that January.
Traffic was different then, though, hardly anyone owned cars, and the town had around 19,000 people, it's up around 55,000 now.
Would I have a problem nowadays? It would depend on circumstances and location, there are several schools very close by, so from around seven, yes, I'd be quite happy, if the child was happy to do so, and was aware of possible risks; there is a busy road which is just a few yards away, and which a child would have to cross, but there are two pedestrian crossings, and other kids around.
It's doing a proper, intelligent risk assessment, innit.

CountZero's new long trousers.
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Scathing cultural pastiche of the prevalent youth car crime culture and the variance in perceived risk awareness between the children of bourgeois middle class parents and deprived inner city scumbags.

It depends on the amount of STWers per KM^2.

My eldest started doing it in year 6 (about 6 months ago). The general theme is that a lot of kids at the school in year 6 have started doing it. Not seen any year 5's doing it and I'm pretty sure the school would discourage it before year 6 anyway. Most of her mates now walk to school if they live close enough and they now go out for an hour or two after school. We live just under a mile from school.

If you'd have asked me a couple of years ago what age I'd have been comfortable with her doing it I'd have said secondary school but they start to become more confident and it just seems natural. I'd say you'll probably just know when they are ready.

I was doing it earlier though. Maybe 8 or so. But I was pretty confident out and about from an early age. I think parents in general were more chilled about it back then.

Depends if you trust your kid I suppose. Me and all my mates used to walk a mile at that age. Lots of minor road crossings and one main road with a lollipop lady. Don't think any of us ever got run over / kidnapped...

It would depend on the density of secondary school kids, and how many from the primary school were going along the same/similar route.

My kids had to walk past a different primary school - so not many from our area walking to their school - and past a secondary school - so lots of arsehole teenagers on their route.

My 7 year old (Year Two) is just at the stage where I let her cycle half of it on her own, once we have crossed the main road as it is off-road or very quiet road from there.

It's difficult giving them responsibility, but our area does the First/Middle/High school system so by the time she is in Year 5 she really needs to be confident enough to catch the bus by herself.

FWIW, I used to walk a mile to primary school, usually on a route that involved me and my mate walking through the [s]wasteland[/s]/greenbelt woods and a doing a well practised long jump over a stream.

My children school won't let them walk home on their own until year 6 (i.e. a designated adult has to collect them).

10 1/2 here, today being the first day, about 1/2mile ride to school, meeting others on the way. met at School by her mum to make sure the lock worked ok.

Our lad was due to start at the start of year 5, but we moved a few miles down the road and local roads are mad so we put it back to the start of year 6 he walks home a day a week now.

Come Sept though it's too and from everyday, but it's just at the end of the road.

For me ( I don't have kids) it would completely depoend on thye location and the attitude of the kids.

I walked to primary school with my big sis from when we were 5 and 7 about 1/4 mile in a wee village and the only road crossing had a lollipop man. we moved to Scotland when I was 9 - I walked alone to school - half a mile with two main roads with no crossings. Ok traffic density was less but this was Glasgow in the 70s so hardly safer than most places now

Last year of primary for us, though youngest will walk ahead with friends now in Year 5.

As much as some of the friends are a bit immature/flaky. I trust her more than her mum though.

18 months time she'll be catching the bus and/or walking two miles to secondary along a busy A road. Darwin had a theory about this sort of thing....

Round us they promote it mainly for final year of primary. I think 9+ would be safe though, maybe younger if sensible.

Can you buddy him up with an older child?

I walked to / from home from about year 5 - was 1.6 miles each way apparently. Involved crossing two or three big roads without crossings. Was never driven to school tho, so I'd been walking the route since age 4.

Given that crime is massively reduced, cars have much better brakes, and the streets are better lit (since 1990), I'd have no problem letting a kid of similar age walk to school.

Didn't have a mobile phone in those days either, so I guess my parent's just assumed i'd turn up each evening!

Edit: this was in Farnborough, hampshire - a town of about 100k people so not exactly the countryside!

Depends if you trust your kid I suppose.

We've been meeting out eldest (10) walk to school on his own most days since earlier this year - he'll need to get himself to high school in September so good practice.
He doesn't come home on his own at the moment as the O/H picks our youngest (6) up at the same time - and current school require several letters signed in blood before letting them leave on their own.

It's doing a proper, intelligent risk assessment, innit.

There's that, then there's the pressure of being judged, then there's the schools choosing for you.

My daughter is 6, so definitely not old enough yet. However, school have recently decreed that designated adults must collect, can't remember if this is up to yr 5 or includes year 6. My issue with this is she's moving to a flat where you could parachute from the window into the school! Distance is a few hundred yards, no roads to cross apart from a parking area to get home. I reckon aged 8 or 9 my judgement has some value.

she's moving to a flat where you could parachute from the window into the school

Hmm I spy a potential loophole... 😆

when you say loophole, you mean zipwire, right?

My lad (8 in November) starts Junior school in September.
It's 1 mile away, and the trip would involve, 1 zebra crossing, and 2 pedestrian crossing, and no other crossing of the road.

The wife is tempted to let him go to school by himself.

So presumably you aren't? What's your concern, you've not said?

I would agree with you lot if I in the UK.

Here in Switzerland my kids walked to school from 5 ... in fact they all do.

What's the difference? Quieter roads?

From a safety aspect, IMHO it's all about maturity / security of the individual kid, rather than an absolute numbers game. "Congratulations on your 9th birthday, you're now officially old enough to walk to school on your own, you weren't safe yesterday."

I Am Not A Parent.

I don't see many younger children walking / cycling themselves to school, so wondered what the norm is here.
I remember walking to school myself at that age.

When we were in China, it's very common to see children from the age of 6/7 walking themselves to school.

My two didn't walk by themselves until they went to big school partly on the basis it was a nice chance to walk & chat with them...i miss walking them to school; they grow up so quickly 😥

nuke... I know what you mean. Mine currently go to breakfast club, but that little chat on the way is very special. I miss it, when I can't take them.

I agree with most of the above. Firstly it depends on the individual kid. Though it also depends on the route. 10 seems a good default though - my oldest is 10 and has once or twice been on his own, though I prefer to see him across the very busy main road we have to cross (he's been making his own way to school or home once across that for about a year). I think in year 5 I'm still supposed to put in an appearance when dropping off or picking up - year 6 the standard seems to be that kids go by themselves (I'm not quite sure if it's a formal rule, but it's what happens by tradition if nothing else).

I walked on my own from the first year of middle school (we didn't have primaries in Sheffield it was first, middle and then secondary) which I think I was 7 or 8.

I'd let babybgoode walk from a similar age although I suspect Mrs Danny would rather wait until he's 18...