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At what age do you let your kids go on their own.?
I know it depends on how far, main roads and area ect... I was having this conversation with my gf last night. I think its ok for my nipper to go on her own next term. She's 9 (my daughter that is), there are no roads to tackle and its about half a mile away. I can't see a problem but the gf thinks it's too young. Am I missing soething.?
nah sounds fine to me
No, you're spot on. Does she have any schoolfriends nearby so that they can go together?
As you say, it depends so much on the route, but even more it depends on how sensible your daughter is. Personally I'd have no problem with a smart 9 year old walking to school on her own, but I reckon my missus would have her concerns. Could she maybe meet up with some friends to walk together?
Risk perception is weird, I think maybe the fairer sex tend to be more protective of kids.
edited - beaten to it by DD!
I'm sure she'll be fine, but only you know your daughter. My lad 11 has been going to and from school on his since he was about 9.
Takes an age to to come home some days 🙄 raking about here there and everywhere.
raking about here there and everywhere.
😆 I love that saying. Sounds like me and my mates when we were that age. “where in the name of Jesus, Mary and St. Joseph have you been you little ****er?”
When I was 5 I was taken to school on the first day so I knew where it was - after that, I was on my own 🙂
Yeah nine is fine. My daughter is the vaguest person in the world. I put her across the road, (she wouldn't get hit by a car, but she'd cause mayhem...) then she's on her todd.
Fairly sure I walked to school on my own as soon as I left infants (so whats that, 6 or 7?). Though school was only 2 quiet roads and half a mile away.
Seems ok to me (one of the fairer sex -or at least Grips tells me I am)* as long as you've gone through the 'rules' of walking to and from and feel she's a careful child. Ditto looking for friends to go with to make it safer (less likely to get picked up, but more likely to take longer and possibly getting distracted); thus rules are needed. We had a 20minute to get home rule for instance to check in and then you can go back out/over to friends houses.
*Though being American and growing up in a very safe town I have a very different idea about such things than most of the fairer sex who live over here I have found.
When I was 5 I was taken to school on the first day so I knew where it was - after that, I was on my own
Ditto. People are too over protective these days.
yup.. started walking to school on my own when I was 5 or 6. Used to meet up with friends on the way.
can't stand all this giving kids a lift round the corner and blocking the roads up.
Ditto. People are too over protective these days.
Maybe, and the chances of anything happening to your child are very slim however if it did we are talking about the most precious thing you "have" its understandable and actually rational for parents to do all they can to protect their offspring.
It comes down to a basic risk assesment and of course you have to factor in other selfish and inconsiderate parents who by their own actions increase the risk to your child. Many of their acts (driving quickly through narrow streets, parking on yellow markings outside school etc) actually change a short simple walk into an occasionally dangerous journey.
I live close to a primary school (my 2 children are now at secondary) and the selfishness of some parents is staggering. Occasionally the roads come to a standstill as some parents simply stop in the middle of the road as their are no spaces to park within 30mtrs of the school gate and 150mtrs is too far to walk. These are non working parents!
The situation is so bad the school bus refuses to drive onto the estate which is ironic!
I used to walk to school, but always with my sister. Not sure about on her own.. +1 for seeing if there are any other kids.
There's a belief that there's more kiddy-fiddlers around these days. There isn't, they just get reported in the papers a lot more vigorously.
Can't remember how old I was when I started walking to school on my own, but it was certainly before I got to high school. Though, my primary school was only a couple of blocks away.
When i was about 6 started walking to school with a freind, when we got home that night his parents had been arrested after Social services said they had neglected the son, he was put into care, his parents where stopped from seeing him,he then went on to comit crimes as a cry for help and attention, he then started posting on a bike forum, and started to ride a singlespeed, sometimes wearing lycra,and tight tops, eventually he saw the pointlessness of his life and joined a union.
He is now an IT consultant with an audi,and personal laptop he chats and offers advice to strangers, and has a good time,strangely he is still single. 🙂
Yep I used to walk about a mile to primary school with my mate, through the deserted woods and then jump over the burn at the end.
Primary school was 3.5 miles away, in the next village. A road in between. Used to walk a mile through my village, get on the bus and then out at school.
Then I went to prep school (20 miles away), so was a boarder.
After that, public school, so boarded there, too.
Guess I must have been 6 or 7. Initially my mum used to meet me half way on the way home. There was a lollipop lady on the main road though.
Ironically when I was older - 16+, I used to walk to and from school with my dad - he worked about 10 minutes away from school, so he's just continue on, and we'd sometimes meet up again on the way home if I'd stayed late. Good excercise actually - we could do 3miles in about 38 minutes with a heavy bag, which then lead onto some LONG walks (40+miles) in the Peaks.
9 is fine. We put some limits on the routes home as there were several and that way we would have an idea where to look when the raking about started to take too long.
Yup, started walking to school at primary school age. 9 is plenty old enough.