To think teenagers can walk 0.9miles home from school without requiring a lift?

[theredhen]

Half of the walk is a straight single track road with no pavement or street lights. About 8 cars per hour.

Kids are all mid teens.

It's not raining/snowing or dark.

[NotSuchASmugMarriedNow]

YANBU - has someone said that you are? Or do you just have moany teenagers like me

[VegetariansTasteLikeChicken]

my 3 year old can do it. So YANBU

[curlew]

Do cars speed along it?

I ask because there is a bit of road near us that I will let ds walk along on his own, but not in a group because cars race along it and groups of boys can do stupid things. But if not, then fine.

[NewBlueCoat]

the distance itself shouldn't be a problem, btu I'm not sure about the route (which I can't be, without knowing the exact road!)

I wouldn't want my children walking the roads simila to that you describe around here, because even the low traffic there is hurtles down them/drivers on phones/crazy driving.

only you can decide on the safety of the route, but in principle, yes, teenagers should be able to manage it distance-wise.

[TheScience]

Sounds fine in the day time, I wouldn't be happy about the unlit bit in the dark though. It's only about a 20 minute walk at most I'd have thought.

[VegetariansTasteLikeChicken]

well she can walk a mile..it would be pretty shoddy parenting of me to let her walk it alone with no pavements at 3!

[jacks365]

Distance fine but the unlit section with no pavement is another matter entirely and depends on the actual road.

[titchy]

Is this a drip feed, and the other half of the walk is a six lane motorway?

[ladyquinoa]

The distance is fine. Hoany teenagers and is it isolated?

[ladyquinoa]

How many teenagers?

[ElenorRigby]

At 6 I walked 1.5 miles to school.
At 10 I got several buses to school 6.5 miles away.

So yeah 1 mile no problem unless... they are children of a separated family, children of disney dad, who of course should always be chauffeured in a golden carriage everywhere they go.

HTH

[VegetariansTasteLikeChicken]

thought you were trying to spell "horny" teenagers..is it isolated?

[manicinsomniac]

most can, yes.

[SwishAndFlick]

My 4 year old walks a mile to school and back every day, with me of course so I cant see why teenagers can't.

[JohnnyUtah]

I think they can walk. Or cycle. But sometimes my 14 yo gets returned to me in another parent's car with his bike on the back rack. Maybe I'm a bad parent....

[MrsMcEnroe]

My 9yo takes himself on the 1-mile journey to school and back, crossing 2 main roads and 4 T-junctions, on his scooter every day (although I do pick him up in the car if it's raining heavily). So yes, your teens can definitely do it! Unless they have SN that make it more difficult for them?

[pixiepotter]

no.no problem with the distance but a narrow lane with no footpath is dangerous and especially if isolated

[CalamitouslyWrong]

It really isn't about the distance though, is it. It's about the unlit bit with no pavements and whether that's ok really depends on (a) what the driving is generally like on that stretch of road and (b) the particular teenagers in question.

I don't think anyone can answer you here, OP as we know neither a nor b. but you'll get loads of YANBUs from people while only read the title/barely skimmed the initial post.

[MrsMcEnroe]

The OP says it's not raining, snowing or dark, therefore I think it's OK that the teens walk down the straight single track road with no pavement or street lights as there are only 8 cars per hour - that's a pretty quiet road! - and the lack of street lights is irrelevant - as already stated, it's not dark!

[RestingActress]

Of course they can, but whether they or their parents want them to is another matter

[CalamitouslyWrong]

But it will get dark much earlier in mid December than in July (particularly if the road in question is in Aberdeenshire rather than Somerset). Light conditions will always vary with season, and also depending on the weather. It doesn't have to be raining or snowing to have low light levels.

Similarly 8 cars an hour says nothing about how people drive on the road, or how good the visibility is along the unlit stretch. Crazy drivers and blind corners are still a problem even if there are only 8 cars an hour. You can still meet one on the blind corner and have it end in disaster.

[MrsMcEnroe]

Yes that's true CalamitouslyWrong (and I know that some of the parents of DS' friends are rather that he goes to and from school on his own, so people's perceptions of risk certainly do vary!)

I'm wondering why the OP has posted this? Does s/he think the kids should walk but the other parent doesn't, due to safety concerns etc? Or is s/he sick of picking up the kids every day when it would be just as quick for them to walk home but the kids don't want to do it?!

[Dahlen]

Based on the OP, I'd expect teenagers to be able to cope with that. In fact, I'd expect children younger than that to be able to cope with it.

Are we really so risk averse that this is considered unacceptable?

Come on OP, who has said this isn't on or are you just gauging opinion?

FWIW, I would have happily trusted my own DC to walk to school from the age of 7, but chose not to not because of the risks but because I was worried some well-meaning soul would pass judgement and try to report me to school/social services. I - and most of my peers - were walking a journey 3x as long, without parents, at the same age, and none of us ever came to harm.

[FanFuckingTastic]

I used to walk more than that for the things I really wanted to do. I would walk in the dark along unlit country track, across fields, and there was a part where I walked along the side of the road for a bit. I walked it in winter and in summer, and I learned to be cautious and look out for my own safety.

I think kids can do it, if they have the right attitude towards personal safety.

[theredhen]

Ok. To answer the questions. The teens have no special needs, the road is open with no hedges, just open farmland and some housing. There is a wide grass verge along the whole length so it's easy to get out of the way of any cars that might be driving recklessly.

Dp and I agreed on what was safe and what wasn't. Then he provides a bespoke daily taxi service for whenever they desire.