Walking to school alone - advice please

Only you know your own DD - personally I think this is fine and more kids should be walking to school with their pals like they did in days gone by. Far too many cars around schools - that is where the danger is.

As long as you trust your DD not to bunk off school, to stick to the route and she's mature enough to pick herself up and carry on after a tumble, go for it.

Not where I live I wouldn't but a different area maybe.

Does the school use an app like My Child at School? You can see attendance on there. If she’s in Year 5 then yeah I think it’s fine but would be better with a friend.

I don't see a problem. I think it's important for our kids self esteem that we trust them to do normal growing up stuff. Mine started in Y5. Doesn't have a phone. It's been great!

Wouldn’t be allowed at my kids school. They don’t allow it to year 6 mind you they also don’t allow anyone under 16 to collect siblings, my 12 year old wasn’t allowed to collect my 10 year old even though I was right outside and they could see me.

I would let her do it if she is sensible. No roads to cross, and that is the biggest risk.
If you are that worried, I would consider giving her a Nokia (dumb phone, not smartphone) to keep in her bag to tell me she had got there, with strict instructions to turn it off when she gets to school and leave it in her bag (or even hand to the teacher, if the teacher is understanding). I know the school don't allow it, but they don't need to know.
In Y6 children often travel by themselves on buses etc, so to walk a couple of streets in Y5 is not that big a deal i think.

But I would have a word with the DS to tell him he is very selfish.

You need to calm down. Jeezo.

Yep, my son has been doing this for a year, he is 10 later this year. No phone, no problems so far. There's weird thing on here (and in some English schools - we're in Scotland) about letting kids have a bit of independence. It's not safeguarding, it's cotton wool.

Get a tracker in her bag. She will be fine, i would

This unless she has other needs!

It's a lot of responsibility on your son. Looking after her before and after school. I'm not surprised he is fed up.

That sounds like good parenting advice ... not!

Tell son it's not optional. That's parenting (or should be).

Of course she can walk to schoo! She isn't 5, but 9!

It's slightly sad your 15 year old son doesn't want to do it considering it is such a short walk. Surely she cannot be that irritating to him and if he finds it embarrassing, he shouldn't!

But if there is really no other option, yes. It's two streets and no main roads. As long as you think it is a reasonably safe area, I would allow it. Hopefully your son would be fairly near her anyway?? The best option is for your son to do it though - it is really not that difficult.

I've not rtft but post this often.

School can not stop you. They can not dictate what you see as allowable. They can contact SS but SS will not be interested in what you describe.

Walking into school on her own or with her brother is one thing, but if you leave at 7:40am who helps her to get ready? uniform, hair style changes last minute (I have a DD age 9 so I know!), breakfast, making sure teeth brushed, check bag / water bottle, grab correct coat / school cardigan, PE kit, money for what ever the school are raising funds for this time, homework… the list goes on!
surely you don’t expect your son to do all of this?

So she's year 5? My DD has just started year 5 and she's started walking alone this week. Similar set up; 5 minute walk, no busy roads, lots of other kids walking the same way, village. She's sensible and wants to do it so why not.

Have you asked your son how he would feel if she is hit by a car?
Or, if dragged into a car by some pervert?

Maybe that's why he doesn't want the responsibility. It's a lot to put on a kid

Tell your son to stop being such a selfish little shit and walk her to school. It’s ten minutes out of his day.

Have you asked your son how he would feel if she is hit by a car?
Or, if dragged into a car by some pervert?

If he as such little care for his sister then stop his pocket money, take his phone and game stations away.
If he can't support this mum with a little task like this, when she working so hard to provide.
If he doesn't care about his sister's safety then he's just an enemy to your family.
No good family members like this deserve nothing.

I wouldn't have a problem with walking to school - my DC was one of the last in his class to start walking to/from school at the age of 9.

I wouldn't want them leaving the house without me to see them off though. Maybe that's irrational. But I think they would forget their lunch, leave late, let the cat out - something - to worry them.

If your 15yo would definitely wait until he had set them on the way, then I think that is fine, if they are happy with it.

I think there's a difference between a 9yo walking to school when you are there to say goodbye to them and still in the house and a 9yo letting herself out, shutting the door behind her and going.
I say this as when schools went back in the September after the first Covid lockdown, our school had different times for different bubbles. I had to take 8yo DS to school leaving 10yo DD at home to follow ten minutes later. We then crossed paths on the way home so I always knew she was on time. A friend of hers lived 300yds from us and then they joined more friends on the route so I was never concerned about safety. It was only towards the end of the year when we were going out one weekend and I realised she seemed to be obsessively checking what she had with her and asked her about it that she explained she had learned to do that as, once she left and shut the door, she couldn't get back in so she had to have all of her stuff with her.
That DD is now 14yo, soon to be 15yo and I know she'd hate taking a younger sibling to school, especially if it meant she missed walking to school with her friends. The only exception would be if she was paid to do it as, like all teenagers, her dreamed of outgoings are much greater than her pretty much non-existent income. She has done a lot of jobs around the house this summer in exchange for cash. Could you pay your DS to take her? If he is already doing jobs to earn his pocket money, could you swap one of those jobs for this?

Sounds absolutely fine. Children at my daughters' school can do so from Year 4 (only reason mine won't be is because we live out of catchment - 30 min brisk walk - and my twins are AuDHD.

My DC are similar ages and my eldest would hate this arrangement every day. Is either breakfast club or after school club available so he is only doing one or the other. He could walk home with his friends some days that way.

Lots of children walk by themselves from year 5 at DCs primary. It does take a bit of getting used to, going to work without having seen them in but my DC love independence. It’s nice to have options though… dark wet winter mornings walking in and won’t be much fun.