AIBU to tell my neighbour’s Year 6 child to stop walking to school with us?

around here, y4 are not allowed to walk to or from school without an adult, that wouldn't work.

I would actually knock on his door and speak to his parents.

The parents know what they are doing. They are making sure that their child is ready early enough to be able to come with you.

It is not your responsibility. And it’s pretty cheeky that the expectation is that they can just walk with you.

I would go and speak to the parents directly and ask if everything is okay as the child has been walking with you for the past two weeks but you’re not sure why that is.

Thank you for all the replies, everyone!
Just to add, his mum picks him up from school, so he doesn’t tag along with us on the way home.
We’ve actually tried leaving 5 minutes earlier or 5 minutes later to avoid him, but he lives on the same street as us. Every morning, he watches us leave and then runs out from his house to join us on the way to school. I have never waited for him or knocked on his door to ask him to come to school with us.
According to our school’s rules, children from Year 5 are allowed to walk to and from school by themselves, so he doesn’t need an adult to accompany him.
However, his mum apparently wants him to walk with us for safety reasons, while she stays at home. This is what her son has told my child, anyway.
I would better chat with his mum !

I have two children, one in Year 4 and one in Reception. Every morning I walk them to school.
For the past two weeks, a neighbour’s Year 6 child has been coming along with us every morning. Our children know each other and sometimes play together locally, but the parents and I have never actually spoken. When the children play together, the parents don’t usually come out, so we’ve never met or had any arrangement about walking to school together.
The child told my Year 4 child that his mum had said it was dangerous for him to walk to school alone and that he should walk with us.
I’m uncomfortable with this. I’m already responsible for my two children, including a Reception child, and I don’t want to take responsibility for another family’s child.
If his parents feel he isn’t safe walking to school alone, I feel they should make their own arrangements rather than relying on us.
Would you tell the child he needs to make his own arrangements, or just let him continue walking with us?
Has anyone else experienced something similar with a neighbour’s child joining your school run?

If you were nervous walking home alone then your dad was responsible for dealing with that, not a strange adult.

If you were nervous walking home alone then your dad was responsible for dealing with that, not a strange adult.

Omg this was me! In year 6 my dad told me to walk home by myself. I was very nervous and walked back with my friend and her childminder! The child minder lived down the road from me! After a few weeks the child minder told me to not walk with them anymore because she gets paid to walk my friend home and not me! I didn’t realise and felt so embarrassed! Never tagged along with anyone else again!

Omg this was me! In year 6 my dad told me to walk home by myself. I was very nervous and walked back with my friend and her childminder! The child minder lived down the road from me! After a few weeks the child minder told me to not walk with them anymore because she gets paid to walk my friend home and not me! I didn’t realise and felt so embarrassed! Never tagged along with anyone else again!

@OriginalSkang · Today 10:20

If you saw him get run over or abducted or whatever on the school run and he was just walking ahead of you rather than with you, would you just say 'not my problem' and keep walking? I'm guessing not. I don't see an issue unless he is pissing you off in some way..

LOL, This is peak Mumsnet batshit. Take no notice of this @Msjamtoast The first few responses are telling you that YABU, and if you are NOT accommodating with this child, when they get will abducted, or knocked down by a car, and it will be YOUR FAULT!

This place is off-the-charts batshit sometimes. You can tell who the posters are who take the piss out of other parents and dump their kids on them. What a cheek, trying to make the OP feel bad for not wanting some random child coming to school with them and their children.

Don't put up with it @Msjamtoast Tell the parents that their child is not your responsibility and they can't come with you (to school,) anymore. Drive there for a few weeks to try and get rid of this child if you're too worried about speaking to the parents.

I had quite a few parents taking the piss out me and getting them to hang on to me and my DC, and walk to school with us, and cadge lifts when I dropped them off in the car when I had work. The parents had them come with us so they didn't have to take them to school. And they'd send them to play with my DC at OUR house, fairly often, because they couldn't be fucked with them. Never had my DC at theirs.

Some people are users and they take the piss. I allowed it to happen to me, and am annoyed with myself that I allowed it to happen. A year and a half or so it had been happening, before I was strong enough to stand up and say no. By then it had been going on so long, that the parents expected it, and were angry and arsey when I stopped it.

Don't be like me. Stop this now. You will get used over and over again by people who aren't arsed about their children. Ignore the posters telling you to #BEKIND

.

Sorry but in reality will that really happen at Secondary?

Sounds like parents dont want to do the school run but equally dont trust their child to walk alone. You cant have it both ways. Either trust them or they walk him themselves. The OP isnt running a free tag along service!

Awk, that's shitty.

You weren't doing any harm.

She is not being used as that though. The child is walking to school - she has no responsibility for him. Also, op could look on the positive side - if the children end up at the same secondary school then her son will have a buddy a few years older than him to show him the ropes and hopefully look out for him.

If you saw him get run over or abducted or whatever on the school run and he was just walking ahead of you rather than with you, would you just say 'not my problem' and keep walking? I'm guessing not. I don't see an issue unless he is pissing you off in some way

Omg this was me! In year 6 my dad told me to walk home by myself. I was very nervous and walked back with my friend and her childminder! The child minder lived down the road from me! After a few weeks the child minder told me to not walk with them anymore because she gets paid to walk my friend home and not me! I didn’t realise and felt so embarrassed! Never tagged along with anyone else again!