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

It would depend entirely on his behaviour for me .is he annoying you with incessant chatter? Is he misbehaving ? Or is he simply just walking along chatting with your children on the way ?

Hmm2 mins. ? So you can pull in and drop off child at gate or you can pissball about driving round and round looking for parking space then get out of car( maybe even unloading toddlers) and walk 2 or 3 mins to walk the kid into gate.

What did he do before he walked with you OP?

I really can't see the issue, he's just walking with you because he probably wants the company
As long as he is polite and nice to your kids where is the harm?
I don't see that you are responsible for him I. any way

Why would I know that “two mins chatting” was supposed to be “two mums chatting”?!
Mins totally makes sense in the context of “it's 2 mins walking along chatting with a few kids” ie saying why can’t you just spend 2 minutes chatting to other kids. We don’t know how long op’s walk is but he lives in the same road so she could be having to spend maybe half an hour every day with the other kid.

“doubt many people would be walking 20 mins to school unless they had no choice”
Why would people not walk 20 mins to school? Fresh air, exercise, not polluting the planet are all good reasons (not to mention nice chats with the children along the way)- 20 mins is hardly a long time.

Well, I am not lazy so I leave earlier and walk because taking your children to school is being a parent 😂

Are you for real? Surely talk to the parents not the kid!

Plenty of parents work. That is also being a parent.

She isn't responsible, of course she isn't. But sometimes you just want the peace and quiet and the chance to chat to your own child without constantly having someone else's kid wittering in your ear. And perhaps her child doesn't especially enjoy it either.

I think the OP should approach the parents and say their child seems uncomfortable walking to school independently and has made comments about it being unsafe etc. Whether that's the child's own perception or whether it's come from the parents, either way it should be for the parents to make sure the child is supported on that score, not the OP.

We used to have a child like this in our street when my children were small. He was always out on the street playing alone at all hours, both parents out at work all day, much older siblings supposedly supposed to be watching him but who took no notice of him, always desperate for attention and time in other people's houses. We obliged to a point because I felt sorry for him and he wasn't a bad kid. But he was a couple of years older than my DC and never a natural friend for them, I think they tolerated him more than genuinely enjoyed his company.

It started to feel like an imposition as he became needier and pushier, to the point where I was made to feel guilty if I said no. He'd start trying to negotiate with me about how long he should be made to wait before he came back, or question me about how long we'd be out for, if I said we were just about to go out. You start to feel stalked in your own home by a 10 year old. It's all very well being kind but it's not always your duty or your problem. If you don't put some boundaries in place it can get out of hand. Sometimes you just want to be left in peace.

In the OP's case I can only suggest she starts walking a different route so she doesn't pass him, drives sometimes, or leaves much earlier on occasion. Keep breaking up the routine to at least have it happen less often so it doesn't feel quite so much of a regular irritation.

I really don’t see the problem.

Your situation is quite different from the OP's. Where effectively this kid is walking the same route at the same time chatting to her child who is happy to have his friend there. He is literally asking for nothing. The OP doesn't even have to dig deep and help as none is required. I would also suggest that the school run is not the time for a quiet moment anyway.

yes.. but going to work after the school run has never stopped anyone from leaving earlier?

We are not talking about someone in a mad dash because they're just coming out of their night shift.

Only works if nothing ever goes wrong. If something goes wrong: the person with the child will A) absolutely step in to help because why wouldn't you?? risking injury / impact on own kids, and B) might well be held accountable by police.

If something happened, that puts the mother with her own kids in a very difficult position. Because she has to look after her own kids.

It's concerning some parents feel comfortable letting their kids be 'tag-alongs' with someone who wouldn't (and shouldn't) lay their life down for that child. I don't leave my bag at the table with friends in case it gets stolen, never mind my child!

Then 20 minutes back then having to get to work?

Kts also being a parent to drop them to school and have to be in work 10 mins later.

I see so many threads on here from women feeling excluded at the school gates, and so many threads of women wishing to exclude others, I could not get worked up about this, I’m going anyway but I’m appalled at two things.

the first the mother wouldn’t speak to you to ensure it’s ok and secondly you actually considered telling this child to make their own arrangements. Utterly shocking.

if you don’t wish the kid tagging along knock on the door and tell the mother. Be a grown up and own it,

He’s a tag along. Let him know that you would prefer to walk to school without his company. His parent most likely aren’t sending him out to walk with you, he has taken a fancy to walking with you, just tell him that it doesn’t suit you.
I wouldn’t mind. I’d just make sure that his parents knew that he wasn’t your responsibility.

Don’t do this, I’m guessing the poster didn’t even bother to read your posts.

I really don't see the problem unless Year 6 child is badly behaved or annoys your kids. He is not your responsibility and he's tagging along on the same - presumably public - route to school.

If there would be an accident or something with a neighbour's child on the way to school you would presumably intervene/offer help if you witnessed it regardless if the child was walking with you or behind or in front or if you were on speaking terms with the kids parents.

Leaving earlier or later just to avoid him is utterly pathetic.

Not something I would facilitate tbh. Plus I liked to walk to school with my own kids, have our own chats and experiences. I’m not down for parenting other peoples kids cos they have lazy arse parents. Absolutely not. I would be knocking on that child’s door and letting them know he wouldn’t be walking with us again.

You sound very mean, OP.
Obviously he's not your responsibility: anyone with sense knows that.

There's no need to knock on anyone's door as it is a given that he's not your responsibility.
Though in the unlikely event he got into trouble you'd want to help? Like a semi-decent adult?

I can't believe anyone would seriously suggest talking to the child about this.
If anybody it's the parents. Not that I'd bother.

It's not 'concerning' at all as most people don't live their lives thinking of every little f*ing thing that can go wrong.

most people possibly, most posters on MN literally do 😂

We are talking about a forum where posters are ready to call social services (good luck with that) if teenagers are left alone for one night 😂

I know. 😁 To be fair, though, so far it's a 50/50 (or thereabouts) split on this.

Imagine being 10 and having a grown adult tell you that you can't walk alongside en route to school.

That would be an awful thing to do. In my opinion, of course.