Would you make kids walk?

[theredhen]

If you moved to a house 0.9 miles away from school, most of which had no pavement, but is a quiet country road, would you make teenagers walk home from school if a. It was daylight and not raining, b you had taken them to school by car in the morning.

Kids are teenagers age 14,15 and 16.

I woulda make them walk both ways, actually.

Yes

Yes. Read this thinking I'd make my 4yo do it ( accompanied, obviously).

We walked 1.5 miles home every night at that age, so yes!

Good lord yes. Are they complaining?

I cycled it - is that a possibility?

Definitely!

Dp is of the opinion that the little darlings couldn't possibly walk and he would have to be at their beck and call every minute.

I'm of the opinion that as long as its not dark, they will be fine and it will teach them a good lesson and give them some much needed exercise.

I'm willing to compromise and take them in the morning.

My 5, 7 and 9yo walk the same distance to and from school every day. Even today in the snow :)

Have pm'd you.

Teach them to walk always facing the traffic, no headphones and carry a torch when it's gloomy. The distance is nothing, as is the rain, the fact that they are walking in the road needs a bit of thought.

What TheNebulous said

I always drive / drove mine to and from school .i am a SAHM and apparently its in my contract !

Dp says he's not worried about the road, says he would still drive them if it was pavements all the way. I agree they need safety training but the no pavements road is very open (no hedges) so they would be seen easily and it's single track only.

I used to walk 0.4 miles home by the end of primary school, although that was on pavements and a quarter of the way was through the school's own grounds (very well appointed state-sector primary as far as its estate went :-). A mile too far to walk at secondary age? Avin a larf. This is why obesity etc etc youth of today etc etc bring back World War II, is what I say.

Oh and definitely what Nebulous said, I third that.

Your DP is doing them no favours here - a few years' time and they'll be up and off. They'll be doing things on their own and experiencing independence with no clue about what it actually feels like - and it will feel big and scary. Whereas if you let them do this walk they'll learn a bit of resilience, a bit of coping without Mum and Dad in a fairly controlled, safe sort of way.

Hassled, that is exactly how I feel.

It depends on the speed of the traffic. My dcs have been walking 1.5-3 miles since they were 2yrs. Kids should walk. It's drivers on country roads that bother me. So if there's no path and unrestricted speed, I would say no...

DD1 was walking this distance on her own (or with her mates) in year 6. 2/3 paved, last 1/3 unpaved.

Good lord! If he doesn't like them walking, kit them out with bikes, lights, reflective vests etc. then they can even come home when the afternoons are a little darker.

It makes me laugh that I biked to school for my last year of primary (approx 1 mile) to prepare me for getting to secondary 2 miles on the other side of town. I did this nearly every day from year 7 to upper 6th. On the very odd occasion i was allowed to walk to the town centre to pick up the bus. Yet they pick my nieces up from school in the car 'because its too far to walk'. They're the same bloody schools.

Anyway, at the ages you have said, with a bit of road safety knowledge, preparation and common sense they will be fine.

For 0.9 miles I would not be able to justify using the car under any circumstances either way. If the children were younger I would go on foot myself to collect them, but the age they are I think you can allow them to walk as long as you teach them about safety.

My husband and I are very conscious about the environment and the impact that such short car journeys make. That would be my argument over any cost issue. If everyone drove their kids less than a mile to school we'd have no planet left for them to grow up into.

When I was 14, I used to walk 6 miles home from school every day (my own choice)! 0.9 miles is nothing, they'll enjoy it :) x