How old were your children when they started walking to school alone?

[OceanVibes]

I have a 8 and 10 year old child who are both desperate to walk to school alone.
I received a form from the school about permission to release them and I didn't allow permission because I'm in two minds about whether or not I should allow them to.
The school is just under a 4 minute walk away from our home, I have left them home alone to go shopping and they are very sensible children.
We have spoken about stranger danger and I have reiterated that when they do walk alone they must walk together and come straight home.
I have anxiety and the thought of not knowing if they made it okay is filling me with dread but they are seeing their friends walk home and keep pestering me about trusting them.
I'd like to hear of others in this position and what you would do please.

I would have let mine walk alone from 9 (we live in the next road to the school) but he had to go to the childminder at 7am because both DH and me were working. She walked him there with a lot of younger children. DH would meet him across the road from school at the end of the day on his way home from work.

Mine were 8&9, walked together. It's only a short walk and I think they'd have been wholly capable of doing it earlier but y4 seems to be the earliest that it's done at their school.

That's neglect! Or do they not have predators in Germany?!?!

Lol yes the entire country is neglecting their children

My son was walking alone to school age 7 through the middle of Berlin, it was just how things were. But it doesn't come out of nowhere, already in kindergarten they are encouraging a lot of independence. I know it probably sounds crazy but honestly I think it's a healthier approach and great for kids' self-esteem.

There is not so much fear of predators in Germany but I don't know if that's because people realise the risk is incredibly small or because there are actually fewer predators.

Y6 - 20 minute walk to primary with many roads to cross. The only really busy one was the one outside our house so I could cross her over in the morning. She would ring me so I could pop out to see her over in the evening.

DS changed to an indy senior school that started at Y6. After the first term he was using the train and the bus to get to and from school on his own.

Not in the UK and I'd be a bit disappointed if my eldest can't manage walking to school alone by age 7 (no SEN or disabilities). She's about to turn 6 and to be honest I think she could manage it already but she's still in preschool and parents have to deliver and collect. Once she starts primary I'll go with her maybe for the first term to get her confidence up but she already leads the way and doesn't need any instructions.

There are some roads to cross but all have zebra crossings with lights. She knows full well how to work these and she knows her way around our town, so the only thing I'd be concerned about is dilly-dallying and being late!

I expect the former @dreamingbohemian. It goes hand in hand with patents not letting their boys go into the men’s changing room at the swimming pool once they are 8 because of the “risk”.

*parents

@PuffinShop

Not in the UK and I'd be a bit disappointed if my eldest can't manage walking to school alone by age 7 (no SEN or disabilities). She's about to turn 6 and to be honest I think she could manage it already but she's still in preschool and parents have to deliver and collect. Once she starts primary I'll go with her maybe for the first term to get her confidence up but she already leads the way and doesn't need any instructions.

There are some roads to cross but all have zebra crossings with lights. She knows full well how to work these and she knows her way around our town, so the only thing I'd be concerned about is dilly-dallying and being late!

I sent mine off early, with plenty of time for dilly-dallying so that she wouldn't be late - her walk home would sometimes take two hours due to the dilly-dallying!

10. But that involved two main roads only one of which had a lollipop lady.

Won't be till secondary age (or we win the lottery and can move nearer to school) purely on distance and the level of the roads required to cross. Otherwise if it was a school on the same estate as us I'd let them now aged 8 and 9.

However even if we went to our nearest school there would still be a very dicey road to get across then - just a joy of where we live.

where I live (abroad) there are individuals who flash but it seems to be massively less often than in the various places I've lived in the UK and it seems to be rather more heavily reacted to. When someone flashed in our local park where kids play, the police had a higher presence for several weeks and they were questioning people if they'd seen anything for a few days. Much more intense reaction than anything I've seen in the UK.

But overall there is much more expectation of independence. I've had to adjust and it's not always easy to let go some of the reins at the same time as most other parents.

7 here- our school allowed it from start of p4 (Scotland) with very similar sounding walk. The norm here seems to be for more independence from earlier than usual on these threads though.