How long is your reception age dc walk to school?

[quirkyquerty]

My DS started school this month, it takes him and DH 35-40 mins to walk to school as he's only got little legs and is a slow walker. It would take an adult 25 minutes.

Do you think this is too far? I do- and would prefer DH to take DS on bike or on bus, but he thinks it's reasonable. The first thing DS asks when he wakes up is if he can go in the bike, and my husband says no.

He brings him home in bike at end of the day but thinks the walk 'does him good' DS says his legs are achy and he's tired.

I mile. Takes about 20 mins. Keeps us fit and tries the kis out. Kids need exercise. Plenty go past us in cars for shorter distances!

It's not too far. Ds has been walking since age 4 in nursery and it's 1.2 miles the quickest way and includes some big hills. His friend has been doing it since age 3. Ds walks as fast as me. Is it flat or hilly? We go the long way round through the woods and along the canal and that takes 40 minutes or so. Sets us up nicely for the day, gets the blood flowing, we practise spellings along the way and chat. If the weather is dreadful then we might get the bus home but never on the way in. Don't baby him and add to the generation who don't seem able to use their legs.

Our walk is 10 minutes but DD is seemingly incapable of any pace that falls between the slowest of slow dawdles or a full on pro sprint. So we take the Scooter. The school has a parking area in the playgrounds for scooters and bikes, most kids seem to arrive on wheels unless they’re driven in the car.

Why is your DH anti the bike?

Sil walks up a steep hill for 45 minutes to get the kids to school, one nursery, one reception and one year 3. It took a while to get them settled into it but they manage twice sometimes 3 times a day... don't know how though!

Ours is 0.5 miles and takes around 20 mins. I can make it in 10 when I'm walking back/walking too without them.
45 seems so far! Don't think my year 1 child would enjoy it without scooter or bike.

About 2 mins as I live right next door to the school, I can hear my 4 Yr old calling me from the playground

0.5miles which takes 10minutes at my speed, 15-20minutes for DD depending how much she dawdles. She usually takes the scooter which gets her up to my speed. Even in year 2 I wouldn't want her to be doing any longer.

About 15/20 minutes at adult walking pace.
Would take half an hour if they walked so they have scooters and keep up with me
40 minutes seems long- why wont he let him ride his bike?

Ours was a similar distance we used scooters.

TBF the youngest walked there and back twice a day (so 3 walks) from the age of just 2 as she refused to sit in the pushchair.

I think that post says it's 3 miles altogether and takes 20 mins each way. So 3 miles in 40 mins.

Where did you get 3 miles in 15 mins from?

@NuffSaidSam that is what I meant, thank you. Sorry if I didn't explain well enough.

No it fine. Ours used to walk for 25 minutes from nursery age. By half term it will seem natural, he just needs to build his fitness up.

I think that's a long way, particularly when you get round to the end of the week.

Mine have finished primary now but it was a 15 minute dawdle in YR, I could then make it back to the station to catch my train in 6 minutes. They could have done further but not much without a scooter or on a bike.

Ours is about a mile and a bit and takes 40mins on paths through countryside. Sometimes, if he is ill, we will go by car one way once or twice a week to give him a rest but he doesn't seem to find it a problem - in fact, he does quite a lot of running on the way!

2km. They're on their scooters.
Being on wheels stops them being distracted by every dog and shiny rock.

This ^

I think it’s fine, our walk is about 30 minutes - about 20 for me alone - and they’ve done it since nursery. They’re brilliant little walkers now they’re older.

A mile and half so 3 miles in total.

It's perfectly acceptable to expect a 4 year old to walk that distance in the morning unless he's injured.

It sounds normal to me. Plus wouldn’t you expect him to be able to walk for that long in other contexts, like at the zoo/park/farm etc? So why not here?

We get lots of comments about how well we do walking to school I don't drive so we don't have much choice. If I had a car we'd still walk as the traffic and parking is awful. We like to race friends in cars (who live closer) and we often beat them to the school gates. It amazes me that parents think their dc are so incapable of walking a relatively short distance. They get used to it. By the end of reception ds would walk 6 miles in the Peak District without complaint. If they get driven round in a car for everything they expect to be driven everywhere. Then walking to secondary comes as a huge shock.

OP - do you actually mean a toddler bike seat? If yes then DH is right and the exercise will do him good. If you mean that DH won’t let DS ride his own bike then that’s ridiculous! Bike or scooter is ideal for that sort of distance.

Ours is about 15 mins (maybe closer to 20 for my 4yo). I let DC choose whether to walk, scoot or cycle.

I think being able to walk reasonable distances without complaining is a useful life skill and comes with practice (and as a car-free family mine have had plenty), but personally I wouldn't choose to approach it as your DH has. We get that sort of practice in over the weekend when the destination is usually a bit more inspiring!

Plus mine have to come home the same way there - I wouldn't be carrying the bike so they can cycle home, when it could be parked up at school from the morning.

We walk 0.9 miles or rather DD scooters it. She's fine on the way in but sometimes tired on the way home. It takes about 20 mins.

nothing wrong with walking 40 minutes, many people are so used to lack of exercise that they object and think it’s to far.

it’s what a human body should be doing, our grandparents in the 1930s- 1940s would have been doing this type of trip both ways on foot