Are my children to young to be walking to school alone?

[Scorpion111]

My children go to a school that is on the same street as our house. They leave through the front door, cross over the road and then walk up the road for around 3-4 minutes and they’re at the school gates.

Because the school is so close, I can watch them walk the entire way from my bedroom window. Both of my children are extremely sensible, not just in my opinion but their teachers and their friend’s parents are always singing their praises.

They have only walked to school alone 2x and I take them through the same safety briefing in the morning - stay out the road, stay together, look where you’re going, look left and right before crossing etc. Also before letting them walk to school alone (which they have been begging to do btw) we started with saying bye to them at the gate instead of walking them to class, progressing to only walking to the top of the road with them, then half way up the road with them until I was confident in their ability to stay safe.

My children are 7 (almost 8) & 6 years old.

If I could walk a mile to school crossing roads with no parent watching aged 4 , a 6 year old can go with an older sibling, a few yards, watched by mother on the one street, especially with other children also walking along. I came home on my own too. I had a key on a string round my neck to let myself in to the empty house. In other countries children walk further, have responsibilities in the family and are a lot more capable than we give them credit for. I would not make a child do it, but since they saw others walking independently and asked to, I would let them. I’d probably follow at a distance at first though.

The thing is in England you aren't expecting a 6 year old to be walking alone, you'd expect an adult near by. In other countries where it's the norm drivers are more aware / the adults that are in the street would keep an eye and probably give a hand if needed say if the tripped and grazed a knee In England you'd expect the parent to be there and step in.

At that age they simply don't risk assessment as we do, say their shoe comes untied and the bend down Infront of a driveway to tie it just as the person is driving out of their driveway. If you were there you would move him out the way or would be stood there for the driver to see. Similarly if someone loses a ball in the road, their instinct is going to be to to pick it up / kick it back even if they know they shouldn't.

Enjoy that 5 minute walk with them it's a good way to start the day and a great time for connection.

@HPandthelastwish I don't think the OP has stated they are in England, but even if they are, your objections are rather general whereas the OP's position is specific. I think the points below are relevant to the specific situation.

The children's entire walk is within a small number of hundred metres of a school for young children (which I've inferred from them being able to get there within 3-4 minutes walk once having crossed the road directly in front of their home). The majority of drivers passing that area at the times when the children are walking to / from school will notice they're passing through an area in which many children are going to / from school. The OP's children are not going to be the only children in the area at the relevant times.

It's likely there will be many adults in that area at that time, as it's very unlikely all children at the school will be travelling there independently. In the event that a child had grazed a knee and wasn't capable of picking themself up and getting on with their day with a minor knee graze, it's reasonable to believe that not all of the adults in the area would ignore this, and even if they did, if the OP watches the children the entire way, in a scenario in which one of the children needed help which couldn't be given by their sibling or wasn't given by one of the other people in the area at that busy time, the OP could get there within a small number of minutes.

A person who lives within a few hundred metres of a school is highly likely to be aware there's a school near them, and also likely to be away of the timing of the school day. Since most people do not wish to drive into small children, these drivers are likely to check carefully for children in or approaching the path of their vehicle when leaving in their car at these times.

A child going onto a road to retrieve a ball or other object is unlikely to occur if the children aren't carrying balls or other objects with a reasonable likelihood of ending up in the road during their very short walk to and from school.

It seems to me a perfectly reasonable journey to allow the children to make independently. That few minutes' walk is a fantastic opportunity for the children to develop their sibling relationship, to grow their confidence and self-belief in their own abilities supported by the clear evidence that they are trusted to get themselves to and from school independently. It's also a valuable opportunity for OP to gain confidence in their children's abilities to do appropriate things independently and could make allowing the children to take on further appropriate independence as they grow up easier to do, to the benefit of both the children and the OP.

In the 1990s I used to drop off my year 1/2 dcs at the side of the main road, watch them cross with the lollipop lady and they walked down a quiet cul de sac together to the school gate which was open from 8.30 am. They had to be picked up at the end of school day at the gate until the end of year 2. From year 3 onwards they were allowed to leave on their own so they used to walk up to the main road and I would pick them up from there. Never had any problems!