Is it horrible to make ds walk

[Whyohwhy99]

Am I horrible making ds walk for 40 mins to and from school because I want to avoid the bus?

And what if he’s not 11?

But why? Children aged 5-18 are recommended to take a minimum of 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous exercise every day to be healthy. Walking is generally light exercise so 80 mins of light exercise will contribute nicely to their activity. Why do so many people think that small children shouldn’t be doing regular exercise?

I think if he's young enough to need a parent to take him to school, you should consider a bus one way each day.

If he is 5 Yabu

if he is 14 (or younger) the walk is reasonable but not sure what your reasons are for not wanting the bus. Unless it’s cost.

Note my use of the word 'if'.

I think walking to and from school is an excellent habit to start at any age, to keep them off their screens, Two fantastic opportunities to engage with your childand incorporate exercising into their daily routine. If however it’s some sort of punishment or because as another poster has said you are avoiding social situations then no, it’s not fair, and yes it is mean to pass on your anxieties to your child.

Yeah… you said ‘if he’s 11, no’ so you said it’s not mean if he’s 11. So do you think it’s mean if he’s younger than 11? Struggling to see the reassurance there

Sorry but this question is meaningless without saying his age and state of health. If he's 4 and exhausted after a long day at school, you are being horrible. If he's 10 and desperate to be moving before and after sitting down for most of the day, you're doing him a favour.

Depends on whether the walk is pleasant or not. If it's walking along busy polluted roads where the OP will constantly have to hold their hand and mind out for cars, that's fairly miserable for everyone.

Sorry i forgot to say hes 11 starting sen school. Reason is because I don't want to be around people and over packed buses.

Sorry i was thinking about other things and forgot to add the most important thing

I don’t think that, and I didn’t say that. OP hates being around people, is too anxious to be around people, let them in her house, and now get on the bus. I think it would be beneficial for her to face her social anxiety and seek help, rather than just not get the bus, not answer the door, not let people in etc.

It’s not good for the child if the reason OP wants to walk is because of her crippling social anxiety. If she models the extent of avoidance she has previously described, she risks passing this onto her DS.

Is he able to get the bus alone? Is he fit and able to do the walk twice a day? Are you seeking help for your social anxiety?

What happens when you get to school? Do you then go off to work or do you turn round and walk home again, repeating at the end of the day?

Have you thought of a bike and a carrier, or letting him scoot?

oops, just seen he is 11. So forget about bike carriers and scooting! First part applies though.

Is he capable of doing so? Are there other children with you? On a nice dry day it should be fine , on a. Wet cold winter day miserable.

This. Even if it's good for her DS to get some exercise built into his day, there should always be the option of taking the bus in terrible weather, when carrying a lot of stuff, when one or both of them is unusually tired etc.

Too many unknowns

But depending on lots of things... I think too far when a bus is an option

This is kind of a 'how long is a piece of string' situation, OP.

The reality is that either he'll be fine with it or he won't, OP. And if he's not, he'll make it your problem, assuming he can't travel to school independently and you have to take him. So assuming he's physically capable of the walk in the same way that any other 11yo would be, you'll have to decide whether any fuss he makes is worth the trade off of not having to be around others on the bus.

I did it but it made me reluctant to continue with activities such as games/swimming/playing my instrument because I had to carry everything and my bag was heavy and I was small. I didn’t stay late for extra stuff as it was miserable walking home in the dark on my own. So it depends really.

What does your son think? There's nothing wrong with walking 40 minutes, of course. But your reasoning seems a bit unusual. What do you mean by not wanting to be around people?

Are you planning to walk to and from school every day? Will you be able to get to work on time?

By sen do you mean Senior school or Special Educational Needs.

if Senior then I can’t see the problem if he knows the way and it doesn’t involve crossing rivers on rope bridges.

At 11 can he get the bus on his own? Avoiding buses because his mother has social anxiety is not healthy either.

My kids all walked to secondary school. It was a 35 minute walk. If he's physically able to walk that far I don't see a problem.

There’s a lot missing from this. Are you going with him? Who wants to avoid the bus? My kids would be fine walking 40 mins to school (they already walk a mile) but others wouldn’t - particularly with additional needs involved. My daughter is autistic but super happy outside so the walk back and forth to school actually helps her regulate

It's going to be a bit shit when it's cold and pissing down. A 40 min walk to arrive at school soaking wet and cold. Does he want to get the bus?