To let 9year old dd walk a mile through woods every day on her own to get to school?

[Ouluckyduck]

this question is currently being discussed on a German forum. Huss what the responses are.

Oh my lord, even the title gave me palpitations...time to go and cuddle pfb.

What is the difference between us walking alone when we were 9 and our kids walking alone now?
My answer would be the number of cars, not the chance of getting attacked
How many kids get hit on the road each year in comparison to getting attacked in the woods?!?

I grew up on the edge of SE London and at 9 me and my friends were out all day, roaming for miles on our bikes, exploring woods, building dens. We always had change for a phone call, string and ... a penknife. I live in a rural area now with plenty of woods and forests. I would let DCs wall through the woods if it was a familiar route - too easy to get lost and lose bearings. DS's school (normal village primary) regularly take them into the woods to build dens, track animals etc. He's in YR. He and DD love the woods and it's lovely to see them climbing about, building dens, searching for new leaves and pone cones. If we still lived in S London they wouldn't have the freedom I had as a child.

The difference from when I was a kid is that people seem to care more. Teachers turned a blind eye to child abuse, a known pedophile hanging around school (well we kids all knew), child prostitution and bullying (that only got taken seriously when a boy nearly died).
The other things that have changed are easier availability to drugs (I doubt kids would have sniffed glue if they had had access to canabis) and the availability of much more hard core porn.
I wouldn't want my kids to take the risks I did.
Actually I was shocked when my SIL let her daughter wander around in the wilds of Scotland alone, but that wasn't because she might be attacked, but because I knew how dangerous sudden thigh breaking holes in peat bogs can be etc. Everywhere can be dangerous, and you need to know the area and be able to judge risk well.

Contrary to popular belief and popular media, there is evidence that we (not just British, but anyone) actually underestimate risk, that could be risk to ourselves or our children. Why do so many peoplse still use cars when there is stories daily of people being killed in RTAs. We've developed an evolutionary response to snakes, spiders (fear of, which is entirely rational as they could bite or poison us) but unfortunately not yet the automobile.

No, I wouldn't let my child walk a mile to school alone in woodland. I'm less protective with regards to letting my child use a knife or other sharp tools as soon as she's old enough (is 3 right now). Using tools is a natural human occupation and the sooner they can learn how to do so safely the better, in terms of development and being to help with the cooking!

I wouldn't walk a mile through a secluded wood alone myself.

what would worry me is that the child would have a routine - be alone in the woods, every school day, at a set time. It's that which I think leaves them vulnerable to weirdos.

I really like woods. I go out in them at night (: I let my children play in them, with their friends. I the chances of harm are very small, but I still wouldn't and my 9-year old often walks to school alone, crosses two roads etc.

Hmm dunno.

If it is normal in her village then yes. We stayed with fiends in an Austrian village and the kids walked to and from kindergarten. 15 mins with friends through a quiet village but there were some cars etc and this was from age5-6.

Yes we all know the headlines of Lin and Megan russell etc. but reflect on that - horrific but what 1/ yr in the uk maybe. Number of kids killed on the roads - dunno but a heck of a lot more common and very un newsworthy because of that - when did you last see a headline of a kid killed on the way to school the uk?
( I vaguely remember a child who tragically went under the wheels of a school bus )

Since my kids event to secondary (7yrs) there have been 3 end up in hospital after being knocked down. Ok I've no idea how many we're assaulted otherwise by random strangers.

It's not the forest of Bondy! Just a wood which is probably taken charge of by the local authorities.
I went to primary school just inside the city centre, but on my way there was a little corridor between private gardens, really just two overgrown privet hedges on a hill where you couldn't see the sky, which I grandly named The Thicket, and my friend and I used to go down it whenever we weren't too late for school already...probably crawling with needles and there was a v. fierce dog at one end, and we emerged with half a kilo of earth down our backs and scratches galore...much better than taking the boring old road.

What about a 9 y.o. DS?

Gosh you are a bunch of worryworts. Children can only learn how to be safe by taking risks. We need more children playing outside as they keep each other safe. They may be physically safer indoors but their mental development will be affected. Especially boys, who need to get out and burn up energy.

I'm bored now, read the thread and we don't know wot the Germans are saying yet

I was never allowed down the woods when I was little - even though all my mates used to go and play 'tracker'.

As far as my dad knows, I've still not been down the woods!

It depends what 'woods' means. Round here we have woods that are basically just some trees between houses and 'proper' woods with streams and rabbits and stuff.

I wander both with the baby in a lsing and rarely meet anyone else.

Havent got woods per se here - local park is full of teenagers chucking small kids off the swings and swigging white lightening .... I digress, there are a lot of wooded areas about 3 miles away where the children go to school, streams etc. Certainly in Y6 and Y7 they spent the entire summer holidays in groups with bikes making BMX style courses and generally doing what little boys do best ......... getting filthy dirty, running round, getting fresh air, learning survival skills (well someone half inched a throw a way BBQ and sausages) having a thoroughly good time and remembering to come home at dusk, shattered and happy.

Not a paedo in sight. Lots of old dears walking dogs.

I don't walk in secluded places myself, let alone allow my child to. I think it stems from several high profile attacks on women with their children, it made me realise how vulnerable I would be in the event of an attack and that nobody would know where to look for us (or even miss until I failed to collect DD from school).

I know it's somewhat irrational, but I wouldn't enjoy my walk with the worry niggling at the back of my mind.

Ds and I walk thru the woods a lot (semi rural) but we always see dog walkers because of the times of day we do it. Secondary school kids often go thru our woods too, usually in groups.
Maybe I should be more nervous about it.

There was only one time, when I was alone and going to pick up ds, when there was a man acting a bit weirdly (he had a dog) and I suddenly thought "shit! some pychos probably have dogs!" -previously I had just thought
Dog walker=normal person!

I wouldn't, but then, a family got murdered not far from here and I also watched too many PDJames series when I was young. So no.

I bet the Germans are saying the opposite, no?

I meant to add that part of the worry is having a routine that is predictable. Somehow it seems riskier that child would always be walking through the wood at 8am, so they could be watched and any weirdo's could take time to plan what they wanted to do.

I wouldn't walk through woods myself though either.

I do not like woods. and I always get lost

Depends on the woods I suppose, and the child, and the light, and the path.

No issue with a child USING a wood carving knife, but not to take to school.

Personally, I wouldn't allow it. I know it sounds paranoid and that the likelihood of anything happening is remote but there are dangerous people out there and as somebody's said upthread, woodland is easy to hide in. Plus, there wouldn't be many people around to witness and/or help if the worst did happen. And if a predatory paedophile saw your DC taking the same route at the same time every day, through secluded woodland, it would be easy for them to take advantage of the situation. I know that's a horrible thought, sorry.

I wouldn't feel comfortable walking through woodland on my own even now, at 35 years old. I've always felt much safer in town, even with the traffic, muggers and so on. I'd be ok with letting an older DC walk to school through a town, if they were responsible and had good road sense but through the woods? Never

I don't walk in secluded places myself, let alone allow my child to. I think it stems from several high profile attacks on women with their children, it made me realise how vulnerable I would be in the event of an attack and that nobody would know where to look for us (or even miss until I failed to collect DD from school).

Yep, agree completely with this.

It all depends.

Is there road traffic through the wood too - then too dangerous.
Is there a large housing estate next to wood - then alot of strangers around, then too dangerous.
Is it a country area where everyone know everyone else then ok.
Is it an area of wood which only DC's family use and know of then ok.
Could DC bike through wood (and no traffic) then ok.
Are there regular dog walkers who pass DC then ok.
etc etc

ok, here the opinion of "a german" :

in germany it is common for children to walk to and from school on their own, which is from their first year at school, which is 6 years onwards. many of these children won't even have gone to kindergarten or preschool... and many of these children will let themselves in at home and wait for their parents to come back from work, which can be quite a while as school finishes at 11,30...

personally, i don't understand the english hysteria about kids being attacked by random paedos (chances of being run over by someone on school run are actually MUCH higher...). i know parents who drive their 9 year olds 200 yards to school! in front of ds's school we have traffic lights AND a lollypop man. considering that children never cross the road on their own anyway - how crazy is that?!

back to op's question: if it's a "normal" wood, i.e. frequented by other people etc. and we're talking about the "average" 9 year old (boy OR girl) i don't see a problem...

I live in very rural Germany where dc playing in the woods is normal but I dont think any of the mothers would let their dc walk a mile thro them to get to school.

But the PP is mostly right - the dc are expected to make their own way to & from school or in our case from the bus stop from the first class. And they are much more independent because of it. An 8 year old girl in my street lets herself in every day & waits an hour till her mum comes home.

But I just wanted to correct a fact - i'm sure nearly every single child in Germany goes to kindergarten before they go to school - in fact I dont know of one who hasnt.

blimey, DH worries about precious DS (10) having to walk the 10 minute walk through the village, with no road crossing or anything. I am made of sterner stuff (I thought) but won't walk in the local woods on my own