To let 7yo ds walk home by himself?

[LiegeAndLief]

Ds will be 8 in August and is in Y3.

We have about a 20min walk home from school. I already let him walk a little way by himself, less than 5min with two tiny cul de sacs to cross (I go another way round and meet him) to start giving him some practice at walking alone. He has asked to walk a longer way by himself. Would be about 10mins, with a further 3 roads to cross. These are busier than the ones he currently does but still pretty quiet.

He has been walking to and from school since reception on this route and I think has quite a lot of road sense. I often ask him to tell me when it is safe to cross and I can't ever remember him saying yes when it wasn't. We have talked about finding a safe spot to cross and what to do if eg a van is parked at his usual crossing point.

I was going to say yes. Dh thinks I am mad and he wouldn't be safe. I know there are children in his year walking to and from school by themselves so I can't be the only person who thinks this is ok! What is the MN consensus?

I wouldn't, not worth the risk. Wait until he is older

No I wouldn't allow that just yet, maybe when he is in year 6?

I wouldn't.

I wouldn't have let mine walk 20 minutes alone to and from school at 7.

I don't think children of 7 are able to judge the speed of an oncoming vehicle so can't safely cross roads without crossings.

A no from me too.

Nope I would not, my 7 year old has hardly no road sense at all.

I think that's too young.. And I'm surprised other children his age are walking by themselves.

It's your call, but also your OH's.

Just because other kids are doing it, doesn't mean that he can do it.

They begin walking on their own here in year 5-6.
But you're not exactly round the corner are you?
I wouldn't.

depends so much on the child.

my 7yo is a bit of a dolly daydream and so despite our daily attempts to work on road safety when out and about I can't see her walking home by herself any time soon

having said that I would more happily leave her home alone for short periods as she is very sensible, non-curious and risk averse at home - far better with static risk factors than dynamic ones I guess.

I wouldn't no. Not at 7.

Its not really just about the roads, although that's an issue, but I'd worry that a 7 year old isn't really resourceful or resilient enough to cope if something went wrong.

Sorry, just clarify, I wouldn't let him walk the 20min by himself. He wants to walk the last bit, max 10min, prob nearer 5. It would appear that IABU though which I will take with good grace!

There is another way that I can walk for the last bit. The two ways are about the same length. Otherwise would be a bit daft...

Only you can assess the route and your son, but there are many many places where it would be perfectly safe for the average 7yo to do this, and it's very sad that so many think a 7yo is an incapable toddler.

I have a 7yo, but I won't let her until about 9/10 due to main road to cross, but lots don't have that.

I can't see what harm it would do if it's only the last bit but would he be on his own or are there other kids who live on your street that he would be walking with?

No. I started letting mine go to school by himself in Year 3, but it is 5 or 6 mins with one very quiet cul-de-sac to cross, also I was following 5 mins later with DD. She's in Year 3 now and not ready to go on her own yet, so it does depend to some extent on the child.

It's the road crossing thing for me, obviously I don't know what they are like near you, but all the quieter ones near here have cars parked along most of the length which make crossing much less safe for a child than an adult. He's in Year 5 now and there are children in his class with similar walks to those you describe and those children are starting to walk on their own now.

Can he walk with older children? When I was his age my walk to school was a mile with several road crossings - although all country roads. Dsis finished school at 2.30pm at the school's annexe site half a mile from mine, I finished at 3.15 so to make it easier for DM I walked home from then on, but with several others who also had to make the mile's walk. The school were quite happy to facilitate this..

Meant I wasn't on my own and less chance of problems. Ironically the only time I did have problems (was asked by a man to climb into his car to give him directions) I was standing right outside my own front garden.

It might be worth watching in the mornings and seeing if there are any groups of older lads who he could go with, or asking the school?

Not with the three roads to cross, no.

For example, this study www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3256780/
says that Research suggests that younger children (between the ages of 6 and 10) are at highest risk of death and injury, with an estimated minimum four times the risk of collision compared with adult pedestrians
and
Moreover, pedestrian crashes are widely regarded as the most serious of all health risks facing children in developed countries

yes, but only if both of you are confident about it.
also, could he go a different route if there are safer crossings?

I used to walk to school myself in YR1. Most kids did then. My DDS started walking themselves in yr 5, a 10 min walk crossing 1 road, but they had their friends with them. Depends what your kids like.

if you do decide to go for it, get him a bright coat/backpack with plenty of reflecting material.

The way I understand it is that you will pick him up, walk part way back together, then go different routes for the last 5 mins so he feels more grown up?

I'm inclined to agree with you if that's the case - it's an ideal way to build up the independence in stages. (If it's leaving school on own, and the whole way back on own, then probably a bit too much right now).

Our school don't allow children out of school who are not picked up by an adult YR2 at the moment, don't know when it changes. What age do school allow them to walk home alone I wonder?

Ours is Y with permission

Oops Y5