To expect my DCs (Yr 7&9) to walk 40 mins to school and home again.

[Lauresbadhairday]

My DCs are at an independent school and therefore most of the children live some distance away and are dropped off and picked up from school by parents every day. We live a 40 min walk away and I think my DCs should be able to manage this to and from school. They are 12 & 14.

They moan daily about walking - "it's too far", "my bag's too heavy, "it's raining", "none of my friends walk" etc, etc.

Now by my own admission I have been too soft and have dropped them off/picked them up quite frequently however I really want this to stop and for them to walk. I am getting much tougher and have not given them a lift at all since half-term but the moaning continues.

So, AIBU in making them walk 40 mins to school and back? If the general consensus is that I am then I will suck it up and give them a lift but I really think at 12&14 they are perfectly capable of walking this distance daily.

Cycling is the answer, (and possibly for the Parent here too as that would easily remove any suggestion of a pick up being convenient so unfair not to do it, and it's not convenient)

I got caught in the school run in my nearby town recently. Except it isn't a run, it is a walk. There are buses for the kids in the outlying villages, but apart from that there were very few cars and so most of them walk. I see them on the other side of the town which is about 40 mins away.

it is a secondary school.

your kids can cope assuming they have no physical problems, and they have lockers at school, proper shoes, real backpacks and think about what they are carrying.

perhaps offer a lift on really wet days, but not in June.

looking at the response, no wonder 25% of the population are too fat.

I think if the weather is nice, and they don't have instruments/PE kit, they can walk, but in the rain/hail/snow and/or laden with stuff, it would be mean to make them walk 40 minutes each way when there's an alternative.

I walked 40 minutes from the bus stop twice a day in year 7 - it wasn't fun when I had a schoolbag, sports kit and hockey stick to carry home. My parents working hours meant they couldn't drive me and there was no bus - it wasn't fun and I was very glad when we moved two minutes down the road from the bus stop!

Yup, I have to say I'm surprised how many people say that more than 20 mins walk is too far. If mine was carrying a cello or vast amounts of sports kit then I might consider a lift, but otherwise it's good exercise and fresh air. Most kids spend enough of their days locked up with head in books then evenings with heads in school books again, or on gadgets. They need to be outside getting fresh air and exercise.
Gawd, I sound like a grumpy pensioner, I'm not, honest

Yanbu. My husband had a 45minute walk to and from school (or as he tells me an hour and 15 minute after knocking for others/stopping at the shop!). He is still alive to tell the tale!

My 5 year old walks 30minutes each way every day and has done so since starting reception. So will DD when she starts. Yes it took some getting used to, and if possible we pick them up once or twice a week, but they are used to it so don't complain.
So older children should manage ok. But then again are more likely to complain!

"Passive exercise" such as walking or cycling is a really great habit to instill in children. Imagine how much everyone could save on gym membership if only they didn't view the idea of walking in the rain as preposterous suggestion!

That's too far to walk especially in bad weathers, stop being lazy and drop YOUR children off yourself

My walk to work is about that long but I don't do it if I have anything to carry that's more than just my handbag or if it's raining.

Kids have to carry tonnes of stuff to school often. Our local secondary school has no lockers - the children have to carry around all their books all day - and then home again. And it's all heavy stuff - far more than I would be willing to carry. If that is the case here I think it's too far. It would set my back off and if I wouldn't do it as an adult then I think the same should apply to them.

OTOH, if the bags aren't heavy, then it's fine.

DS walks 3 miles (to school and back) every day.

I give him an allowance and he can either spend some of it on bus fares, or keep it for socialising(Ice Skating or cinema trips are favourites). Its funny how it doesnt seem such a long walk with an incentive!

They're 12 and 14, not 2 and 4 (even then, 80 minutes walk a day would be something to consider). Let them walk. Or honestly, just get 2 bikes regardless of whether the eldest is keen or not.

In principle I think it's fine.

However it adds quite a bit of extra time onto an already tiring day (esp if also playing sport or staying for music or something after school).

Also, I do remember barley being able to manage the 15 min walk to my school with a huge bag of books, sports kit inc trainers, hockey stick, bag of ingredients for food tech etc

I don't think it sounds too bad but you should definitely try and give them a lift occasionally when they have a lot of stuff or have to clear out lockers. My bag weighed around 15-16kg all through secondary school, and I think I'd have struggled doing that kind of walk everyday (particularly as it's all uphill on the way back!)

Also bikes might not be the answer of they have to carry loads of stuff to school! Things like hockey sticks quite tricky to carry on a bike and most good panniers aren't that easy (or cool!) to carry around as a rucksack during the day.

yanbu - I really shocked by people saying that 20 minutes is the maximum two healthy teenagers should be expected to walk!

dc1 has a 30 minute walk at the end of a longish commute to school - it keeps her healthy. It is far easier to build exercise into normal activities rather than make it a special thing.

Would you walk 40 mins to and from work every day?

Or, if you don't work, would you walk 40 minutes to the supermarket, and back again with your shopping bags (a similar weight to their school bags, sports equipment etc)? In the rain?

Is there no suitable public transport?

I think most year 7s would find the 40 minutes back a bit of a struggle to be honest. Mine were both shattered by the end of the day in year 7.

Would you walk 40 mins to and from work every day?

Yes, when I lived and worked in London I used to walk an hour each way to work and back. I liked it; it was good exercise and a chance to be alone with my thoughts. Whatever the weather, it was usually preferable to being crammed like a tinned sardine on a rush-hour bus or tube.

Now I don't work and often walk 30-40 minutes home from the grocery store with shopping. I don't think I'm particularly tough or anything. If you're used to it it's just not a big deal.

Where I lived a lot of people walked at least half an hour to school and back but because everyone did it was like a fun extension of the school day.

I agree with Toomuch.

So the OP would rather get home sooner and have a cup of tea and browse MN while her boys struggle home 40 mins later laden with books and kit. Personally I couldn't do this.

Oh sod off. Be a martyr all you like, but please don't judge others who may not feel the same way.

Yanbu, amazed by these replies, my primary school kids walk 40min to school or we cycle it which tales 20 mins. They have good backpacks for swim kit, pe kit, books etc. If it rains they have waterproof trousers to put on over school clothes and wellies or waterproof boots and coats. They have after school clubs some days and still walk or cycle. They have done this from reception, they are now yr 2 and yr5, my four year old starts reception sept and will do it as well, at the moment she goes in bike seat or scooters or goes on balance bike. I have a tag a long for her in sept and once she is confident she will just ride her own 16" bike. At times we have done this journey three times a day due to pre school, clubs etc.

Would you walk 40 mins to and from work every day?

yes I did for many years (work from home now but I walk every where I possibly can, I use the car once or twice a month) - & I walked that distance to secondary school, & my Saturday job & as a student I walked similar distances daily.