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.

They can use a rucksack on their bike or put a rucksack into the panniers, then use the rucksack at school, plenty of kids do that.

too far. bags weigh a ton

Jesus, my kids were walking longer than that at a much younger age.

I think it is quite sad that a 40 minute walk is seen as too much.

Waterproofs help in the rain. No need for them to be in wet clothes all day.

Funnily enough my daughter's class went on a walk with the school today and I helped out (aged 5-6) and I was shocked that quite a few of them found the 30 minute walk in pleasant weather hard work.

I think it's fine, ds does 20 -30 mins each way, fast pace.

If a 40 minute walk to and from school is too far for your healthy child then I would be very worried about their level of fitness.

Yep waterproofs here as well U2 I bloody amazed at the replies on this thread.

My walk to high school was a good 40min, I did it in all weather's as do my kids.

Primary school age - absolutely fine! They don't have kilos and kilos of text books, massive sports kits with three pairs of boots in etc etc.

40 minutes walk in yr 6 with a bookbag and a lunchbox is not comparable.

I just picked up ds's bag and games kit (it's a large holdall) to move them both and they're really incredibly heavy.

I know how much DS has to lug - on some days its school bag, sports kit, hockey stick/cricket bat/tennis raquet, swimming bagg, violin, with tbe occasional tray of cakes for a bake sale.

I used to walk 45 mins each way, but that was in the olden days.

Good god, you lot coddle your children to ridiculous degrees. 40 minutes walk too far? Nonsense! No wonder the roads are jammed with mums on unnecessary school runs and kids are all fat.

40 mins too long!! what a joke for an able bodied teenager!

DS does this mornings and afternoons. If the weather is very bad or he has somewhere to go after school I'll pick him up.
If its raining, he wears his Sprayaway jacket.

Ds1 used to do the same trip. They leave the house at 7,35am get to school for 8.25am and have a 10 minute margin before registration and yes they have bags to carry.

did everyone else miss the bit about the TROMBONE??

speaking from experience, a 2.4 mile walk, with a rucksack full of textbooks and A TROMBONE is pretty gruelling. I used to get the bus, unless it was a fine day and I had considerably less to carry.

My primary kids have books, lunch, so kit, pe kit, can have instruments etc some days. My older kids have a walk then bus journey then walk, yes heavy bags. So good quality bags.

Ffs it's like a different world sometimes, a 40 min walk even with heavy bags is fine.

The op said she would pick him up on days he had the trombone. But ds2 played the double bass, we carried it and still walked two miles. Either he did carried or I did sometimes, even when pregnant with dd.

We do a lot of walking to and from school and to activities. We don't mind, unless heavy bags/kit and/or rain are involved, in which case we take public transport or drive.

When I walked ds to school it was half an hour each way, he did that from 6 years old. I don't understand the too far comments.

Mine walk that far and they're 3 and 5!

YANBU! We do a 40 minute walk to our primary school every day. Then I walk it back home, uphill, with the 2 yr old in the buggy. Then I walk back down to collect them and we do the walk back again. Children aged 5, 7 and 11. The secondary is closer, only a 20 minute walk, so the eldest, 14, gets off lightly. We do walk quite slowly though, it's just short of 2 miles one way. It's a bit rough in crap weather, but manageable.

I agree that with tonnes of kit, it would be bad for their backs, but mine don't carry much, just a normal rucksack.

My kids friends moan if I suggest even walking to the bus stop. They are so used to being driven everywhere! Also, mine are noticeably slimmer and leaner than others the same age.

Yes, my kids could do it holding a bloody trombone.

No reason why a healthy child at that age couldn't, unless they have never got used to walking and carrying stuff.

If you do it from a young ish age then you should be able to carry equipment and walk 40 minutes, if not I would be very worried.

And yes, many times I had to carry home bags of shopping while walking. I have a car and I still sometimes walk a good walk and carry things home. And I am pretty bloody unfit.

I am shocked how many of you think 40 mins is too far for a teen to walk. My 4 year olds walk 40 mins every day there and back

It's a good life lesson for your DC. I think their problem is their planning. If their bag is too heavy they should only bring home what they need. At most I would think homework is 2-3 subjects so that's about 4-5 books. Have a small folder for paper detailing the assignment in the bag and no more. Paper and a 2nd set of stationary can be kept at home.

I've just looked on Google maps and it's 1.5 miles and 29 mins from home to school. They must be ambling along. I feel less guilty now.

I think the main problem is that none of their friends walk so it is not the norm which makes them feel that I'm being unfair making them walk. If it's pouring with rain and/or they have lots of sports kit/trombone then I will take them. I resent being made to feel that it is for my convenience that they walk. Whilst I would obviously prefer not to spend 20 mins each afternoon in the queue of cars for pick up, I still think that walking to and from school promotes independence and a good general level of fitness.

1.5 miles? YANBU.

1.5 miles should be fine . A word of caution though for those who say heavy bags not problem for young people, my ds1 has had a lot of physio and has permanent back problems from carrying heavy book bags and the physio said they are seeing more and more teens with problems from carrying too heavy weights on immature backs

A friend of mine had to move just before her daughter started nursery due to splitting up with her DP, so she had to walk everyday with her 3 year old it was 40 mins each way, as she couldn't get a place in the closer nursery.
So if a 3 year old can do it...
If the weather was really bad she did take the bus.
3 year old was a buggy refuser from about 18 months.

Of course 40 minutes each way shouldn't be too much for a healthy teenager. My ds is at a state school(seems to be relevant) and has either a 30 minute walk or a 6 minute drive to the station. Somtimes he walks. But I woild much rather he used that energy for sport, or for taking the dog out, or for playing football in the street. Or the time for reading or playing his instruments or for homework. It's a matter of deciding how best to use the time. For example, today he did nearly 3 hours of sport at school. Then walked the dog, did homework,mplayed his guitar and read. Can't see the point in insisting he walks home as well, when it's easy for me to nip and get him.