That parents should take young children to school

[Peachybanana]

There's a new family moved in a few doors down from me who have a son in primary 1 so he must be 4/5 yo. Every morning I see him walking to school on his own, the school is relatively close however there is a road to cross which does tend to be busy with school traffic in the mornings and home time.

The parents seem like a lovely couple, would it be wrong of me to
1.mention my concerns to them?

1. go out there myself and make sure he gets across the road safely

what would you do?

But surely you gave no idea if the child is 4, for example my youngest will be starting P1 in September. There are 3 kids she's starting with who have birthdays this and next week so they'll be five before they start. If your neighbours child has already finished P1 then they could be almost 6. It wouldn't be my choice and I wouldn't let mine do it at 4 but I might at 7 and I would if they were younger and walking with siblings.

I was walked to school back in the seventies as a five year old for the same reason that I would walk my children to school now - cars.

Moreover, if a five year old does not turn up at school it will probably be a few hours before anybody realises they are missing.

If, for, cultural reasons, somebody doesn't realise why it wouldn't be safe for a child to walk to school alone, somebody needs to explain.

(OP, I think it would be helpful to explain whether you saw this child recently, given comments on Scottish holidays.)

my 3 children are still at school - they don't finish until Friday - not everyone has broken up

OP I would also talk to the school - it's too young to be walking alone

Worra I agree with you, actually: I think I would have a word with the parents to make them aware of the child protection issue. I think part of the Op's dilemma is whether she should watch out for the child herself, as well as the wider child protection issue.

If I were the parent of the child in question, I would welcome input from a friendly supportive neighbour, personally, rather than the authorities.

I think i will mention to the school once they go back, i font have any kids that go to the school tho,

The parents are Scottish, they are quite young tho, not saying that it should make a difference how old they are but it might

I think i will mention it to the school once they go back, i dont have any kids who go to that school tho,

The parent are british, they are very young, not saying that should make a dif but it might.

Yanbu, but speaking to them isn't going to change it, I'd expect school to already be aware and dealing with it, if not I suppose your only possible route is contacting the school to check they know.
And are you positive he's actually that age? Friends son was tiny right up to puberty and she frequently had judgements on the irresponsibility of letting a child that young do stuff.

Ah right, I see what you meant now absolutely

Agree with Worra though, re: their child being taken to school.

I'd ring the school. That is too young to be crossing a road.

I have phoned the school about this today. A neighbour of mine let her infant school aged daughter walk to school alone she's 6 7 at most and we live 10-15 min walk away from school. Why do people take these risks

Like everyone else I think it is too young.

But when posters say 'the school should notice', how would they have any idea how a child gets to school?

"We weren't allowed to walk to school alone until we were 11"

Lordy. I'm 42 and I think I was allowed to walk home from school alone when I was about 7 or 8 (I never had to walk to primary school because my mother was a teacher there and always gave me a lift). I was certainly allowed to walk to the shop by myself at that age

If the child is, indeed, 4, then that is too young, but some of the histrionic posts about letting 7 year olds out on their own being child endangerment, calling the authorities, the terrible risks of abduction and death from them being out of your sight etc. are waaaaaaaaay OTT. I see kids from DS1's primary school from about 7/8/9 (going by size of child) walking to school on their own all the time, it's a fairly safe 10 minute walk from our road and the only main road they have to cross from our residential area has a lollipop lady.

Actually, I tell a lie, they're often not on their own, they're with other primary school aged children, but still no adult accompanying them.

My children live about 500m from school, one road( where all children and parents cross in a traffic calmed area) to cross dd started walking with ds at the beginning of y5 and Y3, so aged 7 and 9. Ds was very proud of being the first child in his year to walk without a grown up. DD is off to big school and ds is going to walk alone, having observed him crossing the road from a distance he is much more sensible than other 9 year olds. Yes to gradual intro to walking alone, no to letting 5 yr olds walk alone.

Leedy at my children's school they are encouraged to walk to and from school, without parents, from P4, so that is age 7 and upwards. We get letters home a few times a year about how beneficial it is for them, both in terms of exercise, independence and in cutting down traffic around the school.

And similarly on the odd occasion where there is to be no crossing patrol, we get a letter home from school asking us not to let our children come to school unaccompanied, so it's not that the school are unconcerned about safety.

that is way too young to be walking alone - let the school know.

"nearly every single day were inundated with images of young children on the fronts of newspapers or on the News that have gone missing,been abducted,been seriously harmed or murdered.*

No we're not.