To let 7 year old walk to and from school alone?

[RLE2]

DS is in year 3, we live about a 10 minute walk away from the school. We live in a quiet area, he won't be near any busy roads, the only roads he has to cross is our road and the school road. The school road isn't too busy as it's only people going to the school using it and our road is empty apart from neighbours. Is 7 too young? It's not unheard of for year 3's to walk by themselves at his school but most still walk with a parent, a few don't

@AssassinatedBeauty I know but I couldn't find anything more recent that showed the rates. But you would expect the countries where children walk alone to have much higher rates if it really was such an issue and they don't. That doesn't mean it's safe in all parts of the UK for children to walk alone of course as pedestrian safety is sadly lacking, especially in rural areas with windy country roads with high speed limits (they terrify me as an adult, I would not let DD cross them alone), but there are areas that are comparable traffic wise (for instance in OP's case)

Sorry it’s too young

The roads are different where we live. Out of interest I've watched this morning - my 11 and 13 year old left at 6:30am, and my 7 year old at 7am. Between 6.30am and 7:05am, when dc3's bus arrived at the bus stop, 3 cars drove down the road, 1 tractor and 5 buses including mini buses. We have very good wide pavements on both sides of the road too, which I know are lacking in rural areas in some parts of the UK and of course children here have always walked to school from age 6 and drivers expect them between 6:30 and 8am.

The road opposite the primary, after children get off the bus, is a 30km limited bigger village road and is busy. There is a pedestrian crossing with traffic lights and parents operate a volunteer crossing duty from 7am to 8am. I do it every Tuesday and have always arranged my hours to be able to do it, as I've put 3 children through the school I'm resentful that the new parents coming through are generally too selfish to do this and it's all the old guard who have older children still doing it though, perhaps things here will go to pot the way they have in the UK by the time my children have children

It's up to parents to risk assess. Blanket "too young" or self righteous squeeze of judgement are way out though. 7 year olds can be very capable and it builds their self confidence and self worth to see themselves that way, as well as building their independence. Keeping them infantilised is not an intrinsically good thing at all, quite the opposite.

If the op risk assessed her route as suitable and prepared her child properly she is not unreasonable.

I know MN scoff about ‘stranger danger’ and any hint that a parent may worry that their child may be taken, suffer horrendous pain and unspeakable terror, then be murdered, sometimes leaving the parents with no way of knowing what happened to the child for the rest of their lives, is considered ridiculous.

I disagree. One of the reasons that it is rare is that the individual has to wait for an opportunity. Such opportunities are rare but don’t think they aren’t watching and waiting for one.

Is there a reason you can’t be arsed to walk your kid to school?

As an aside, blueskies what time do your DC start school if they have to leave the house at 6.30? I thought DS having to get the school bus at 7.30 was early!

Horribly early by the sounds of it! I hate that DD has to start at 8, that's way too early in my opinion, and has to leave at 7:20, but to leave at 6:30 is just unthinkable, would never be able to get DD up in time!
Definitely something the UK does better - 9am is a much more reasonable start time for school

Yes , my son did from 7 years old. Maybe follow him in secret once in a while and go with him once in a while to check no one is watching.other that that will be good for him!

I know MN scoff about ‘stranger danger’ and any hint that a parent may worry that their child may be taken, suffer horrendous pain and unspeakable terror, then be murdered, sometimes leaving the parents with no way of knowing what happened to the child for the rest of their lives, is considered ridiculous

I disagree

This!

Yes, the risk is small but the consequences are completely and utterly devastating.

Natsku I would struggle to get up never mind DS if he had to be ready to leave at 6.30!

I know MN scoff about ‘stranger danger’ and any hint that a parent may worry that their child may be taken, suffer horrendous pain and unspeakable terror, then be murdered, sometimes leaving the parents with no way of knowing what happened to the child for the rest of their lives, is considered ridiculous.

I've been on MN for years and I've never seen anyone scoff at a parent worrying about their child being harmed. Weighing up the likelihood of that happening and balancing it against the benefits of allowing children some experiences without constant supervision is not scoffing at anything.

I see children walking to school without parents every single day, and playing out and walking to the shop. Child abductors have opportunities every single day to snatch children and despite this the last time I'm aware of it actually happening within a hundred mile radius of where I live was the early 1980s.

I'm not scoffing at anything, I'm just assessing risk.

ineedaholidaynow secondary starts at 7:25, it's about 15 miles away. Primary starts at 7:45.

It's not a problem, our lives run early - I start work at 6am when I'm on earlies and get up at 5am. If I'm on lates DH chooses to get to the office at 6:45am (flexitime).

I would be perfectly happy with it, DH would have been horrified. You might find that on the homeward journey the school won't allow anyone below year 5 to walk home without an adult (it's been the case in the last 2 schools I worked in). If so, perhaps he could nominally leave with a friend whose parent does walk with them, but then their paths separate at some point on the journey?

I wouldn't be worried about him being attacked at a time of day when there are so many other pedestrians around. Traffic is a bigger danger IMO, but you know better than any of us do whether these particular roads are easy to cross.

Everyone understands the fear. But if you stop preparing your kids for situations they definitely will come across for fear of situations they most likely won't, you need to check yourself I think. But I wouldn't put walking to school with your 7 Yr old in that category.

Absolutely bonkers!

I have isabelle

Lots of comments about the parent believing there is ‘a paedo round every corner’ and stating that most murders happen in the family. We know.

I also know that the children who WERE taken were taken following an opportunity. You state you see children walking along to school all the time. At 7? Are you sure?

You state you see children walking along to school all the time. At 7? Are you sure?

Yes I'm absolutely sure that I see children walking to school unaccompanied all the time.

I didn't say that all the 7 year olds do it - I don't let my 7 year old walk to school. But he is allowed to play out with his friends, as is also completely normal where I live. And some 7 year olds walk to school without an adult, albeit in a group of other children.

Every single day I see children who are not accompanied by adults.

Lot's of hysteria on this thread. The OP says other year 3s walk by themselves, so it is clearly not regarded as that unusual in her area. Where I live (Scotland) children this age do walk to school by themselves. So much depends on the neighbourhood and the local norms as well as the capabilities of the child which only the OP can gauge. Would I do it? Probably if the circumstances were right yes. I walked to school by myself from the age of 8 and had to cross two roads. I know it was different times in terms of traffic but I do think we often over-protect our children. My Dd went on a mini-bus to and from school from age 6 (rural area and too far to walk), so it never arose for us.

If you're in the UK then no way. I'm a TA and if a child told me they were walking home alone in year 3 I'd raise it as a child protection issue.

If you're in the UK then no way. I'm a TA and if a child told me they were walking home alone in year 3 I'd raise it as a child protection issue.

I'm in the UK too and schools in my area encourage them to walk home from P4 onwards, so that's not a universal view.

sounds like a TA going above and beyond to me. Each school decides from what year children can walk to school unaccompanied.

'If you're in the UK then no way', what a silly blanket statement. There is the world of difference between a city centre school and one in a rural area. Walking home form school per se should not be a child protection issue - context is everything.

my DD is in P5 in scotland Y4 in England, only p1-2 are released to parents when teacher sees parent at gate, no parents inside gate after week 1 of P1, when we took her by car we have dropped her off without waiting since she was 6.5 (p3), when she is dropped off now by school bus they walk up the drive themselves and into playground no one meets school bus or walks with them the older ones like DD in P5 walk up with the wee ones

Whatever the school says in the end it is actually a parental decision

it is only a child protection safeguarding concern if it is a risk for that child in those circumstances, a safe guarding risk can't be generalised ie

if you are under 10 you can't do a unaccompanied walk of 2 minutes, to raise this as a concern there would need to be evidence that this was a risk ( a school rule is not evidence) so while the head can say you have to be Y6 as soon as a parent says my Y5 or even Y4 can walk home alone and can arrive at school alone, there is actually nothing the head can do unless SS or someone agree that it is actually too dangerous for that particular child on that route at that time and it maybe a risk for child A but completely fine for child B but it is not a safeguarding risk for child B because child A could not do it

if a child arrives at school at 9am without a parent what can school do they can't lock them out

Each school decides from what year children can walk to school unaccompanied.

Each parent decides from what year children can walk to school unaccompanied.

Schools cannot decide this. They can try, and many parents allow them too, but ultimately they can’t.

If you've come here to ask for others opinions I'm pretty sure you already have some doubts that that's a good idea.

No I'd never send my young child to walk the streets alone.