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Original poster

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

339 replies

RLE2 · 18/03/2019 08:26

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

OP posts:
ShaggyRug · 18/03/2019 18:10

No I think 7 is far too young. No chance and didn’t allow playing ‘out’ at that age either. Garden yes. Streets no.

Ithinkmycatisevil · 18/03/2019 18:25

I'm a pretty easy going parent and a lot more lenient than many, but for me 7 is just too little to be walking to and from school alone. I'd be worrying all day about whether they got there safely.

Y5 is quite early enough IMO.

icelollycraving · 18/03/2019 18:35

My Ds is the same age and desperately wants to. Not a chance.

ineedaholidaynow · 18/03/2019 18:37

When DS had a road safety session at Primary School we were given a leaflet from the police stating that children under 8 don't have the ability to judge speed and distance, so shouldn't be allowed to cross roads on their own, before that age.

Not sure why it is different in other countries but I assume it will probably be safety in numbers as it is the norm there, and maybe traffic is safer there. Also will be less cars by the school as more walk, but probably less out of catchment children too.

I used to walk home from the school bus stop at an earlier age than I let DS do a similar walk. I also used to walk/cycle to the next village to see relatives and that involved crossing a main A road, dual carriageway, on the road not by a bridge. I would never let DS do that now! But I was brought up in the 70s where parenting was sometimes by the benign neglect method eg how many children could you cram into one car.

However, I also remember that at least 3 children in my class of 30 in Junior School were knocked down by cars (so between Y3-Y6), resulting in various broken bones and unfortunately one death Sad

ooItsAoBeautifulDayNow · 18/03/2019 18:47

Might be because I don't have kids yet (and am a bit over protective of kids in our family in general) but if I saw a child who looked 7 walking alone my instinct would always be to ask them if they were ok! Seems so young to me!

gingerbiscuits · 18/03/2019 19:14

At 7?? No chance. Far too young. I work in a Primary School & we'd definitely speak to the parents if a yr3 child was noticed to be regularly walking to & from school by themselves.

Hazlenutpie · 18/03/2019 19:17

A big fat no, from me.

HairyToity · 18/03/2019 20:26

My husband said he walked from school from about 7 on his own. My parents have talked about walking to school from. The day they stsrted. I'm quite overprotective and would probably leave it till 10 years old.

Usuallyinthemiddle · 18/03/2019 20:34

Our school won't allow til y6 (with written permission). They simply won't release the children at 3.30 unless an approved person collects.

isabellerossignol · 18/03/2019 20:39

Our school won't allow til y6 (with written permission). They simply won't release the children at 3.30 unless an approved person collects.

On the flip side of this, once my children hit P4 (age 7 at the start of the year) we no longer have any interaction with staff except at parent teacher interviews or by appointment. They are not accompanied to the gate by staff. The bell goes, the teacher releases them from the classroom, they go home. And from about the second week of P1 we have no interaction with staff in the morning, only in the afternoon.

isabellerossignol · 18/03/2019 20:42

And no parental permission is needed for them to walk home if they are leaving at the normal time. In fact we regularly get letters from school encouraging us to let them walk home to build their independence.

The exception is if they are at an after school club where they are not leaving in a large group. In that case it is expected that they will be collected. Unless they are cycling home.

Natsku · 19/03/2019 04:59

DD's school required written permission for preschoolers to walk home (5/6/7) but not after that. Would be pretty near impossible for working parents to pick up and drop off anyway considering the school hours unless they have flexible hours - half of DD's class do 8-12 3 days a week and 10-14 the other 2 days, the other half doing 8-12 every day

Tinkerbell456 · 19/03/2019 05:05

I did walk to school at that age, but the school was very close in a quiet village where everyone knew everyone. I also didn’t have to cross any roads. I say by myself, I would walk with my little sister.I think at that age, a kid can walk to school safely if it isn’t far, they know the way well and no busy roads. Trouble is, they may be okay but who knows who they will encounter would be the concern of most parents I would think.

HaudYerWheeshtYaWeeBellend · 19/03/2019 05:54

What’s your reasoning behind an adult not taking him?

Our schools policy would not allow this.

ittakes2 · 19/03/2019 06:14

Is there someone he could walk with? If not I wouldn't - he is too young for you to really know how he would handle himself if a stranger stopped and asked him to get into the car. People also talk about roads...but its cars reversing from driveways which are also a problem. He would need to concentrate too much to check each driveway and the people reversing can't see smaller children which is also a big issue.

Heulog · 19/03/2019 06:29

Will probably get flamed for the unpopular opinion here.. My DS1 is 8, we live 10mins from the school and MIL lives less than 5mins away from the school. Four days a week I collect him and walk him home. Once a week DS walks to Mils house from school unsupervised. It's perfectly acceptable/normal in this area (semirural) for children in yr3 to walk home unsupervised. I don't allow him to play out, but he has recently started walking from our house to MILs, so I guess we are halfway there to him walking home alone. He's a sensible boy and it doesn't feel like an irresponsible thing to do.

Mummadeeze · 19/03/2019 06:40

No way. My DD is 10 and still not mature enough to do this. Our school doesn’t allow it until Yr 6. 7 year olds need supervision and looking after!

AzureApps · 19/03/2019 06:47

I wouldn’t, But I live near a convicted peadophile, he is in and out of prison. Always walks his dogs in the morning, around the time of the school run. Sends shivers down my spine tbh. I live in a very nice area btw.

Iggly · 19/03/2019 06:51

I would if the roads were safe to cross.

They’re not because of lazy arse parents who drive short distances, who park appallingly. Also commuters who bomb down the roads.

It’s such a shame as I’d love my dcs to have more independence.

ineedaholidaynow · 19/03/2019 06:56

Natsku if parents aren’t there to do the pick up does that mean most of the children go home to an empty house, or do they walk to clubs etc?

Shortandsweet96 · 19/03/2019 07:02

I walked to school at this age. But the school was at the end of street, over one road so my parents could watch me from the window. It was a fairly quiet road and lots of parents walking their children to school so it was safer.

That being said, a quieter road isn't necessarily better. What if DC went missing noone would have seen anything.

TheKitchenWitch · 19/03/2019 07:11

As always on these threads I wonder why the UK has become so fearful of child independence.
I’m in Germany. DS1 walked to Kindergarten on his own in the last year (so age 5/6) in preparation for starting Grundschule when everyone walks without parents. It would be seriously weird to take your 6 year old to school yourself.
He walked along a busy high road, and had to cross it as well as various other smaller roads.
They teach road safety at Kindergarten here.
It’s considered completely normal.

Goldenbear · 19/03/2019 07:14

I have a 7 year old and wouldn't let her walk because I think it's dangerous. However, we live about 1 .2 miles away and there are too many risks - walk through a tunnel, under railway tracks, two dangerous roads etc. I have noticed when she runs on ahead and looks like she's on her own, people do stare presumably because they think she's walking home alone and she is quite small build and young faced so maybe they think she's younger. I see year 5/6 sometimes walking on their own around here but they live nearer than me. The one year 6 I see dwadles and is often late as I see her once I have dropped my DD and I'm walking home.

Goldenbear · 19/03/2019 07:16

I was a 7 year old in the 80s and wasn't allowed to walk home alone. My brother was allowed when he was 9 with many other boys walking the same route but I went to a different school.

Natsku · 19/03/2019 07:28

Natsku if parents aren’t there to do the pick up does that mean most of the children go home to an empty house, or do they walk to clubs etc?

There's after school care for the first and second years but only 4 children use it, otherwise it's go home alone/with siblings, go play with friends, go to after school clubs on some days (though some of those don't start until an hour after school finishes so they have to just hang out in the playground for an hour). DD brings a friend home most days, occasionally goes to theirs but I'm always happy for the children to come here so they don't have to be alone at home