To think a 40 minute walk to school nursery is manageable?

[Heckythump1]

We are looking at pre-schools for September for an almost 4 year old. (We've just found out we have to move in a few weeks) we have a few choices but our favourite on paper is a school nursery 40 minutes walk away. Neither of us drive so we will have to walk whatever the weather, although there are buses for some of the journey.
We are visiting all options in the next week or so.
Am I being daft wanting to send them to a better place further away or should I send her to a closer one that I don't like as much?

• I should probably add, I wouldn't send my kids to the more distant school if I didn't have a car. Practically speaking, I don't think it works.

We're 0.7 miles from nursery (just looked it up) and walk it two days a week with a four year old. It's OK but honestly even that is quite a pain when he's tired or a bit under the weather. Looking forward to him starting school which is a bit nearer.

I wouldn't, that's 80 minutes of walking a day for her and your going there and back so that's double for you, and if she's doing a half day is there even a point you walking 40 mins home to come all the way back again seems mad to me

Can she cycle? If her gross motor skills are sufficiently advanced, I'd suggest building up her cycling ability so that she can cycle herself.
Round here we have a school nursery and infants, and then the junior school is about 1.5 miles away (with a hill in the middle!) and it's extremely common for the young ones to cycle to the juniors and then back to the nursery/infants school. If you get them used to doing it, they cope surprisingly well.

Catchment isn't the same as admissions area. Some areas have formal catchment areas within which children are prioritised over those out of catchment (even if the latter are closer). However even if you are within a catchment area, you might live too far away to get a place. Check!

Our school is 20 min walk from home and that's really my upper limit for walking with kids, especially if you might be working too. If that school is the only one with a nursery, then the other schools won't have everyone knowing each other from nursery, so might as well use a separate nursery or childminder.

I'd only consider it if there was a reason not to go to the nearest school.

I wouldn't. Your child will be tired on arrival. He then has a full day of nursery which involves lots of outdoor play, running around. Full day of that plus other activities then another 40minute walk home which will be considerably longer when tired after a full day. When mine was in school nursery he was exhausted after a full day and he only had a 10 minute walk, he napped as soon as he got home all this then no guarantee you would get a place in reception.

If you're going to learn to drive soon then why not. I would maybe start using a pushchair for your child some days though, she will be tired at the end of the sessions! My DS age 3.5 goes to a playgroup 0.5 miles away, we can walk it in 15 mins with him walking and me pushing his baby brother in the pram. I always take a buggy board for the return journey though as he's tired from the session and it makes life easier. We do drive when it's raining or if we're running late for some reason, it would be annoying not to have that option.

A child won't be exhausted because they've done a 40 minutes walk! Bloody hell, put them in a field and look at how they can run all day. Take your 4 year old to Disney and see how long they walk until they get tired!

It's a long time for you because you have 2 return journeys.

It's totally manageable for a kid though: scooter and 1 bus on the way, you can go and pick up with a buggy if you need and take another bus to shorten the trip. People get arsy about buggy but think it's fine to stick a child in a car seat...

It's fine but it will take a big chunk out of your own day which is less practical.

I haven’t read all the replies but we moved house when DS2 was 4. We moved 1.5 miles from his nursery and DS1 school. He was driven there in the morning by DH on his way to work. I picked him up at lunch so he walked home . We then walked back to pick his brother from school, then we walked home again. He did the journey three times a day, five days a week, in all weathers. It was NEVER a problem. Both my sons are excellent walkers (they are 19 and 21 now) they are fit and still walk everywhere now. So it is doable. It never crossed our minds not to do it because, I don’t drive and DS2 was half way through his nursery year (we moved at Christmas)

Hope that helps, obviously only you know how far your daughter will happily walk.

We live a 5 minute walk from school / nursery but it takes DS at least 10 mins to walk there. Sometimes longer if he's throwing a tantrum and refusing to walk!

He's usually a good boy but has his moments. Sometimes it's a battle to get him to eat breakfast, dressed in uniform and out of the house. Having to do all of that and then a 40 minute walk would make me lose the will to live!

What things don't you like about the nurseries which are closer to you?

Don't forget that if you don't drive, your child should be more used to walk than many of the posters who can't even go at the end of the street without a car.

We used to have a 30-min nursery walk. DC triked there to start with, then we graduated to a bike with a tagalong. I used to really enjoy the nursery run, whether walking or biking, it was time together and seeing things around us. Would have been hopeless if I was ever in a hurry, though... and when we had 2 kids doing different hours at school and nursery we quite often didn’t have time to go home for lunch, so local cafes got quite a bit of our disposable income! But it was great.

I had a 30 minute walk from my childrens' nursery. They didn't have to walk often as I usually drove there, but if my DH had the car we'd have to walk. I still remember how my little boy's face would fall and he'd start to cry whenever I turned up without the car and he realised he'd have to walk. I had no choice with the nursery but I wouldn't do it if I had a choice at all.

Our school is 1.3 miles away, so just a little closer. Also half of it is a steep hill.

When DS was just four, we usually walked/scootered. Me with baby in sling or pram, and often pulling DS on his scooter, especially up the hill. After a little while (building up stamina) it would take us about 30 minutes up-hill. Downhill took us longer, as it was the way home from school, and we had a much more leisurely pace!

We had some really great times on our school walks. We loved the good weather and the bad (just calculate more time in, for proper clothing, and don't try to walk any distance in wellies, but get good goretex or similar walking boots and change into school shoes once arrived) and especially the evenings when it would get dark early!
It meant I walked a marathon each week, and DS at age 4 walked/scooted 20km each week.

When DS turned 5, we started to usually cycle. Yes, despite the steep hill. Me with toddler in trailer and e-bike, and up the steep bits I would often be pushing DS (which was only safe because it was a car-free road).
We invested in some very good cycling gear for rainy and cold weather!

When DS was 6-7 we often walked again, just the two of us (DD at nursery), and got the time down to about 20 minutes.

DD started school at 4.4 and from day one cycled all the way, incl. up the hill with some help/pushing.

Nowadays DS (nearly 9) flies up the hill on his bike, DD (now 5) and I follow at a more leisurely pace, but altogether we make the 1.3 miles in about 20 minutes, and I would suggest that my kids are less tired for it. We pass by DD's classmate's house at the start of our route, they are often just getting in the car, we get to school before they do.

But:

• We have a lovely route with a big part being basically through a park, and we avoid the busy road nearly completely. We see squirrels, hear woodpecks and tons of other birds, other small furry animals, and sometimes even deer. We do not encounter many moving cars at all, except for the place where we cross the busy road. When we are taking home a friend for a playdate, who is less used to walking any distance, there is a place on the way where we can stop for ice-cream and a little play.
• We do own a car and DP drives, so there is an alternative when really needed.
• There is a bus though it is terribly unreliable. Only time I've been late for pick-up is when I tried to go by bus! But if needs must, it is there.
• We soon got to know people who very kindly offer us lifts when e.g. one of the children is poorly.

I have to say, when DS was 4 it did make for long days. He left home at 8:15 and rarely got back before 4:30, despite no before/after school clubs. His friend at a different school left home at 8:50 and got home by 3:10. But one thing I never have to worry about is getting in enough exercise and fresh air! Both my children are super fit, and they have great spatial awareness.

So from my experience, it is entirely feasible, and in the end a very positive thing. But it does take some dedication, organisation, and flexibility - every now and then you might just want to pay for a taxi! (You can afford lots of taxis for the money you save by not owning/running a car!)

All that said, don't choose the nursery/school from paper! Go visit them all with an open mind, and yes, a closer school/shorter school run does have it's own advantages.

I've never ridden a bike with child seat, so don't know if I'd manage it!
You'll be fine if you practice.

My 4 year old walks a mile each way to school and back. It takes us about 25 minutes. But she's not used a pushchair since she was 2. If we're in a rush she'll scoot (and I jog along with her) and we can do it in about 15-20 mins.

The only time it's ever been an issue is when I've had to pick her up from school early due to illness, but I can carry her that distance still or sort out a lift.

She can easily walk 3-4 miles without complaining and can cycle 6 miles so I think it depends on the individual child and fitness levels. If they're use to walking everywhere as mine is, it wouldn't be a problem for me and I'd far rather walk than get the bus.

The key is to allow plenty of time, as we invariably have faffing about to jump in puddles, look in shop windows, skip/dance, generally mess about on the way.

That's an awfully long walk for a 4 year old. Especially if he's tired and/or it's raining. I quite like walking and have no objection to walking in the rain but I wouldn't want to do it day in, day out with a potentially miserable child.

I would say yes (get a bike with bike seat or trailer...with the bike seat check the upper weight limit) and drive on bad winter days... but I would worry that my dc wouldn't stand a chance to get into the school if you are 40 mins away. Are you sure your in catchment? We have sent out ds to the nursery five minute from the infants school so if he gets in (should do) then he will be attending with all his little friends.

I did a 20 minute walk to preschool with mine - they are good walkers , but that was enough at that age adding in a busy preschool session to the mix

I doubt you would get her into the school if its not close by anyway is there nothing closer as good?

Much too far for that age and bad weather will just make it unbearable. The school walk that takes me and ds11 ten minutes takes our neighbour double that with their reception child. When we are getting battered with wind and rain, those ten minutes feel like forever!

Of course it’s doable, but you need to consider what if she takes I’ll and you need to get there quickly, with not driving would you have the funds to get a taxi? Also if she’s unwell you’d need to also get her home. I wouldn’t want a school 40 mins walk away each way, but I hate to get wet, so would be a nightmare for me in the rain, and snow would be a completely different story. Also consider if she makes friends with nursery children would any of them be going on to school with her.

where I live (scotland) there are government interest free loans to buy electric bikes and pay for them over four years you can even get cargo bikes (but they are expensive). My sister has one, you no longer notice hills at all! it would be very time consuming for you to do the trip four times a day, although good for health and fitness.

We drive 30 mins to DD nursery and thats bad enough 😂

We did a 30-minute walk to nursery (and it was then a 10-minute walk to the station for me afterwards). Nobody died, even in the dark and the rain and the winter , and the children are now used to walking! To be fair, I used my double buggy as long as I possibly could, and then used a buggy + buggy board (which I hated), just to speed up the walk a bit. (It was 30 minutes at brisk adult pace, and my older child is disabled so not as capable of using a scooter or bike.) So I would totally do this, especially if you're already used to walking long distances.

I may have missed this, but are you going to work after dropping off your DD, or will you be going back home? That makes a difference to your total walk!