Family think I'm bad for leaving child at school 10mins before door opens

[pointbla]

I take my year 4 child early 10 mins before the school doors open and leave him there. I have another child to take to another school. He's 9 , I see no problem with it , other children are there too. Also, I don't regularly do that just occasionally.
My family seem to think this is very bad and I am putting my child at risk as the kids mess about. AIBU?

YANBU. What on earth do people think is going to happen?

He's 9 years old in year 4 junior school

Who is responsible for your child for those ten minutes?

@nzeire just give them a wet paper towel and they'll be ok

YANBU. What on earth do people think is going to happen?

What will happen if something does happen? That’s the question, isn’t it?

leaving him at 8.40 when the doors to school open at 8.40. The gates will be open and the playground would be busy. She's not expecting anyone to supervise him,

WHERE did you get that from the OP?

My 10yo is not allowed to play out in the street unsupervised

9yo would not be going to the corner shop, spinning around on bikes unsupervised etc. None of the 9yo's I know do.

Why on earth would you not allow a 9/10 year old this level of freedom its hardly unusual for children to play out or go the shop? They need to be allowed some independence as they get older so they know how to do behave and manage risks etc or are you just expecting all these children to suddenly become independent one day without any input and if so when do you think that would happen at 14, 15 or 16?

Paying for breakfast club would be absurd for a 9 yo for ten mins.
Drop him off ten mins walk away if necessary. (Which would actually be silly, as he would be safer in the school playground, but would be within the rules!)

@pointbla OP do the school allow it?

Birthday you think someone would have to be over 50 to have experienced playing out.
So weird. It's absolutely normal even now to play out.

A child at our school was left unsupervised every morning. One day he broke his leg. It was up to the parents who were there with their children to help and get a teacher. By leaving your child unsupervised you are putting the responsibility onto others for your child.

Why on earth would you not allow a 9/10 year old this level of freedom its hardly unusual for children to play out or go the shop?

I hate this stupid and judgmental posts when you know nothing about the child, and nothing about the area.
What is perfectly fine for one would be completely unreasonable for another.

Birthday
My youngest is 11. We live in London. He sometimes comes home from school on the bus on his own and has been doing so for a year. He goes to the park with his friends and cycled to the school fete without me. So yes I did drop him in the playground 10 mins early when he was 9 (2 years ago)

DDs have walked to/from school on their own sometimes from Y4 (ten minutes, no roads to cross) but they are not allowed to arrive before 8.30am (school starts 8.50am) when there is no playground supervision.

WHERE did you get that from the OP

10 mins before the school doors open and leave him there

She literally wrote the doors of the school implying the doors to the classrooms if she had meant the school gates I would presume that's what she would have written.

Is it only me that wishes people would read the OP properly before steaming in? Nothing confusing about it ....

People make mistakes, get off you high horse. I read it as 4 year old first time too (also from Scotland where we do say year 4) it was only reading subsequent posts that I went back to check.

9yos don't need supervising for ten minutes.

@BirthdayDreamer my 9yo is allowed to go to the corner shop, if he comes straight home afterwards. They need to start doing things independently at some point at that is a nice gentle start.

And the comparisons to a 9 year old playing out with friends is irrelevant. If I let my 9 year old have the freedom to ride his bike to the corner shop, I am still responsible should anything happen. His friend would come to knock on the door, or an ambulance would be called - if serious - and they would come and get me. Because I am responsible.

But in this situation, the parent has gone off down the road to do something else, and is no longer responsible for the child. The assumption is either that no one is, or that she is assuming the teachers are.

The first one (no one) isn’t acceptable for a 9 year old. The second isn’t acceptable before school is open.

I hate this stupid and judgmental posts when you know nothing about the child, and nothing about the area.

I don't think its judgemental the poster when I quoted actually wrote she still wouldn't allow it even if the street was suitable for playing on. I don't understand when these posters expect their children to develop independence if they never allow them to be independent.

Thanks for the replies guys... I have such horrible mum guilt!! To clarify I walk my 9 year old son to the gates, watch him walk down to near his door and usually a few other friends will be playing around there. He is a very sensible boy to add.

She literally wrote the doors of the school implying the doors to the classrooms if she had meant the school gates I would presume that's what she would have written.

so yes, your interpretation based on what you know. You do realise that not all school entrance are via the playground? I can think of at least a couple when the main doors open to a hall you need to cross to access the playground...

But regardless, playground or not, some schools do not allow unsupervised children until a certain time, which can be 15 to 20 minutes after the gates open.

My kids schools don't allow that - only for year 6 which have a different set-up.

HeadsDownThumbsUpEveryone
I wouldn't allow my kids to play in the street either, they're not feral!

It’s not the walking to and from school that’s the problem! It’s leaving kids in a school unsupervised for others to look after them if something happens.
And what I’m saying, as someone who works in a school, something often happens! Yes, of course it could happen out in the street, in the park etc etc... but dropping a child before the time allowed in a school automatically puts responsibility on the workers who are there. I’m paid to be responsible for your chikdren from 8.30 to 3.30. Before and after those hours, of course I will look after them when they are hurt (again, not a rare occurrence)... but it’s bloody annoying. And again, everyone thinks they’re the special case for that ten minutes. This is why we pay people to run before and after school clubs.

If it was a problem I'm sure the school would let you know.