To wonder if this was a lot of responsibility for a child?

[AintNobodyHereButUsChickens]

I went to a very small primary school in small, very quiet village, we had 50 pupils, 3 classrooms (but only 2 were used as not enough kids) and no hall. Because we had no hall, assemblies, wet playtimes/lunchtimes, indoor PE, school parties etc were all done in the church over the road. When I got to yr5 (so 9/10) I and another girl who was a year younger than me(!!) were appointed church monitors. This meant that every morning we would go to the headteachers office, take the church vestry key, leave school grounds, go over the road, unlock the vestry door then go through the church and unlock the main door ready for assembly. On the odd occasion one of us was off school poorly, we'd simply do it alone instead of taking someone else with us. We had no supervision at all during this, we didn't even see the HT when we collected the key as it hung on a hook outside her office door! We'd be in class for the register then be like "Ok Miss we've got to go and unlock the church now" and that's it.

It was great at the time and we felt so grown up having this responsibility but I think I'd be horrified if my daughter was given a job like this to do. I'm only 28 now so it wasn't really that long ago!

Vishal Mehrotra (9) 1981
Susan Maxwell (11) 1982
Marie Payne (4( 1983)
Caroline Hogg (5) 1983
Mark Tyldesley (7) 1984
Barry Lewis (6) 1985
Leoni Keating (3) 1985
Stacey Kavanagh (4) 1985
Tina Beechock (7) 1985
Nicola Fellowes (9) 1986
Karen Hadaway (9) 1986
Sarah Harper (10) 1986

OK, conceded, some of the above were murdered by the same person, but by no means all. And it isn’t an exhaustive list.

I don’t think a list of stranger abductions and murders from the last seven years would be anything close to that.

But I am talking about stranger abductions.

Actually that’s only a five year list

Unless you are with your child 24/7, you can't protect them from everything. Doing something age-appropriate like crossing a road and unlocking a building is less dangerous than riding in a car, yet we all do that without a moment's hesitation!

Absolutely, but again, it’s about risks, isn’t it?

I wouldn’t be happy about what OP describes. Even so called quiet villages have people going through them, after all!

A bit worrying if they couldn’t cope with something so simple. Ours used to go in pairs to altar serve at Mass and funerals from primary. Church wasn’t far away, it is a town centre and the current children still do.
Many children are carers with much greater responsibility.
Many children walk themselves to school at that age.
We used to go to the beach or park unsupervised at that age.

But at 11 most children walk themselves to and from school in this country, and that often involves crossing busy roads. My niece is 9 and walks herself about half a mile to and from school each day.

Why is what OP did risky, but children walking to school not?

And most are fine, but some aren’t.

It really is worth remembering that not everyone survives childhood. I’m not just talking about the horrendous cases above (why was a 4 year old out alone? Why was a 7 year old alone at a fair at night?) but also plain old sexual assault, drowning, traffic fatalities, electricity pylons, railways, a hundred and one public service videos designed to remind the child that if you are killed or injured, it is your fault, be more sensible.

It depends adaline

Typical school times would mean busier generally so more people around - parents taking their child to school even if not with the child in question. In the middle of the day things tend to be much quieter.

But also the child walking to school alone is the decision for the parents, I wouldn’t want this decision made in effect for me if that makes sense.

1970s:
We had crossing guards who were 9-11yrs old. They stopped traffic to let kids get to school (like a lollipop lady, but only children, and no adult supervision). I think they worked in groups of 2 or 3, with no more than one 9 yr old in the group.

Why is what OP did risky, but children walking to school not?

because the child was going into a closed locked building, with no way out if someone sneaked in behind her. That's the difference I see.

Jeez, on a thread about two ten years old crossing a road, we're listing child murder victims!?

When I was on teaching practice, two yr 6's just to leave class early, go to the shop to buy milk and then make tea and coffee for the teachers break ! It was about 25 years ago I suppose. They loved it, but it did seem a bit like slave Labour to me.
When I was at primary, my friend and I used to have to go into the staff room after lunch to wash up !!

Someone was claiming that these things still happened today audacity and yes of course children are still hugely at risk. But we haven’t had twelve children murdered by a stranger in the last five years - not even the last ten.

AudacityOfHope
Jeez, on a thread about two ten years old crossing a road, we're listing child murder victims!?

That's not what this thread is about. Ten-year-olds are perfectly well able to cross roads, including busy roads in cities. The example given in the OP was that the children (and sometimes a child on her own) left school grounds, went to empty premises on another site, unlocked it, went into the empty premises that didn't have another unlocked exit at the time. That's very different from 'crossing the road'.

The OP literally says she lived in a small very quiet village and went to the church across the road so no, I don't think we need to add arms and legs on and making it sound like she was sent miles down the road to an industrial estate or something.

Still not two girls just crossing a road though You've cut off the existing arms and legs.

Oh sorry that's right they also unlocked a door. Famously the precursor to grisly murders.

Mostly only if you live in that village where Inspector Morse lived.

Slave labour to make a few drinks (and learning a useful life skill)?
Get a grip missmapp

As a child there were school “monitors” (chosen on rotation) to do various menial tasks which otherwise would have fallen to the teacher. We loved having the responsibility.

Oh sorry that's right they also unlocked a door. Famously the precursor to grisly murders.

Minimising again. They unlocked a door and entered a closed building, with no adults around. I did a lot worse as a child, constantly, but I did those things without the knowledge of my parents, I certainly wasn't sent off to do them by a teacher.

We'll have to agree to disagree, as everyone has different ideas about bringing up children.

But so what @Juells?

Nothing happened. Nothing happens to most children most days. And mostly what happens to children is in the home.

I think we have to base our deductions around that, rather than constantly catastrophising about what if a murderer is hiding inside a locked church building.

Just to be pedantic, I didn't actually live in the village. I lived in the town 7 miles away.

Also to clarify, I didn't walk to school from home.

I genuinely wish I had your way of looking at things. Because my parents were very laid back I constantly did dangerous things as a child, I wonder how I survived. So I know the things that happened to me when I was on my own and unsupervised, how narrowly I escaped disaster on occasions, it made me a lot more vigilant with my own children. Perhaps if I'd had a different upbringing I wouldn't have been as careful.