How far is too far? AIBU

[Strawberryrainbow]

Was looking for your opinion on how far is too far?

Am looking at secondary schools for my child and there is a fantastic one that would suit perfectly - only catch it's a 2 mile walk. There isn't a bus route that doesn't go direct and would have to go out village to come back in again so doesn't make sense!

AIBU - Is this too far? Am I being unrealistic in expecting my year 7 to walk that far to/from school each day?

How far does your child look walk to get to school?

Thank you

Thanks for all your replies. Appreciate it, swaying on dropping one way and letting my child walk back home.

Hmm, it's quite far. On a sunny day in the summer, no problem. But in sleet in February that's quite a way if there are no alternatives to walking. Do you have a back up? Or a potential lift share?

Also, depends on the walking conditions. Are they safe? Again one thing now, but what about on a dark winter's day in bad weather.

I feel like there's a difference between 2 town miles and 2 country miles 😂
It certainly feels like there is!

But no, it's not an unreasonable distance to walk.

@Strawberryrainbow are there any other children who live locally hoping to go to the same school? Would it be possible that you drop your dc and friend and then said friend's parent do pick up?

Daughter has just started year 7. School is 2 miles away. I drop off and she walks home. Takes about 45 mins.

I used to walk 3.5 miles to and from school every day until I learned to drive at 17.

Two mile walk is nothing at that age.
I walked three to school.

Mine walk that far every day. It's not a problem.

Please don't aim to pick them or drop them. It's TWO MILES. She will make friends and be able to walk part of the way.

PS - mine are not arsed in the slightest whether or not they have to walk or not.

Walking home from school seems like a good idea to me. Gives them time to decompress from the day's schoolwork, they get fresh air and some exercise. I suspect that by the time we hit winter weather they may well have made friends with someone who lives in your direction and whose parent can be persuaded to give them a lift home sometimes.

Two miles is perfectly fine. Make sure DC has appropriate wet weather gear and decent backpack for PE kit and books. If you are able to sometimes do the am drop off in bad weather that will break it up a bit. Good healthy exercise, fresh air and fostering independence, all good.

Mine do this and it’s fine, Year 8 and 10 now. Lots of children from our village go to same school so they often walk with friends so it’s a nice social time for them, would there be other children from your area also walking?

Depends on the route I think. I used to walk to work, just under two miles. Fine to walk there and back in the summer, but I'd get the bus home in the winter as the route involved a footpath through a field.

I don't think it is too far on a dry day, but might be a bit much when it is raining heavily or if she has to carry heavy musical instruments, sports kit, home economics stuff etc. I wouldn't commit to doing all drop offs or pick ups (I used to love a long walk home with my friend, even though we could've caught the bus!), but I would perhaps try and give lifts when she has a lot to carry.

Are they a quick walker? I'm not a quick walker and I can do 2.2 miles in 35 minutes.

They might be able to manage 2 miles in 30 minutes?

It’s really not very far at all.

It's an excellent distance for getting the blood moving and burning off some excess energy before school. It helps with concentration.

My 6 and 8 year old walk 1.9 miles to primary and are fine.

I don't think that distance would be uncommon. If you live on the edge of a town centre and the school was the same distance from the town centre but in a different direction it's unlikely there would be one bus route and getting two buses would be expensive/time consuming.

I think it depends upon the walking route. Is it a pleasant, safe, well lit with pavements all the way. Or is it down dark country lanes with no pavement and a busy duel carriage way.
will any other children be walking it for company, even if they don’t walk together, it helps to have others around.

Depending on how safe/pleasant the walk is, that really should be fine. Or is cycling an option? My son did 0.5 miles to station, 15 min train ride, 1.2 miles to school. It wasn't a problem. There was a bus service from station to school that he could have used if it was particularly bad weather or if he was carrying a lot but he never did. He did have friends travelling with him though, so it was sociable time. I think that makes quite a big difference.

I really wouldn't encourage any expectation of being driven to school or back, except as an emergency measure. It's such a good habit to walk/cycle as the default for all sorts of reasons. And if other kids are doing the walk too, then it is enjoyable, sociable, healthy downtime, free of interference from adults...

I would be much less keen if they would be on their own.

I used to walk around 2 miles to school most days and was absolutely fine. But there was the option to get a bus, which I did when the weather was really bad (I hated the school bus so only used it in terrible weather).

Would it be possible to offer a lift/taxi in extreme weather? If not, I think I’d look closer to home. Two miles is a long way in torrential rain or on icy pavements.

I used to live just over 2 miles from school and I could walk quickly and be home in under half an hour. If I went at a normal pace, about 40 minutes. Can he cycle safely? Many use BMX type scooters round here.

My secondary school was a 30min walk. The only time it was difficult was on days where I had extra things to take in - think heavy ingredients for Home Economics - but on the whole it was fine

What’s the route like? Remember winter evenings will be very dark.

Cycling might be a good option.