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Original poster

Why don't kids walk to school anymore

268 replies

Failingatthemoment · 19/05/2023 08:09

I'm obviously old. BUT, when I went to school the majority of kids walked to school on their own from around the ages of 7/8. Now it only seems that ( some) secondary school kids do this.

OP posts:
SallyWD · 19/05/2023 08:56

I have one child at primary and one at secondary school. Both they and all their friends have always walked to school. There are only a small minority that I see dropped off in the car and I assume it's because the parents are on their way to work.

PakdHend · 19/05/2023 08:57

We do walk. As do many kids around here. Mine are only 5 though so won’t be walking alone for a while yet!

Nordicrain · 19/05/2023 08:57

At our school they are only allowed from year 5 - so 10ish. The school will not let them go on their own and they are clear they expect them to be supervised till they go into the gate too.

Nordicrain · 19/05/2023 08:57

But we do walk. We only live 5 mins away, so it's no trouble.

LogicVoid · 19/05/2023 08:58

Because of vastly increased traffic; children under 10 have less judgement of risk (more so boys), urban and rural roads are not the same as a generation ago. Because both parents often have to work, juggling hours, and are time poor. Because schools are no longer necessarily local. Because of increased interpersonal dangers, bullying, predators; social boundaries around violence and sexual intimidation are weaker.

GeraltsBathtub · 19/05/2023 08:58

In my neighbourhood most primary school kids do walk to school but with their parents - there’s a busy road nearby. Of the three primary schools in my immediate vicinity only one of them has anywhere to park, and that’s a private prep so the kids are coming from a bigger catchment.

Aslanplustwo · 19/05/2023 08:59

I'm not in the UK, and a small number of kids here do still walk to and from school, but the numbers decrease every year. I live near two primary schools, and every day parents are parked outside as early as three quarters of an hour before finishing time waiting to collect their kids. It seems to be the thing to do to park as near to the school gates as possible - God forbid they park a couple of streets away and give both them and their kids a bit of exercise!

Bedtimemode · 19/05/2023 09:01

Our school also has the not before year 6 rule. You could break the rule in the morning I guess, but after school they won't let a child leave until someone arrives to pick them up. I'm pretty sure I didn't walk alone until year 5/6 and that was in the 90s

We walk / scoot together

Gazelda · 19/05/2023 09:01

I can only speak from my own experience.

Primary - I drove as there wasn't enough time to walk and get back in time for me to drive to work.
DD walked in Y6

Secondary - I drive and school is 8 miles away and not on transport links. School is en route to my workplace, so no additional carbon footprint.

I'd love DD to be able to walk to school. I wish there were more opportunities for kids to be active. She's not naturally sporty, hates exercise. Which I acknowledge could partly be because she's mostly been driven to school.

Time is also a factor though - 2hrs+ homework every night plus her chores at home and various extra curricular activities. I want her to have time to enjoy life too!

DiscoDragon · 19/05/2023 09:01

We do walk, we only live around the corner from the school. There are plenty of children at the school coming from neighbouring villages and they mostly get driven in, their parents are often in a hurry rushing off to work.

My daughter will be starting secondary school in september and the school is 5 miles away and there really isn't a safe road for her to walk there on so she'll be getting the bus like everyone else in the villages!

MooseBreath · 19/05/2023 09:02

Ladykryptonite · 19/05/2023 08:29

Moosebreath, not all parents 'have to' drive to work, there are alternative modes of transport, and the roads are so busy partly because of all the parents driving their kids to school

Obviously not. But I am giving reasons why many children don't walk to school.

Where I live, I couldn't get public transit to work as there are no buses and there is no station nearby.

Diorama1 · 19/05/2023 09:02

I think it is crazy that schools "dont allow" children to walk to school on their own until that age. I would certainly challenge that.

I was listening to a radio programme last week about a school doing a walk to school week. They were interviewing parents and asking their reasons for not walking to school. One dad blamed the weather, he said that it often rains and "walking half a kilometer to school in the rain wasnt good for anyone". I despair!!

My children walk everyday, primary school is only 1/2 kilometer away and secondary is over 1km. I would still let them walk if it was further. It is great to clear their head before and after school.
I often see parents driving their children to school, they live within 1 km of the school, no special needs and parents are sahm. Kids are too lazy to walk.

Havinganap · 19/05/2023 09:02

How old are you op? I'm late 30s and when I was a child, kids didn't walk to and from primary school alone until year 6. Just the same as today.

What are the benefits of a very young child going to school alone?

As for why kids don't physically walk, many still do, the ones that don't probably don't have time because their parents now have to rush off to work.

febrezeme · 19/05/2023 09:02

Too many parents also insist on sending their kids to out of catchment schools instead of their local ones

moggerhanger · 19/05/2023 09:03

I live 3 miles away, along winding country roads with no footpath.

Ladykryptonite · 19/05/2023 09:04

Sanity, if your child wants to cycle to school, why not cycle with him?

LittleCity · 19/05/2023 09:05

I’m amazed at all the people who know parents and kids are just ‘too lazy to walk’ and ‘there’s no special needs’. You can’t possibly know everyone’s circumstances.

Ladykryptonite · 19/05/2023 09:06

Moosebreath, cycle?

DdraigGoch · 19/05/2023 09:06

Lots of posters are citing dangerous drivers. The worst offenders on roads around schools are parents on the school run.

Mrsjayy · 19/05/2023 09:07

sanityisamyth · 19/05/2023 08:44

My DS(9) wants to walk to school but school won't let him unsupervised. He also wants to cycle to school, and passed a cycling proficiency course but school won't let him do that either. So I have to drive him there and back.

Well you could walk with him ?

runwithme · 19/05/2023 09:08

I never walked to school on my own until year 6. Not sure if that was my parents decision or the schools rule. The rule at my dc school is not until year 6.
I quite liked walking in with mine, although if I'm on my way to work we drive. So a bit of everything.

RudsyFarmer · 19/05/2023 09:09

There is no school within walking distance. One school is two junctions up an A road, the other (the one my kids go to ) is three villages away. If we allowed an hour we might be able to cycle as there’s an underpass that takes you under another extremely busy A road. But to walk it we’d have to allow around 1.5-2 hours.

Havinganap · 19/05/2023 09:09

Oh yawn, I can see this thread has turned into another parent, women bashing one. They come up every few months on here. Lazy mums and kids clogging up the roads.

I drive to and from school because I have to go to work and I live 2 miles from the school. We aren't lazy, I've got enough to do without adding an extra 2 hours into my travel time each day.

TheGoogleMum · 19/05/2023 09:09

When I was a kid I'm not sure what everyone else did. I think I was allowed to walk myself in Yr 6 but I'd drop in on a friend on the way so we'd be walking most the way together. Also I think her mother was probably not far behind bringing her little brother! Would have been 20ish years ago

WhatNoRaisins · 19/05/2023 09:10

Agree it's schools not allowing them to walk. A lot of parents don't want to or aren't able to do 4 walks a day to supervise their children walking to school.