1 hour 10 minutes total daily walk to school

[Itsneversimpleisit]

Is it a lot?

Twenty minutes there in the morning, twenty minutes home.
Twenty minutes there in the afternoon, twenty minutes walk back

With a 5 year old

Is it a lot or average?

My just turned 3 year old managed the 20 minute walk to nursery and back again at lunch time and then there and back to collect her sister from school at the end of the school day.

Bring snacks for the way home. The big question is who’s 20 minutes? At first it would take little one 30 minutes on the way home at the end of day, two years later we’re down to 20 or 25 mins in the way home but on the way there it take 15 mins. I can walk it by myself in 10 minutes easily, 7 mins in a rush.

I didn’t lose any weight.

@CurlewKate

Most parents around us can't afford a car. For a 20 min walk school run noone should feel guilty or think about playdates. Parents just take the ride on the bus if needed. Or walk.

It's what I do, but dd is 9. Only recently tbf as we had a car before and drove most days. Since I've been "forced" to walk it, we've both got used to it and actually quite like it (except in the pissing rain). Probably should have been walking it before... although at 5 dd would have found it quite a long way. Would have used a scooter if we'd had/chosen to walk it. I can only make this work as I work from home though, I couldn't walk to school and back for 40 mins then get in the car and get to work on time.

TLDR: I do it now because I don't have a car. Rubbish in the rain but do able. Was probably being lazy driving before.

That's fine for a 5 year old.

My children (3 of them) had a similar distance at primary school - 25 min walk (20 for me).

I had times when I dropped younger siblings at play group on the way home from the school run and had to pick them up at lunchtime. So it felt like I was backwards and forwards all day long.

They had a 5 min stroll to high school though. My son would get up two minutes before he had to leave. Despite living a five min walk to the high school, there are parents' cars parked outside my house at drop off and pick up times nowadays (the A road grinds to a halt for about half an hour) - there were none anywhere near the house when my children went to high school.

I used to walk to my high school which was just over an hour's walk. I used to get home about 5pm - school finished at 3.45. I remember one day walking home in the pouring rain with a heavy bagful of school books, PE kit in separate bag, my huge case with a tenor saxophone in it, and balancing a tin with an unset quiche inside it, which hadn't had time to set in the domestic science lesson. I never once got the bus to or from high school. And neither parent was a 'taxi driver' - never was taken anywhere in our family car. My music lessons, swimming lessons and dance lessons were two busses away - there and back, which I went to on my own. In the school holidays we often used to go out for the whole day with a picnic in a carrier bag which would be a bottle of tap water and a margarine sandwich each. No wonder I was skinny - had to walk everywhere.

I still won't get the car out for journeys which I can walk in under an hour.

I'm really concerned that someone is asking if a 20 minute walk is too far! Really?

@Tellmeifimwrong How?

4 x 20 mins is 1 hour 20 mins

It's 1 hr 20 mins but I was just being facetious. I would imagine you might lose weight if you're not used to walking that much? Or you might end up enjoying it!

I've been doing that pretty much daily for the past 8 years (since DS started YR) & will continue for the next 5 years (until DD finishes primary school). Personally, I like it. It wakes me up in the morning & keeps my exercise/movement levels up.
The person on my road who drives, and leaves at the same time we do, arrives at the school gate just after we get there.

That was our walk length to my DD's Primary. Same for high school but with a train in between - 10 minutes walk to station, then 10 minutes walk from the station to school.

DS 1 and then DS 2 did 20 minutes walk to school nursery at 3years old. I did double there and back.

If the child is so I’ll or hurt that they can’t walk for 20 minutes they probably shouldn’t be at school.

Sounds like good exercise and a positive thing to do. Too many people zooming
around in giant cars when they could walk unfortunately.

Absolutely fine, quite a short walk if anything - who could possibly think this is a lot?

"If the child is so I’ll or hurt that they can’t walk for 20 minutes they probably shouldn’t be at school."

So your child stays home until their-or your-sprained ankle or broken to gets better? Fair enough.

Absolutely fine I done the same every day for 13 years, kept me fit now I'm a lazy lump.

@MyOtherCarIsAPorsche
In the school holidays we often used to go out for the whole day with a picnic in a carrier bag which would be a bottle of tap water and a margarine sandwich each.

Ah, those dear dead days beyond recall-before the war.

I did a walk that length with my kids each morning and afternoon, it was great and we had so much time to just talk to each other. They did eventually get scooters though and the walk became a bit faster which was nice for me.

As I said. It's absolutely fine-a good thing indeed-until something goes wrong. There needs to be a contingency plan. Car. Bus. Bike. Friendly neighbour prepared to do a reciprocal arrangement.

My school run takes up 2 hours of my day! 30 mins there and 30 mins back x2. I've been doing it for the last 7 years and I've got 6-7 to go! It was worse when DS was at nursery and I was doing it 3x a day!

I haven't lost weight because my body is used to walking that much. I usually do between 18-22k depending on what else I've been doing.

Youngest DS has always been the most awkward, the older kids were happy to walk but he is lazy and I've spent the last 2 years pulling him on his scooter (3 style scooter). I highly recommend that scooter because its the only one I've found which is easy to pull (and it folds up).

Yes you will lose weight for the bits you walk fast on your own! 40 minutes is my normal walking commute. 20 minutes there and 20 minutes back. And usually another 30 minutes at lunch.

I used to do the same with my older 2. Leave house at 8:25 get to school at 8:45, school doors used to open at 8:50.
Same again at 3:30.
Depending on where you live get some good wellies and raincoats for the wet weather.
The walk was fine but the rain all autumn and winter was what effected everybody's mood.

That's what we did and I started school at four and a half.

It will be rare that the child breaks their leg but in that case get a taxi or a lift or an ambulance if it's a genuine emergency. There really doesn't need to be a car available just in case something goes wrong.