Is 9 to young?

[FocusToday]

My husband works from home on a Monday. We live around the back of my DS primary school - I have googled it and we live 112 metres from his school.
Do you think the summer of year 4, so will be 9, is old enough for him to walk home from school on his own?
For context he won’t be crossing a road and the front door will be left open for him to get into the house. My DH has a team’s call every Monday from 3pm till 4pm but will be able to hear him come into the house.
My son goes to after school club atm but doesn’t really enjoy it.
We have not spoken to him about it yet. My husband thinks its fine. I’m not sure.
Would the school even allow this though?
Thank you!

my 9yo comes home, lets the dogs out, feeds the cats, has a snack, gets her stuff and walks to her basketball training, and back. 100m straight home where dad is already waiting would be totally fine in my book. We are abroad so can't comment on what schools allow, but I don't think kids themselves here are that different.

Unfortunately some parents don’t care. Some parents would want their child to walk home alone from a very young age, let themselves in and be at home for a few hours by themselves to save on childcare costs. Schools are generally trying to look out for children

I’d consider it fine, too - providing that school allows it & DS is comfortable with the responsibility.

Absolutely - I would be mortified to have a 9yo who couldn’t walk 100m down a pavement alone in broad daylight (SEN and disabilities aside)

i think it’s fine, but if the school has a policy not to allow it, are there any other parents you know who walk by your house? As you are so close, this is surely likely. You could ask one of them if they would keep an eye on him until he gets to your door. I would happily do this if I was going past anyway.

I think it would be fine personally. But our school only allows children to walk home without a parent collecting them in Y6.

V surprised at some replies. 112m so the length of a football pitch basically and people wouldn't let their 9yos do this? My 9yo has walked about a mile home this year and has loved it. V important that your dc is happy and comfortable and once he is, off he goes.

As long as the school allows it, I think it is fine. Where I come from kids start school at age 7 and walk home most of the time even though they live quite far.

So that doesn't mean that everyone else should be dictated.to. OlIf there are kids actually neglected then call social services for those not make a blanket ban for the lowest common denominator.

Are there actually significantly less incidents than when kids were allowed to walk home before?

Thinking back a bit my eldest 2 were at different schools. Used to collect the youngest as it was 2 miles away but the eldest would walk the 3 minutes from her school to my house from year 4 aged 8( that's when she started) . Id be home roughly 10 mins after she got in. Nothing terrible happened to her although she wasn't past eating the biscuits while had the chance.

I am not sure how id meant to be at 2 different schools at opposite ends of the town at the same time if they'd insisted on her being collected

As I said, schools are just trying to protect kids. They get moaned at if they’re seen to not be doing enough and then moaned at if they try to do something. And yes, they may involve social services but we all know that children have to be in a very bad situation before much action is taken so schools do make blanket rules to protect kids. It won’t suit everyone, but it hopefully keeps kids that need to be kept safe, safe.

It’s not the schools fault if your children attend different schools. My friend was in that situation and had to pay a childminder to pick up one child whilst she got the other.

So interesting. I’m in Scotland and DD (youngest of 3) has been walking and cycling to and from school since p4. She’s pretty average in terms of this.
When the school runs after school events, they generally send a letter to request confirmation as to how the DC will be getting home.

To all those saying their school ‘doesn’t allow it’, the school cannot legally stop you allowing your child can do it. This subject has come up on here loads before and it is up to you as the parent to decide if your child is capable and safe to do it.

DS was able to at nine both from the perspective of the school letting him and from the perspective of being mature enough.

Not many of his peers are/were if I'm honest.

We live 5 mins from school with no roads to cross. DS is very sensible. There would always be a parent at home.

It wasn't my fault they were at 2 different schools either. How is it protecting my child if they wouldn't let her walk 3 mins home. ? Kids that are neglected can just ask easily be picked up by parents and left alone all night

Again, they’re just trying to do what they can and that is why they make blanket rules which won’t suit everyone. It’s not all about your children and your scheduling issues. I feel very sorry for schools having to deal with some parents.

If he's sensible then yes of course. As long as your OH is able to ring the school if he's not home

It's absolutely fine, as long as it's allowed by school.
At ours, children can do it from Year 4.
We live 30 mins walk away and my DC are ND, but I'll start building towards this come Year 4.
We don't do our young people any favours by wrapping them in cotton wool!

In the good old days we used to catch a bus to school from 5 years old, quite a long walk to the bus stop too. Usually a few kids of different ages (maximum age eleven) went more or less together to catch the bus (small rural community) and met up at the bus stop near the school on the way home. No questions ever asked. If you missed the bus it was a long walk! Buses only ran hourly at best.

Meanwhile my German friends’ children are starting school this September aged 6 and fully expect to walk to and from their school alone or with a neighbour child. For the first week their parents night accompany them.

They live about 300m from the school, in a city. Kids living further away take the tram a stop or two. By themselves. Or cycle, on the pavement.

Apart from a dig at me you've failed to address the point about the kids that can be collected from school yet left alone all evening/night. Surely this is worse than an hour if the afternoon. Yet the obsession with having to be at the school gates( or even the classroom door) is more important

In reality how is picking them up actually safeguarding them?

"so I don’t trust he wouldn’t come straight home."

What a complicated way to say "I trust him to come straight home" 😂

My 7 year old moves up to 1st grade in Finland in August, breakfast club is only for preschoolers and I have to work so he'll be walking himself. I will hopefully be able to take the first week off to walk him to get him used to it but after that he's on his own (or perhaps with neighbouring children if they have the same start time as him)

There is only so much they can do but they’re trying to minimise the chance of children being left alone at a young age. Obviously child protection services need to be better and some people really shouldn’t be raising children.

Absolutely should be fine. Once everyone is in agreement I really don't see an issue with this. It will benefit his confidence and your dh will be in the house knowing he's coming in so can listen out.

I wouldn't ask anyone for favours to drop him home, that will just end up you owing a heap of favours, the person dropping him will feel they can't do anything spur of the moment if they have another child to drop home.

Our school wouldn't allow it until Year 6🙄