To make the kids walk 3miles to school?

[DHdoingmyheadin]

Due to ongoing roadworks, the main road through the village to my kids school is closed and will be for c. a month. We are right at the edge of where the roadworks are so we have two options:

(A) A 15 mile detour by car, down the road all the traffic is being funnelled down (a main A road that is congested even when the road through the village is open). Which I trialled yesterday, and took me 45 minutes each way. This was with no school traffic as schools go back tomorrow. So I’d be doing at least 90 minutes of driving each morning and DH 90 mins in the afternoon.

(B) The kids walk to school and back. 3 miles each way.

DH is adamant I can’t possibly expect them to walk. It’s hilly. It’s due to rain. I think they walk. I think it would be insane to drive when it’s literally faster for them to walk. It’s 3 miles. I’m not asking them to swim the channel and then scale Mount Everest. Kids are 12 and 13.

AIBU to put my foot down and refuse to drive?

I work remotely and we have to have our cameras on for all meetings (even all staff meetings of 50 plus people!) It is made very clear from the beginning. We also have to attend HO twice a year. Can’t quite remember if this is in our contracts though.

They’d be pushing their bikes uphill on the way home, so much easier to walk. The gradient at the steepest part of the hill is 20%.

So what is stopping you and your DH just making an individual choice about this? Your DH makes a decision about the runs he's responsible for and you make a decision about your school runs?

You seem to be avoiding all the suggested compromises. Is this because this has turned into an argument where your or DH needs to 'win' ?

‘Bloody nightmare’ is right! It’s going to cause absolute chaos

I used to walk 45 minutes each way to school as a kid, rain or shine. I used to listen to my Walkman: that's how long ago it was 🤪

It's set me up for a very fit and active life, I workout 5-6 times a week and walk a lot, around my full time job.

OP this seems totally normal to me and I can't understand the responses you're getting!

if your kids are healthy and fit and doing it together that seems fine to me for a month - maybe you could take them in if it's really wet out just so they aren't sitting around wet all day (my daughter has eczema so I'm always thinking about that).

It wouldn't work every day for my daughter because she has a really late night most nights with dance class and stays after school a lot but if I was in this situation I'd do something in between the two - drive in sometimes, pick up sometimes, walk sometimes.

My kids walked just over a mile to school most days from when they were 5 so 3 miles doesn't sound terrible depending on their schedule.

Get them to walk to the other side of the roadworks and see if someone can take them for you from there in the mornings, then reciprocate in the afternoons? Or see if there's a bus?

It would take an hour I guess, so not too bad, but harsh in bad weather.

I'd ask how they feel... might value the exercise!

Should be no issue for fit healthy 12/13 year olds to walk, as long as there is a proper pavement the whole way. Your DH can pick them up in the afternoon if he really wants to but no reason why they can’t walk home as well.

What does that have to do with anything?

A 15 mile detour to get from one side of a village to the other seems bonkers...

But yes, like others have said, I think 6 miles a day is too much. But it is only for a month, and even mid-October is hardly the depths of winter.
Perhaps you could reach a compromise? You drive them Monday and Friday (the days of the week kids tend to be most tired), and they walk/bike the other 3?

This seems totally fine for a month in early autumn. A bit inconvenient for them but not the end of the world, these things happen.

Yeah - and I love that the post you quote is literally the first response and the giving of the ages in the line immediately above.

I mean I would probably tell my DC to suck it up and walk as it’s only for a month did you say OP? However if my parents had expected me to do that at their age then I would’ve played merry hell! lol

I think 3 miles is fine. My 10 year old cycles to school every day rain or shine and he has not once complained.
If they go out and play football/meet friends and stroll around town after school they'll be running/walking more than three miles anyway, what's the difference?

The responses on this thread are showing how sedentary the general population has become.

@MyrtlethePurpleTurtle , the OP went up without the ages mentioned. It was edited to add the children's ages. The first posters replied before the OP showed the ages.

I was delighted with my 32 minute PR for 5k (3.1 miles)! I felt like that was proper running. Now I realise I should be able to do it uphill in school shoes and carrying 50% of my bodyweight in books! 😥

I don’t really get what the fuss is. A 3 mile walk is fine. The kids will arrive invigorated and ready to sit their legs down and turn on their brain.

my kids are younger so I still do the school run which is 1 mile so 2 miles ‘return’ for me. Even my youngest before he started walked there to drop his sister off and walked back (occasionally cycled if we were a bit more time pressured) so he did a 2 mile trip come rain or shine. Ok you’ve got some extra hills by the sounds of it but as long as they know the route and have a good rain jacket (and maybe a spare pair of socks) I reckon it’s a good life lesson for teens that sometimes there’s road works?!

How will it be an adventure?! A boring hilly walk to and from school, likely in the pissing rain with heavy bags to carry is hardly a fun tale to recount.

My 3 and 5 year old walk 2 miles there and back...

Well it's not going to be forever so I'd try it out (the walk) but have a contingency plan for days it is really wet / horrid.

I wouldn't expect them to do it in the height of winter but they can manage a few weeks of it in autumn I am sure.

When I was 13 I did a paper round before school - 2 mile route , then walked the three miles to school and the three miles home again unless I had managed to find the 2p bus fare

We lived just on the three mile border from the school so didn't qualify for the free bus pass and money was tight for us ( hence having to do a paper round ) - and yes that was in all weathers

I think it's a perfectly reasonable distance for kids of that age. Plenty of kids around here much younger will have a couple of mile walk from where the school bus drops them to get home ( very rural )

How about a walk to the end of the road closure, and then they take a taxi/Uber from there? If they go with some school friends they should be safer and the fare would be shared so not that high...

Her deal was she’d take us only if it was raining and even then it was begrudged massively.

I have just calculated the distance of my walk to junior school as a child. Just about 2 miles (one way) so 4 miles a day. I loved that walk. I think it actually set me up for a love of walking and being in the countryside.

I really admire anyone who walks to school (I live near a school so I see the chaos of drop off/pick up times). If your children are walking together, even better.

I don't think that the issue is one of "safety"?