What age is it safe to let a child walk home from shcool alone?

[SuzieSweep]

I thought of this after reading another thread anyway my DD is only 5 so way too young at the moment I know but I was just wondering when you all started to let your kids walk home alone? And did they have a mobile phone with them?

A mobile is not going to stop them getting run over though is it? And like fennel that would be my main worry. I just think the road outside school is quite dangerous for small child because of the parking etc on a narrow side street.

I think it must be different if you live in a village. TBH not very many people walk to our local primary school it is all 4x4s and MPVs and chaos outside the gates for parking!! I walk with my 4 boys and am "known" around the area because I do walk

I have people come up to me when I am out and say "don't your children go to ...... school? I always see you walking up the hill with your puschair and all your children".

When I went to school we all walked and I refuse to drive to school, I want my children to have fresh air and excercise. I would never let them walk alone until year 6 though but we have to cross a v.busy main road, walk up the narrow pavement at the side of that road and then cross the main road that leads to the M1. Then they have to get up the even narrower pavement near school and cross a little road that everyone is trying to get into in their 4x4s to park and with more cars parked on the corner so you can't see if anyone is coming

So it's a whole different ball game to some of you. Oh and can you tell I don't like the Mums that drive to school with 1 or 2 children but live far nearer than me just so their precious little darlings don't get cold and becuase "they aren't very good walkers" oh FFS!!

Mine walked from age 7 (yr3); but not every day. They prefer someone to pick them up, but sometimes it's not possible.

They have c.15 min walk, one fairly busy road and several quiet roads to cross.

They don't have phones with them, but there are plenty of people around.

We don't live in a village, but we do have a good sense of community, and if there was an accident or an incident, people would definitely stop and help. And there would almost certainly be someone around who would know where I work/live and would phonem e or come and find me if it were an emergency.

dazed that is a bit like how I feel. It is entirely because so many parents drive to school that DS cannot walk on his own. That is the only dangerous bit on our route. He is allowed to run ahead as far as the lollipop lady but then there is a line of tarmac that he knows he must wait behind until DD and I catch up.

No, a mobile won't defend a child from cars bozza . My DS#1 has one mainly so that I can keep tabs on him and he can call me in case of problems - for next year rather than this year.

as has already been said I think it depends on the age/maturity of the child, how far away it is and how well the child knows the route.

DS1 will probably start walking to/from school at some point in Y3 (he'll be 8) - but the school is only at the top of the road, with just one road to cross, a proper pedestrian crossing and LOTS of other parents crossing (so if he did have a funny moment and decide not to wait for the green man there'll be people around to make sure he waits).

I have on a few occasions let him go to school on his own, including when he was in Y1 (but we live right next to the school, literally our next door neighbours, no roads to cross literally out our gate, straight into the next one). He hasn't come home on his own, but that's because of the school policy of not allowing children to leave the school without whoever is picking them up.

Ds (age 7) has just started occasionally walking to school on his own. 10 minute walk, with one relatively busy crossing (but which has a lollipop man usually there - becasue ds goes to breakfast club, it's actually officially beofre the lollipop man starts) and a couple of minor crossings. At the moment we are still "spying" on ds as he walks - much to his irritation! He has a good traffic sense, which we trained in to him from as soon as he could walk, eg I always get him to decide when it is safe to cross the road whenever I am walking with him.

Ihave also started occasionally letting him walk home from the after school club if I need to get some things from the local shop - ie I pick him up and let him start walking while I pop in and then try to catch him up. There's no lollipop man at this time, so he was to cross all the roads on his own.

This is in inner city Glasgow (although we live in a strange mix of leafy avenues and tenement flats),

Orm I was just pointing out that that is why a mobile would make no difference to whether I allowed DS to walk home on his own or not. It is the congestion outside school that is my main/only concern.

DS1 and his friend (who lives in the same road as us) started to walk to school at the beginning of the summer term of year 4. They started to walk home together after two terms of year 5. DS2 who has just turned 8 has started to walk with them in the last couple of weeks after me taking him all they way, then leaving him so far down the road to the school etc. The walk to school is no more than 10 minutes. We do live in a village though, however, we have a busy main street with lorries that come through as a shortcut.

I think that you will know if your child is responsible enough.