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Parenting

For free parenting resources please check out the Early Years Alliance's Family Corner.

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Original poster

walking to school

36 replies

frances5 · 08/06/2007 11:07

I have just seen this article on the BBC website

news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/6731743.stm

My son is desperate to walk to school at the age of five, but there is no way I would let him at the moment even though he does not have to cross a single road and the school is just next door to our house.

If I drove him to school then we would end up parking further away from the school than our house is.

At what age do you think a child in my son's position could walk to school on his own. I am planning on waiting until he is seven or eight before he walks to school on his own.

Do you think that parents being over protective restricts their children's development?

OP posts:

Are your children’s vaccines up to date?

Set a reminder

RosaLuxembourg · 08/06/2007 14:58

What, you seriously think Frances should wait until her son is eight or nine before he can go next door to school by himself? Some of the views on this thread are beyond overprotective.

cylonbabe · 08/06/2007 15:01

my son is in year 5 anbd has been allowed to walk home from school a few times now
for just over a year now he has been allowed to go to the shop around the corner by himself. this is about a ten minutes very slow walk away. he is also allowed to ride his bik up and down the pavement. but for some reason he doesnt like doing so. says its boring.
year six i plan to send him regularly to and from school himself.

cylonbabe · 08/06/2007 15:03

in my kids school,, infants have to be let out to an adult, or another child. nursery only to an adult. juniors are let out themselves. i think the children who live on the same road as the school have usually been coming home themselves once in juniors.

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coffeepot · 08/06/2007 15:35

y is, if you don?t let them walk to school on there own when they are 8,9,10, 11 ? how are they going to learn >not< to dawdle and learn to take responsibility for getting themselves somewhere on time.

I had a wonderful time walking over a mile to school when I was around 10. It was my dreaming time. My teacher told my mother that she was very jealous of my excuses for being late!

I like this article

coffeepot · 08/06/2007 15:36

sorry - lost the first few words there - it was supposed to say:

The worry is, if you don?t let them walk to school on there own ... (etc.)

juuule · 08/06/2007 16:13

I don't think anyone is saying to not let them walk on their own around 10/11. They usually have to get themselves to secondary school on their own anyway. I just think early primary age is too young.

Original poster

frances5 · 08/06/2007 16:27

What do you consider to be early primary school age? My son will walk to school when starts keystage 2. (or year 3)

I do not consider year 3 to be early primary school.

OP posts:

juuule · 08/06/2007 16:41

I wouldn't be happy letting them go on their own before y5 or y6. Also, in common with other schools we would have to have an agreement with the school before they would release them on their own. I can see that if you lived near the school with no busy roads you might feel okay to let them go and come home on their own in Y3 or Y4.

LunarSea · 08/06/2007 17:10

I used to go to school on the bus, on my own, when I was 5 - and it wasn't a school bus, just a standard village service one.

I do sort of walk to school with ds1 who is 5 - except that he goes on his bike, and I've got a pushchair with ds2, so once we're across the single road it's more a case of trailing in his wake, and meeting up at specified points along the route. It does mean I'm there in the playground when he goes in/out though. I wouldn't panic about him going on his own (or maybe leaving him once the road was crossed) tbh, but I don't suppose I'll actually do it except in emergencies for a while yet - although that's probably more due to conforming with the norm of taking him than because he couldn't be relied on to do it safely.

Hallgerda · 08/06/2007 20:55

I did walk to school at the age of five, and the walk involved crossing a main road. I think your son probably could walk to school on his own now and would be absolutely fine (actually, one of mine gave me the slip at the age of three and got home on his own across two roads - and I only looked away from him for a moment to sign a cheque) but the "nanny state" is likely to get a bit funny with you if you let him go off on his own under the age of 8, so I'd leave it until then.

As my eldest has a fairly long journey to school involving two trains, I'm glad I gave him some early experience of local journeys and buying things in shops unaccompanied.

lljkk · 08/06/2007 21:55

Age 7 I was also walking to school by myself, over 1/2 mile each way, including a busy road crossing.

DS will start walking to school on his own the day after his 8th birthday. It's about 3/4 mile. There's one tricky road to cross -- only tricky because mad parents on the school run come careening too fast around the corner. There are ways to cross that make it safe enough.

I wouldn't feel okay about DS going alone at age 8, except that I will still be going to/from school myself the same days (younger child to take), so I can peek in his classroom, make sure he got in okay.

Our big argument will be when can he cycle to school by himself. I imagine age 10, maybe 9 if he does cycling proficiency at school.

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