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Parenting

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Original poster

10 year old walking home from school and waiting for me

32 replies

Amandella · 26/05/2008 14:26

My eldest dd is 10 and has started walking home once or twice a week from school. There is no road crossing to do and it's a straight walk down a road full of mums and kids coming from two schools, some of whom she knows. She does the walk in 10 to 12 mins and I have been quite happy about it (well as happy as you can be when you aren't with your child!). We've been basically "practising" this term, because as from September, our youngest will start school in a different school in the other direction and so eldest dd will have to walk to and from school every day on her own and then when she walks home from school, I'll be walking the little one home at the same time - we should arrive within 5 or 10 mins of one another either way. So, my question is do you think this is OK - for a short while on her own at the house and walking every day or is it too much for a 10 year old? She's very keen to do it as I do know that quite a few of her friends do it...but I have to say in an ideal world I'd rather collect her but it just can't happen that way. Also, would you give her a mobile phone? Our school has a policy that the kids need to drop them in the office in the morning and collect after school. I'd love to be able to ring her as i walk home or if she has a problem she could call me if she is delayed but you hear about kids being targetted or mugged for their mobiles which worries me a bit. We live in a "nice" suburb of greater London but you never know!!

Thoughts please wise ones.

OP posts:

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stitch · 26/05/2008 21:27

also, dc1's year six teacher is brilliant. if they dont turn up, we get a phone call asking where they are.

mumeeee · 26/05/2008 22:15

I would do it. She will be fine walking home and also fine being at the house by herself for 10 minutes. I wouldn't give her a mobile phone. When DD2 was 10 she used to walk home once a week by herself as I had to take DD3 to her OT group and DD1 was at a different school. She did not have a mobile phone and was fine. She was in year 5 at the time.

Tommy · 26/05/2008 22:24

has life really changed that much in the last 30 years or so?

I walked to and from school from about 6 years old and I wasn't the only one by any means - there simply wasn't this big gaggle of parents at the school gate.

Your DD is 10 - not 4. She will be going to secondary school soon and presumably she will have to go there alone?

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nametaken · 26/05/2008 23:17

Hi, I would do it - my only concern is about her walking to school. Obviously, when she's coming home from school she can ring you as soon as she gets in or you can ring her. But on the walk to school, how would you know she got there safely? You wouldn't know till about 4 that afternoon.

Our school always ring parents if a child doesn't come to school and they havn't been notified. It's nothing to do with walking to school alone, it's just something our school does.

Would your school secretary do this for you. Especially if you explain the circumstances. Then I'd be 100% happy and feel good that I'd covered every eventuality

cory · 27/05/2008 08:51

I was fine with this when dd was 10. Good time to get some practice in before secondary school.

prettybird · 27/05/2008 09:36

We've agreed with the school that those days that we let ds (7.5) walk to school on his own (without us spying on him), we will ring the school secretary at 8.40, which is just before the brekfast club gets decanted out into the playground. It is then easy for her to pop next door to check that he is in.

christywhisty · 28/05/2008 02:11

My DD 10 walks/cycles home. She just passed her cycling proficiency test so she is allowed to take her bike to school.
I work in the other direction and am usually home before her but sometimes I stop off to get some shopping so may be a few minutes late. I wouldn't be happy if she didn't have a mobile, so I can tell her what is happening, where I am etc for both our reassurance. She drops the phone off in the office in the morning.It's only my old one which is payg and she doesn't get hardly any money on it.
We are in a similar area , just outside greater london.

She is only yr 5 but next year she will be getting a train to school with her brother, so she needs to become independent.

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