Is this journey okay for 12 year old in year 7?

[Flowerpot1985]

Hiya!

My 12 year old started in year 7 this Sept. He/we chose a school out of catchment (bout 15 mins in car but he gets school bus)

Hes doing well on the whole. He gets the school bus there and most of the way back, i was wondering if other peoples children have a long bus journey as i worry its too much for him.

He catches the bus at 7.40am and it arrives at school just before 8.30am.

His return bus leaves at 3:20pm and I pick him up at 3:40 from bus stop and we are home by 3:50pm.

(If he were to catch bus home it would get in at 4:10 so i pick him up at a stop on route back).

Is this okay do you think?

I just worry he's going to be shattered.

Thank you

My kids have a much longer day and journey and they are fine, but every kid is different- how is he coping?

I did the same journey at that age although the return journey was twice as long due to traffic.

It was fine. I made friends on the bus - - it's safe and low pressure social time. Sometimes finished homework or read a book.
What happens about after-school clubs?

I did similar, it was fine.

That is absolutely fine and nothing out of the ordinary.

The school near us has kids who have a 1hr+ bus journey at the start & end of the day. From previous threads on here about the same subject, this is not unusual.

That's fine. Even on the shorter end of school commutes.

It’s fine - 12yo DD leaves the house with me at 7.45, I drop her at a friend’s, they walk/get a lift in from there and she either walks back or gets a lift after activities. It’s common for her not to get back home until 5. So no long journeys but obviously out of the house for a long time. She does get tired and needs a lie in at the weekend but overall it’s fine and she manages well.

I'd say that sounds like a fairly normal length of journey to secondary school.

My first one was about ten miles away, and a mile from the train station. It did feel a bit knackering on the way home but nothing that wasn't doable.

My daughter leaves the house at 7.30am and walks 2 miles to school and then walks home again and gets home around 4.20. She’s fine. No more tired than she was before. I’m sure your son will be grand

Our DS has an extremely similar commute to yours, though it’s very unusual for our area/among our friends. It is a long day, especially coming from primary where we walked 15’ to school, but we try hard to have a really set weekday routine (which includes time for relaxing and getting enough sleep) to make sure it all runs smoothly. He definitely enjoys a lie in a little more on the weekend, though!

It's fine. We're in a 3-tier area, so my DCs have had to do this from yr5 to get to the middle school. I walk them to the bus at 7.30am and they walk themselves home from the stop in the afternoon, arriving home around 4.30pm. They are together now, which is better, but for 2yrs DD1 did it alone. They don't find the journey too far or long. They have phones, and use the time to message friends, do their Duolingo, play Roblox etc as well as chatting to friends who are also on the bus. It serves as a good decompression from the day.

If it’s 50 mins by bus in the morning or a 15 min drive then I would drive him if I could a couple of mornings a week so he wasn’t doing that every school day.
But it doesn’t sound unusual.

My kids did a longer day than that (walk - train - walk). Almost an hour each way in total. They were fine. Left the house at a similar time but got back later. They were fine with it but every child is different.

That’s nothing! Of course it’s fine.

My DD has been doing a similar journey since year 7, she is year 10 now. On the whole it’s been a good thing for her, he has “bus friends” and now that she’s a bit older she’ll do stuff like get a drink somewhere or look around the shops on the way to the bus stop home (she gets a public bus in centre of town), really good for her independence I think.

What happens about clubs/matches/rehearsals/going to a friend’s house after school?

I think this sounds completely fine. Obviously, a 5 minute walk would be better, but that's just not very practical as a rule. And if it's one bus that takes him right to school, sounds great.

Being on a bus isn't tiring in itself, although stress if buses are cancelled or don't turn up can be tiring. I'd try to get him to use the time sensibly if he can - I got motion sickness so couldn't do my homework on the bus,but others could get a lot of work done. If he can get through a load of work/required reading then have nothing much to do when he gets home he'll be in a good place.

Mine does a similar journey to school in year 7. Bus picks up at 7.40am. His school finishes at 2.50pm so he probably gets home a bit sooner. It is a long day but absolutely in the normal commuting range. It feels like a shock when they’ve walked to primary school. Secondary school catchments often means that walking is no longer feasible sadly.

Sounds fine. Surely an 11 year old has more energy than, say, a 60 year old, and lots of them are expected to leave the house earlier and get home later if working full time.