At what age did your child start walking home alone?

[Intothewildwest]

At what age did your child start walking home alone? We live about 5 minutes away from the school and up until now we've used the after school club however, I've been offered a new role with a pay rise. The money would be really helpful, as I'm a single parent. My son is 10, in year 4 and would sometimes be alone for an hour and 30 minutes. I do have a relative that lives across the road that could check up on him. I'm just battling between guilt at the moment of what to do.

It's a case of struggling to pay all bills and put food on the table for us. Never mind the cost of ensuring he has everything he needs.

I'm sure a couple of times a week, he'll be fine to grab a snack and game until I get home. Everyone's circumstances are different and these are ours. There isn't really anything I can do about it. It's financially struggle and it get worse, or make adjustments.

I'm glad for all those who don't share our circumstances and I'm glad life is working differently for you.

aged 9 and a half. We started working up to it with her starting the walk and stopping while I drove around to 1 point, then I’d drive on and wait just inside our estate to see her come around the corner, then drive home. No roads to cross. Moved on the her walking fully at the same time as I drove (I was driving home from train station), then that she had permission to leave at 5:30pm to meet me at the door of home (in reality, let herself in just before or after I got there), then to leave at 5pm and I’d be in soon after her. By the time she HAD to walk home alone at 4pm a couple of months later (as bullying at afterschool club got out of hand and principal couldn’t deal with the bully for other reasons so she went home straight after extra curricular), we had already done the hard yards of learning what to do/not and get comfortable with going home alone and making snack, starting homework, having shower/getting changed etc as needed.

Mine started in year 5. I will also leave him for 15 mins at home alone. I’m not worried about him if everything is ‘ok’ it’s if something went wrong I’m not sure how he would react. Over year 6 I will build up to him being at home on his own a bit more.

Age 7/8

Both mine started walking home alone from the first day of year five, aged 9. It's about a 15 minute walk, village pavements, only one "big" road to cross, and that has a pelican crossing. Never had an issue, and it made transitioning to walking to the bus stop to catch the school bus very easy when my eldest started secondary.

My 9 and 10(almost 11) year olds cycle/scoot 5 minutes to school and home alone. I'm here when they get home but if not I'd have no problem with them being here alone for an hour and a half.

If that's what you need to do and you're confident that your son is fine then do it.

Yes! I actually just asked my mum to make sure I wasn’t imagining things and she confirmed not one child in mine or siblings year (that she knew of) walked home alone in primary school. My neighbour also has a child in year 5 and drops/picks her everyday. I was born in 2000. Really?? I work in central London and I’ve never seen a primary aged child getting the tube or bus alone, assuming primary kids wouldn’t be wearing a shirt and blazer, if they do and my assumption is wrong - apologies!

Age 5, in P1. Where we live virtually all the kids walk home from the start.

Age 7 (2nd grade) the school allows them to either walk or take the school bus if they live further away.

By 3rd/4th grade very few of them go to school with their parents.

At age 10 (5th grade) they do their cycling proficiency training during school hours and after that, if they pass, they're allowed to cycle to school (or anywhere else) alone.

I walked home from age 6, walking to and fro I was usually with a friend or my older brother, but I did sometimes walk home for lunch and back, alone. 1970s, a different world as far fewer cars. It was about a ten minute walk I think .

Year 5 and are alone for about 1-1.5 hours every day after school

Ds was walking home at 6, but Dh was at home to be with him once he got there. It was less than ideal from my perspective but we did it, and there was only an issue once. He was a very sensible kid.

I happily just let my 13 year old year 8 start walking home alone and back to school having said that he gets to take a mobile and leave it at school once he arrives which is literally the only time he even takes his phone, he is not interested so some take their time to be ready for such things!

How strange! I was born in 81, so perhaps things changed between our primary years. And I work in London too, and used to get a bus I would often see primary age children on (and have seen them on the tube when I've been in early for other reasons).

I went to primary in the 80s and most walked home from year 4-5. In my children’s school they can walk home from y5.

my children started year 5. I’d be mindful of his friends and road safety. Our primary has a current batch of year 5 boys who are really dangerous on the roads when walking home alone. Walking out in front of cars, nipping between cars on their scooters etc. I live just up the road and it really worries me as I live on a junction and see so many near misses. I think they egg each other on.

I know people are saying there child is sensible, but isn’t the worry more about the risk of adults they could come across?
(Could be down to the area I live)

Walking home fine - mine did from 9
left alone for an hour and a half - not until 11 or 12. They grow up a lot when they get to high school

DD is the same age. Currently she walks home from school and separately we leave her home alone for 30 mins whilst we pick up her brother from clubs.

If we needed to, I would consider building up to this provided you/someone else could check he was home and could be contacted if needed.

One or twice a week, at 11, is a bit different

does he have a phone he can contact you on? If not I’d get him one

or if there is a landline available i suppose that’s ok, we don’t have one anymore!

This was totally normal in the 90s. I used to get a school bus that dropped me off a 15 minute walk from home, and I’d do that with my sister from when I was about 8 and she was 6.

My kids school allow it from year 5 and they will also allow a younger sibling to go with an older one from year 3.

OP I think the walk is fine but it’s the being home alone after that is the issue - I don’t know any think he’s a bit young.

Appreciating the circumstances OP, would you be happy to do this anyway if it wasn't for work purposes? How does DS feel about it? My DC is Year 5 but at the opposite end of the year group to yours, I'd be happy to say yes if my child was almost 11. From 11 it's usual to travel home and be home alone for a while after school.
I am debating letting my DD walk to school but there's a huge main crossroads to go over (which I trust she'd use the traffic lights for to be fair) it's more her stranger danger that concerns me. She thinks everyone is nice.

Mine walked home from year five for the same reason. I was at work. I put her key on elastic in her bag. She had a phone and we set it so that it sent me a text when she arrived home. Then she could ring me if she wanted. It worked well. She liked it, walking home with her friends,

Schools can’t stop you from allowing your child to walk home alone. They might want a permission letter but it’s the decision of the parents.

I don’t think our school allows it until Y6. She may have done it a couple times in Y6, but it’s about a 20 minute walk along an A road and then across fields. I was there doing the school run anyway, so really no point except for the novelty of it. Generally from Y7 though she walked to the bus stop and home more regularly (though it’s still not close as we live so rurally).