is it just in my area that people let their 7 year olds walk to school by themselves?

[nappyaddict]

because whenever there has been a thread about children walking to school on their own on here no one seems to do it from age 7. here all the kids do it from the end of year 2/beginning of year 3. is that unusual?

Depends how far you are from school, and yes, to a point, what other people do. There is a critical mass reached, people don't feel so judged, and the kids get to walk together on their own, probably with sensible older brothers and sisters. No bad thing IMO. Mine was 7 or 8 when she went on her own I think.

Interesting. Am just pondering whether to let 7 yr old dd walk home on her own. It's only just round the corner and one quiet road to cross.

My 7yo sometimes does. mostly very safe streets and then one slightly tricky road but there are lots of people crossing she can go across with.

I can't think of others her age at school who do. My 8yo does too. They would do it more but we have a 4yo as well who needs taking.

At our school (deprived area) children have to be collected by an adult at the end of the day until they are in yr3: the teachers bring them out into the playground and dismiss them in turn if they are accompanied, so can't walk home alone.

We weren't affected as we have a long walk and there is a busy road without a crossing, so they didn't start walking unaccompanied until they were in yr3; if we lived very close to the school we might have made enquiries.

I think Cod's children walked to school unaccomp. younger though.

I would let mine walk home on their own if it wasn't for busy road junction. They never walk with me anyway - just run off with their friends and they all wait for the Mums at the roads!

My ds kind of walks to and from school on his own. I have to take dd anyway, so somedays he goes on ahead but knows I'm not too far behind if he's not sure about one of the roads and wants to wait for me. I think we're both happier with gradual loosening of the apron strings

I do and my DD is 7. It's a 4 minute walk over one road, she walks with her friend ho is a year older.
She only comes home this way once a week as she's at the CM's or an after school ativity the other days.

I'm totaly happy with it and DD wouldn't want me to take her now.

roisin - so yours crossed the busy road without a crossing when they were in year 3 (ie 7?) or when they had finished year 3 and had gone into year 4 (and were therefore then 8)

did your first child do it at this age or wasn't it until the youngest was in year 3/4 that they both did it together?

mugglewump - what age did DD start doing it?

I think I might even let a 6 year old do it if there were no roads to cross at all.

6 year olds where I live (not UK) are expected to walk on their own to school - everyone does it. My DCs have three roads and a railway crossing on their way to school. It is amazing what they can cope with at a young age. It helps that there are traffic wardens at each of the crossing points, and parents also volunteer to help in the mornings when the roads are busy.
You regularly see small children on buses and trains, taking themselves to school. No-one bats an eyelid.
And it gives the children a real confidence boost!

Nappyaddict - ds1 did it occasionally from the age of 7 (yr3). If dh couldn't pick them up from school, then I would get ds2 to walk with a friend (and parent) and ds1 would walk on his own. (ds2 finished 10 mins before ds1.)

They've both always walked loads and have excellent road sense. The 'busy road' isn't a major road, but just one that is busy because of school traffic. But where they cross is also used by a secondary school as well as primary school, so drivers are aware of the potential for 'stupid' behaviour (usually the teenagers!) Tbh I had more qualms about them having contact with the teenagers hanging around in groups than about the road.

In the mornings if dh couldn't take them, I would see them across this road, then send them on alone (whilst I dashed off to work).

Second children, of course, do things earlier. ds2 walked to/from school without an adult for the whole of last year (yr4) and frequently in the year before (yr3).

not a lot of dc in ds school walk alone but then it is on a very busy main road by a rough area. A lot of the people who live in my street still walk their 10/11yr olds and it is only a 15 min walk at an average pace.

Traffic wardens or crossing patrols make a big difference. Our "sort of busy" road is the main street in the village and at school time people do rush up and down it TOO FAST in their horrible big 4x4s and there's poor visibility for small children trying to cross. It's really annoying as it could easily be a safe road, especially if parents would follow the rules and not drive right up to/ past the school - there is space to park away from the school and there's a walking bus too for children coming in by car.

I get very angry with those cars as there is no need for it and it does mean it's not totally safe for my 7 and 8 year olds to go alone. They go anyway and they do have good road sense, but it's an issue. I do worry about that road.

Our school will not allow children to leave unless a parent/guardian takes them. (Not a deprived area/school) There is a handover of responsibility from school to parent. Was wondering, how do schools where this is not done cope with kids who just choose to wander off?

Nappy addict,
DD started just before the summer holidays this year so she was 6.10.
She'd been walking halfway, ie after the road and where I could see her the rest of the way for a good few months beforehand though and I did follow her without her knowing at first.
I totaly trust her or I wouldn't allow it. I do live in an area where many kids do similar though and all play out from a young age.
It's the norm where I live.

Janinlondon
Our school won't let children out alone untill they are in P3 (I'm in Scotland), untill then they are only let out if a carer is there.
After that they are allowed to go and it's up to the child to find the carer in the playground. I guess that makes it up to the carer to be there on time or call beforehand.
DD knows to come straight home on a Wednesday and given that she is home by 3.10pm she does.
I know her CM would never be late or not there at all without calling and her youngest DS is in DD's class anyway so it really doesn't worry me.

I don't let my 9 year old (year 5) walk alone yet - only about 2 children out of the 120 in his year walk alone.

People in y6 seem to start doing it to get ready for senior school

mugglewump - has she always done it with her friend?

your area seems a bit like mine. no one really bats an eyelid here cos it is the norm and they all play out from about 3.

no it's not unusual at all. Things have a tendency to be skewed on mn.

don't you have lollipop men/ladies in your areas for the busy roads near schools?

They do near some of the schools but not all of them.

I'd be happy for my 7yo dd to walk to school by herself - no roads to cross and only 5 mins away. She however doesn't feel ready.

No we don't have a lollipop person. . It's a small school, 100 pupils, it isn't deemed big enough to need one. There isn't even a zebra crossing.

So we keep practising the road safety stuff and the girls cross with other people when they can and we just hope for the best. not ideal.

Fennel - what age did yours start doing it? i presume they walk together?

Perhaps a walking bus might be a good idea for your school if there are no lollipop people?

Nappyadict, the school has a morning walking bus but it comes from the opposite end of the village to our end. They are trying to address the issues.

8yo and 7yo generally go together, but sometimes alone. They've been doing it since dd1 was 8 and dd2 nearly 7 (she's a sensible child). 8yp dd1 recently stopped wanting to after having trouble crossing the road on her own, so now she waits til a handy adult helps her cross. It's a small village community so people do help, and most parents and children know each other at least by sight.