When did your child start walking on his/her own?

[Summertime45]

To school, shops, activities, etc.

My oldest daughter is in year 6; she wants to start walking on her own to school and shops; we are 30min walk from the school, 2 busy roads to cross. I have to drop and pick up youngest so haven't seen the need to.

She will have to do it in year 7 but lots of her friends, albeit who are closer to school than us walk on their own now so perhaps I should let her do it I normally drive to school as it is quicker. I wouldn't mind if we were closer but think we are a bit far to walk but perhaps I am being over protective. She is a sensible child.

I used to take DS half way in Y6. Got him across and particularly scary roads and then he carried on alone.

By Y7 he wanted to walk the entire way alone.

I'd say let her walk. It will give her confidence for starting in year 7.

I’d be looking for a compromise. Could you walk her across the busy roads? Or drive her closer so she can walk with a friend? Or take it in turns with another parent?

Mind started in year 5, but we lived very close to their primary school. And before that, they had started to do very short outings like to the post box and the corner shop on their own.

Can you find a way to let her do some shorter journeys alone, until you feel more confident? It's a gradual thing and a 30min walk is quite a lot if its her first attempt.

Haha I read the thread title and was going to pop in and say 12 months! She started walking home from primary school aged 10 ( latter end of year 6) and walked to the bus stop alone ( 20 yards up road) aged 11 to catch bus to secondary. We live in a quiet rural village where we know nearly everyone and she is very sensible. I probably could have let her walk home from primary younger tbh.

Well she's going to have to do it in 4 months so unless you think he'll mature dramatically in that time in what she can manage I can't see the difference?

Agree with others that if you have concerns start increasing the distance over the next few months. Easier for her as well than going from never being it alone to a 30 minute walk unaided.

Year six. Town with friends Year 7

My son is yr 5 and very occasionally he has walked alone mostly due to unforeseen circumstances but we live very close to school and only one road with a zebra crossing

We were advised by DS primary school they could walk on there after Christmas in Year 5. My son did from Year 6. We're 25 minutes from the school and it's mostly along a main road, but he never crossed it. Pretty much all the kids here walked without parents in Year 6

Our Primary school is a similar distance away. At the start of Year 6 I started dropping dd2 off at a friend's house who lives about half way to school and they walk together.

We've recently been letting her and her friends walk into town by themselves. (10 min walk, small town)

Now (well perhaps after next week is out of the way ;)) is the perfect time to try, if you are worried you can check all is OK when dropping off your younger dc.

We are much nearer to school, under 10 mins in small village.
Ds2 was going on his own from the start of yr4 when ds1 went to secondary and coming home on his own from Easter of yr4 when I told school that was what was happening.
As far as I know not 1 other child in his yr 6 class went to or from school unaccompanied.
He is now yr 7 and gets the school bus from the other side of the main road.
He doesn't go to shops etc as we don't have any, although he wants to bike to the next village to do so, I've put him off as the road can be v busy, but will be letting him soon.

Do your DC have younger siblings? My eldest is very sensible and could probably start walking the 25 min to school by herself once she goes into year 5/6. DD2 is 2 years younger and at the same school. It seems silly to allow or encourage DD1 to walk when I will be driving/walking/cycling with DD2 anyway but I think it's a lot of responsibility to ask DD1 to take DD2 with her. She does take her to post box and we might let them go to the park together this summer (1 small road to cross). DD1's friends live in the opposite direction from the school so I'm not sure whether she'll want to walk by herself anyway but I'd like her to have the option.

DS1, the 'last leg' (from last road crossing) on his own in year 3. Not the whole year, but as far as I can remember, before his 8th birthday in the June. He had to go back to being accompanied in year 4, when DD started school, so this was his 'window of opportunity' for independence

DD, sometimes walked back from year 5 with DS2 (year 3, October birthday, so 8) in tow. Two main roads to cross but pedestrian crossings on both, plus a lollipop lady on one of them. (And if I was going to be late home, giving them the money to go and sit in a favourite local cafe for half an hour with a drink was cheaper than after school club and a treat for them). They didn't usually walk to school on their own at that time as DH and I helped at breakfast club so one of us was going to the school anyway three days a week and they went to a childminder the other two.

DS2 alone, sometimes in year 5, regularly in year 6, picking up a friend on the way, also coming home on his own most days by the end of the year.

All of them on public transport to school from year 7.

If you want to start off gradually, how about driving her to friends and then they can walk in together?

My mum always walked us to primary but didn't for high school. Both were roughly the same distance. I had younger siblings though, so kind of made sense.

I let DS go off on his own from yr 4 , so we all left the house together but he’d run off, or go another way, while I took his younger sister the quickest way. It was a straightforward 15 minute walk, the one big road was close to our house and we crossed that together. He went home on his own, including the road, from yr 6.

OP, can your dd get a bus to school or walk with a friend? A 30 minute walk is quite far particularly if it is raining, very cold and dark.

Year 5, 30 minute walk to school (actually they mostly cycled) - can't believe the comments that 30 minutes is too far -it's about 1.5 miles (By Year 7 many DC happily walking/cycling 3 miles or more). Same age that they went down to local shop and played out.

Definitely get her used to going places on her own prior to starting in Y7 - they have enough changes to get used to without throwing that into the mix.

Yr6. We live very close to school (and to activities/grandmas house etc) and she now walks alone.

Next step is to tackle the bus alone.

We are in a large but reasonably easy city and live very very centrally. Traffic is heavy which in some ways makes it harder, but also means it's not fast moving.

Thank you.

I think we will start gradually. I can drop her off half way to the school and she can also walk to Brownies and back now which is only a few blocks away but one busy road to cross very close to the house; I may go with her to start with and watch her until she crosses.

She can definitely walk and cycle to school but I worry as some kids have been mugged; mainly near the park and it has been for mobile phones or bikes. We are in SE London.

My eldest (yr 7) didn't go anywhere alone really until she started secondary, she did the odd walk to and from school, but I have younger children, and also we only have our road to cross (very quiet, cul-de-sac) and the school is at the top. She is now making her own way to school including crossing fairly busy roads.

I am more worried about the next one (autism) but we are hopefully (if we ever get to exchange) moving really close to the school, so will only have to cross side streets - which is a dead-end.