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As Recently as 1979, A First Grader Could… « FreeRangeKids (http://freerangekids.wordpress.com/2011/08/31/as-recently-as-1979-a-first-grader-could/ - broken link)
My 6th grader rode his bike 5 miles to school in FL. His choice, because he wanted to be able to see his friends after school for a while without missing a bus. My 5th grader also rode his bike, but that was only 1.5 miles. I rode along with him. We had wide, flat sidewalks, but they were edged by high hedges which made me nervous. The school did not call home if a child didn't arrive and there was no call by the parent to say they were sick.
I'm so old that when I was in 5th grade the cops came to the school, laid out a course in the school's parking lot, and taught us bike safety. We got little certificates if I recall correctly. They encouraged us to ride our bikes to school.
I'm so old that when I was in 5th grade the cops came to the school, laid out a course in the school's parking lot, and taught us bike safety. We got little certificates if I recall correctly. They encouraged us to ride our bikes to school.
lol!
Well, if it makes you feel any better, they did this when my son was in elementary as well.
It was nice for the kids within distance who could ride their bikes. Unfortunately, we were too far away so my son rode the bus.
Growing up, my goodness - well, I couldn't ride to school because we were out in the middle of no where and the school was miles away - but the bus stop that I had to walk to in the rain, snow and up hill both ways was probably a good two miles away. That was to just GET to the bus stop!
This was on the local radio station this morning.
There is more to the story than was in the article linked above. Apparently the girl was observed riding in such a way as to endanger herself or others.
I think a lot of articles about this are misleading as it was not the fact that she was riding unsupervised that the officer was concerned about. Although I do think taking it to CPS was overboard, a talk with the mother should have been sufficient.
EPD: Unsupervised 10 year old should not ride bike to school | TriCities.com TRANSCRIPT: CHIEF (http://www2.tricities.com/topics/types/position/tags/chief/ - broken link) MATT BAILEY (http://www2.tricities.com/topics/types/person/tags/matt-bailey/ - broken link), Elizabethton Police Department (http://www2.tricities.com/topics/types/organization/tags/elizabethton-police-department/ - broken link): "We would be derelict in our duty if we didn't say, 'Hey, we've got some issues about her safety."
Last Wednesday, an Elizabethton police officer put his car in park and waited on the school bus parked in front of him .
BAILEY (http://www2.tricities.com/topics/types/person/tags/matt-bailey/ - broken link): "The child goes into oncoming traffic, and goes around the school bus, and around his vehicle."
Chief (http://www2.tricities.com/topics/types/position/tags/chief/ - broken link) Matt Bailey (http://www2.tricities.com/topics/types/person/tags/matt-bailey/ - broken link) says the officer watched a car stop to avoid running her over. The next day, the officer saw that girl again.
BAILEY (http://www2.tricities.com/topics/types/person/tags/matt-bailey/ - broken link): "He sees the child crest the hill, she starts over the top of the hill on Cedar Avenue, a car comes from behind her and has to swerve over."
Bailey (http://www2.tricities.com/topics/types/person/tags/matt-bailey/ - broken link) says this time the officer stopped the child, put her inside his cruiser, and drove her home.
There is a video in the link above that shows the street the girl was riding on. I agree that the street is probably too narrow to be safe for a 10 year old to ride on when there is heavy morning traffic around the school. I would not have let my kids do it under those circumstances.
If that is the case the mother should have been spoken to and if the daughter was observed riding in such a way that was endangering her, Why not just give some sort of small ticket and tell the mother to teach the daughter how to ride her bike correctly to school?
CPS should not be involved in this matter at all.
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