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There are way too many variables for anyone to give you advice about this. The route, the distance, the number of other pedestrians along the route, your time availability for the walk, your daughter's feelings about having you with her for the walk, etc.
But I do think that at 8 years old, once she is physically at the school, she should be able to and allowed to walk to the classroom by herself. That time before classes begin is a time when the children are socializing with each other, forming friendships and peer bonds. If you are at her side for those minutes, you are isolating her from the ability to socialize with her peers.
This is a new age of news opening up to weirdos out there that prey on children.I'd say older.
You do realize that crimes against children are at the lowest rates ever...and most such crimes are by people the children know....not strangers. Fear mongering does not help.
I think you should enjoy the walk to school with your child while you can. That can be a great time for you two to talk. There's more involved than just safety or independence. There's also the parent-child bond. My youngest is 8, and I treasure the fact that she still likes to spend more time with me than my other two. They grow up fast, and there is plenty of time for "independence." Don't let the other parents bother you.
Your child is at an exponentially higher risk of dying while being driven to school than they are of being kidnapped/abused while walking to school.
The fear-mongering is ridiculous.
I wouldn't say it's fear mongering. Things do happen, although very very rarely.
I lived in a small Texas town and walked to school in the late seventies and we had a flasher/ naked perv in the car try to talk with us. We ran to a neighbors house that had safe sign and she she called the cops.
I still remember exactly what he looked like and I was only five or six.
In a very nice suburb of Houston a friends daughter was approached by two men in a van while coming back from school, but a yard guy chased them off.
I would say a good age is at least nine or ten at least. If a child is younger than that, they should be accompanied by another older child or a group of children.
I would also set up a series of "safe" houses in the neighborhood, where your child knows to go if they are ever in danger.
Is there any best age send kids alone to school?
As I live here in Holland most kids go alone to school when they are little. My daughter is 8+ but some mothers from other kids who send kids alone to school bugging me to send my child to school alone and they see me walking my child to school as waste of time and kid wont be independent. But my mind is saying DON'T do it yet.
Honestly I prefer walk my daughter to school and also to the class then I go to my work with peace in mind. And I never see walking my child to school as a waste of time,I am sure here might some parents who has elder kids than mine.
what was age you send your kid alone to school in case if you ever did? I am afraid of doing something when my mind is doubting. I appreciate some advice or your experience.
Thank you in advance!
I would never allow my child to walk to school alone. However, I might allow him to walk with a group of children at that age, if I could be sure the children could be trusted to stay together. Plenty of kids have been abducted, even tweens, while walking to and from school, and I live in an area of dense population, so there are plenty of known predators living around here, plus who knows who else, and it's just not safe. When I was young I lived in a rural area, and there weren't many people around, and we rarely saw anyone we didn't actually know. At 8 I definitely walked to the bus stop on my own - sort of, anyway - but there were lots of other kids walking there at the very same time, so I wasn't exactly alone on the street. Plus, there were parents around and everyone knew everyone. It's not like that where I live now.
Traffic is also a concern here - everyone is in a hurry to get to work at that hour, and it is necessary to cross streets. We have a high number of pedestrian and bike accidents here, so that's another reason I don't think it's safe.
Over here, some parents start doing it in 2nd grade, some parents start doing it in Middle School! Too many other factors (parents' job requirements, etc.) to have a general answer for this question.
I didn't walk my children to school but I did drive them to school and pick them up too. We had a school bus system but it stopped by at 6:15 AM and my children didn't get home until after 4:20 PM. There is so many sick people out there today and a child can disappear in the twinkling of an eye. I would continue to walk her to school, it's your child and if she has no problems with you walking her, do it. When she does decide she is too old for you to walk her, make sure she walks with a group of children, not alone.
I see nothing whatsoever wrong with you walking her to school.
Don't let yourself be pressured by the other parents. You do what you feel is right. I'd say the same thing if the situation was reversed, and they were all pressuring you to walk with your daughter. This is your child and your decision, nobody else's.
Thank you for saying this,, today is first day after long summer. I am just being patient, but I thought of letting them know how I feel at some time. May be they think that they are doing a favor by pushing me.
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