What age do you think it is safe for a child to start walking to school on their own?
He is a very sensible boy, good at crossing the road etc. I'm just wondering what parents of other kids this age think.
Answer:
Crumbs Donna. In this day and age it is arguable whether it is safe for anyone to walk anywhere at any time!
As a mother, you know your son and his capabilities best. If you think he's ready now then chances are he was six months ago. You know what I mean.
I'd try and ensure he was a safe as possible, maybe there are other kids in your area that walk or would like to, have a word with other mums or the teachers at the school and see if you can get a group of 3-4 kids who are walking the same way (any less and I think they are too vulnerable, any more and sensible and responsible though they all are, group menatlity takes over and silliness can take over).
Personally I would try and get him walking with a small group, maybe with a parent in the background, rather than completely on his own.
I'd wait until he was going to secondary school and anyways the 10 minute walk to pick him up everyday is a good form of exercise providing you do walk and not use the car!!
I waited till my son went to secondary school at 11. He also is a sensible boy that looks a little older than he actually is. However, its the outside world that worries me, not the capabilities of my son. The world is cruel.
IT depends on how sensible you consider him to be a great deal, and does he have any friends he can walk home with/ or do a lot of kids from his school walk that way anyway. Perhaps you could gradually get him to do it by meeting him just after the school gate, at the traffic lights, waiting in front of your house, until you and he are both confident that he is safe. It's hard I know, but children need to be given responsibility and independance in order that they can use them sensibly and understand the risks involved. If he has a phone maybe he could take that (off in class) and that would help you feel more confident too.
Probably a little older, 11-12. However, if he can walk with a friend it's might be okay at 10?
i think he's about the right age to be given the opportunity to walk to school, but perhaps it also depends on whether other children are walking the same route at the same time? ie safety in numbers.
he will be fine. my son was walking school at this age, although he knocked for friends on the way. would your son be able to knock for his friends to walk with him? if he is sensible like you say then let him and kids love independance dont they
i can understand your dilemma here.
i have a daughter of 15 and a daughter of 11.
i never let the 11 year old walk to school without me till she got to high school. and now she walks with her older sister there and back.
i think i'm just over protective. i love my girls very much and i would never forgive myself if anything hapened to either of them.i know i need to let go a bit more.
i think you should walk him half way and let him do the rest on his own. each time walking a little less with him until he's walking himself all the way
I let my son walk to school from when he started secondary school because it wasn’t cool for me to take him, I gave him a set of rules though he must come strait home from school if he then wanted to see his friends he could see them after he came home safely give him a time limit to get home if he’s not home say in 20 minutes of the end of school go and look for him, I always fond going to school the problem because you don’t know if he’s got there get him a cheap mobile and get him to text you when he arrives at school, just for piece of mind.
Hi,your son will soon let you know when he wants to walk to school on his own.My 2 sons asked me I was worried,its hard letting go yet it has to be done otherwise they would never grow up.Your boy sounds very sensible,have you asked him if he would like to go to school by his self.
I would say 11, the first year of secondary school, heightens the sense of being a grown up at "big school" too.
personally when their old enough to carry a gun, but I guess they wouldn't be in school anymore.
There are too many perverts about these days,,so keep taking your boy to school and you know he will get there safely
boy, these days, I don't know. How far away is the school. When I was a kid I walked 4 blocks to school starting in kindergarten and my kids walked 3. But now I would wait until they were older.
Only being a part time step parent on a weekend, I think it is valuable for kids to learn to walk to school on their own. It gives them a sense of independance and responsibility. I suppose it depends on the type of area you live in, my partners children only have a short distance to walk and they meet up with friends as they go along.
No,no no no.I waited until mine went to secondary.Then it is not cool for us to walk to school with them.Enjoy walking to school with him while you can! They grow up too quick.
I would wait until he was 12 or 13 years old. I have a 12 year old son but we live too far from his school to let him walk. It's always better to be safe than sorry, especially if there is a lot of traffic on the road that he would be travelling.
its fine if you think he's responsible enough
go with what you think is right, if your having to ask then perhaps its not hte right time yet. Does he have any friends he could walk with? I will be in that situation before long (my son is almost 8) and i just dont think he'll ever be old enough!
9 or 10 just as long as they know about road safety and not to talk to people they don't know
If the road is not to dangerous and you think he is a responsible child than you can try letting him do it by himself, you can watch him form far away in the begining so that you can feel more comfortable about it
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You sound like you are feeling anxious about this so perhaps it would be a good idea if you still walked him to school. I am assuming he will be going up to the Secondary School the following summer, he will need to walk to school on his own eventually. Perhaps a couple of months before he is due to leave Primary school, the nights will be light and he will be that much older. If you are asking this question because he is protesting that he wants to walk to school on his own, you could let him walk to school but follow a little way behind and until you are reassured that he will be all right.
Well my son is 8 and we live 5 mins from the school i walk him to school and than meet him half way home cause most of this friends walk on there own.
I think if your child is road wise, wont wonder to so and so's house without telling you, and walks with a friend than i say its a personal thing.
What bothers me are these parents that let there children play outside after school and on the weekends on there own but wont let them walk home from school by themselfs whats the difference??
Snyway its up to you, you know your child best.
wow! youve got a lot of answers here... most say secondary school.. GEEZ! these days Id say never... cuase just when you think they are old enough or safe, out come the pedifiles that prey on teenagers or think your 15yr old girl is Just ripe.. or some perverted old man that thinks your 15yr old son is just ripe also... I think I watch too much news.. Id never let mine walk alone.. Only with a buddy or two..
If he is small enough for an adult to pick him up and throw him in a car, he is too young to walk alone.
10 years old, well I would still take precautions. My twins are 18 and my youngest is 14. No matter what age they are you are always going to be concerned. Let your child have either a group that he walks with or a parent that drives!!!!!
It really depends on how your feel about him walking to school.. What is your neighbor like.? Do you feel it is safe enough for him to walk to school.. Are there other kids he can walk with or does he have to walk alone.? Are there a lot of houses and/or bussiness around where he will be walking or it a just him down a street by himself.?
You could walk with him a few hundred time at first. You and him might like it. Get him use to walking to school.
Good luck
In this day & age it isn't safe for any kid to walk alone. Our son is also 10. He walks to school with friends. They are safer in groups. This gives him the freedom that he is craving, yet keeps me from going crazy with worry. I would never allow him to walk alone. Have your son ask a friend to walk with him. You'll both feel better.
10 yrs old is fine. if he has a good head on his shoulders -he should be ok.
see about him buddying up with someone first .
Maybe when he's in High school
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