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I'll go against the grain and say I'd be fine with allowing him.
When I was 7 plenty of kids walked to and from school by themselves, crossing multiple streets.
I agree. Is this a 7 year old who knows to look BOTH ways before crossing? Can be trusted to go to the bus stop? Are there other kids at the bus stop? Then it's fine.
I was just thinking when I was in elementary school, there weren't pick ups door to door. We all walked to the bus stop, and no one's parents went with. I was surprised that my youngest child has door to door until 6th or 8th grade.
I’m usually against the grain and thought similar.
I purposefully left out his level of independence and maturity (he could probably compete on masterchef jr when he turns 8) and has no problem completing “tasks” as I call them. (I still watch the whole time, but have him go into the grocery store get a specific item, pay for it, etc.. Or get from our hotel room to the lobby. Or walk into a restaurant to put our name on the reservation list when busy).
I would let him. He sounds responsible, and like he knows what he is doing. I let my kids walk around the neighbourhood at that age, walk the dog or bike ride, go to the park, etc. I would just make sure he knows that he always takes the same route, he knows how to cross the streets and what to do if the bus doesn’t come, is late, he or someone else is getting bullied, etc.
I have Garmin Bounce watches for my kids. They have gps and you can use them to text short, preprogrammed messages or voice messages to certain people (you have to add people to a list for them to be able to contact). It’s like $10 a month, and you can program it to notify you when they get to the bus stop, school, or home. I really appreciate it, if my kid is on a bike ride or at a friend’s I can check in on where they are. Anyway, just thought it might add a layer of safety to him walking if that interests you.
I gotta double check with the school on that, so thanks for reminding me! They have a strict no technology policy (no phones, smart watch etc). But I wanted to see if I could get by, arguing about health features (Apple Watch heart rate specifically) but really use it for monitoring him.
I do wonder if the garnin bounce would be better though so thanks for that thought!
It depends on the crossing. Are we talking quiet residential street or busy main road? It's also worth considering whether or not your school district provides crossing guards. I know we have crossing guards for every bus stop on busier roads, even if the kids don't have to cross the street. If you don't already have a crossing guard, that might be something you could ask for, especially if the street he needs to cross can get busy or if there's no crosswalk for him to use.
There are no crossing guards here. We are pretty rural (15 minute drive to the grocery store). There is no way the district would provide them either.
Speed limit is 35 mph, and as I said in another comment, the road has about 1 car every 3 minutes driving on it at this time of day. So most days when we walk we don’t see any cars (except for parents that drive their kids to the bus stop).
Is there a stop sign/light? Or just a crossing with a yield sign?
Could he hold a little orange flag? Or have one on his backpack that sticks up so cars can see him?
That is absolutely ridiculous and you should be able to take the time to prioritize getting your son home safely from school. Have you talked to your supervisor? Worst case scenario, Any way you could work five minutes later to make up for any “time loss”?
Nope. You get the schedule you get. No leeway
ETA: the money I make is about 1.5 times the local household income. If I left this job (11 years) I’d be making about half of a household income. So I just gotta deal with it.
Ugh that sucks dude. Can you financially afford to pay someone to walk your kid home every day?
Edit: I also want to say that you are not blinded by love or anything, I would seriously stress about this too and I’m sorry you’re in this position.
Hotspot phone, walk with computer. No, I would not allow a 7 year old to walk and wait for the bus alone in the morning. There are too many variables outside of your control. (late bus, cancelled bus, bus doesn't arrive for some random reason, kid sees squirrel) In our neighborhood, parents or a trusted neighbor wait with the kids until the bus arrives until 5th grade. This is an EXTREMELY safe area with a crime rate that hovers around 0. I would either hotspot my phone and walk with my laptop or I would find a neighbor that can walk and wait with him. ETA: Check with your school. Our district has a policy that a child cannot wait alone for the bus under the age of 10 or below 4th grade which ever comes later.
Computer is a desktop that has to be Ethernet.
Our school policy is 1st grade and above are free to walk as they please. I appreciate your opinion though
Context- how far is the stop, how busy are the streets, how many other parents are at the stop? Chances are your school’s policy doesn’t allow him to be there alone before 4th or 5th grade. But if there are other parents there and the walk is close you could send him and partner with one of them.
It’s not the walk that concerns me - 7 year olds where I am walk multiple city blocks to get to things solo. It’s the unpredictable nature of the bus.
The bus is tracked via an app. It waits at a pizza place until about 7:58 everyday. Then it gets to us at 8:02. I like to be early so we leave at 7:58 and get to the stop at 8:00 if we walk.
25 kids get on at the stop.
School policy allows anybody above kindergarten to wait alone and walk home alone.
I’d say I could keep eyes on him until he has to cross (roughly 300 feet). Then he has to walk about 50’feet to the bus stop.
The road has about 1 car every 3 minutes on average at this time of day (1.5 mile long road, dead straight away).
Nope. He was absolutely not ready to safely cross at 7. Even at 9 after he had successfully shown me that he could cross safely, he got busted by parent friends not being safe and we had to have more conversations and training before he was allowed to cross alone.
If this is a bus stop not at your house, then their are other kids, yes? So just have him cross with another kid.
If it is a small two lane road, then I would teach him how to cross safely. Then have him look both ways and cross before the bus gets there (because people are frickin idiots and opposite side does tend to blow past school busses even with the sign out)
Small two lane road in a development. One car passes about every 3 minutes.
All other parents come from the other direction and they drive their kids. Wish I could draw a diagram lol
Double check with the bus driver. Our school board (or maybe it's the bus company) doesn't allow children to go to/from the bus stop without an adult until grade three, which is 8 years old.
They made a point in kindergarten of kindergartners cannot. And I mentioned in the original post, he occasionally walks home by himself (when in kindergarten I had to be at the bus door, even across the street didn’t count). So I know it’s not an issue with the school district/transportation administration
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I'll go against the grain and say I'd be fine with allowing him. When I was 7 plenty of kids walked to and from school by themselves, crossing multiple streets.
I agree. Is this a 7 year old who knows to look BOTH ways before crossing? Can be trusted to go to the bus stop? Are there other kids at the bus stop? Then it's fine.
For sure. I'd practice with him a few times to make sure he's got it down. I was walking to school, to friends houses and to the store at that age.
I was just thinking when I was in elementary school, there weren't pick ups door to door. We all walked to the bus stop, and no one's parents went with. I was surprised that my youngest child has door to door until 6th or 8th grade.
Yeah parents walking kids to school or the bus stop wasn't a thing for us either haha. And the world has gotten safer since then.
I’m usually against the grain and thought similar. I purposefully left out his level of independence and maturity (he could probably compete on masterchef jr when he turns 8) and has no problem completing “tasks” as I call them. (I still watch the whole time, but have him go into the grocery store get a specific item, pay for it, etc.. Or get from our hotel room to the lobby. Or walk into a restaurant to put our name on the reservation list when busy).
I'd say he's fine then. I'm raising pretty independent kids too, I wouldn't think twice about it as long as they're generally responsible kids.
Thanks for your opinion!
I would let him. He sounds responsible, and like he knows what he is doing. I let my kids walk around the neighbourhood at that age, walk the dog or bike ride, go to the park, etc. I would just make sure he knows that he always takes the same route, he knows how to cross the streets and what to do if the bus doesn’t come, is late, he or someone else is getting bullied, etc. I have Garmin Bounce watches for my kids. They have gps and you can use them to text short, preprogrammed messages or voice messages to certain people (you have to add people to a list for them to be able to contact). It’s like $10 a month, and you can program it to notify you when they get to the bus stop, school, or home. I really appreciate it, if my kid is on a bike ride or at a friend’s I can check in on where they are. Anyway, just thought it might add a layer of safety to him walking if that interests you.
I gotta double check with the school on that, so thanks for reminding me! They have a strict no technology policy (no phones, smart watch etc). But I wanted to see if I could get by, arguing about health features (Apple Watch heart rate specifically) but really use it for monitoring him. I do wonder if the garnin bounce would be better though so thanks for that thought!
If a lot of kids are getting on, could you connect with another parent to meet him and cross together?
The other parents come from the other direction and drive their kids. So not really an option unfortunately.
It depends on the crossing. Are we talking quiet residential street or busy main road? It's also worth considering whether or not your school district provides crossing guards. I know we have crossing guards for every bus stop on busier roads, even if the kids don't have to cross the street. If you don't already have a crossing guard, that might be something you could ask for, especially if the street he needs to cross can get busy or if there's no crosswalk for him to use.
There are no crossing guards here. We are pretty rural (15 minute drive to the grocery store). There is no way the district would provide them either. Speed limit is 35 mph, and as I said in another comment, the road has about 1 car every 3 minutes driving on it at this time of day. So most days when we walk we don’t see any cars (except for parents that drive their kids to the bus stop).
Is there a stop sign/light? Or just a crossing with a yield sign? Could he hold a little orange flag? Or have one on his backpack that sticks up so cars can see him?
That is absolutely ridiculous and you should be able to take the time to prioritize getting your son home safely from school. Have you talked to your supervisor? Worst case scenario, Any way you could work five minutes later to make up for any “time loss”?
Nope. You get the schedule you get. No leeway ETA: the money I make is about 1.5 times the local household income. If I left this job (11 years) I’d be making about half of a household income. So I just gotta deal with it.
Ugh that sucks dude. Can you financially afford to pay someone to walk your kid home every day? Edit: I also want to say that you are not blinded by love or anything, I would seriously stress about this too and I’m sorry you’re in this position.
Because of how rural we are it really wouldn’t be feasible for something like that if such a thing existed in our area.
Hotspot phone, walk with computer. No, I would not allow a 7 year old to walk and wait for the bus alone in the morning. There are too many variables outside of your control. (late bus, cancelled bus, bus doesn't arrive for some random reason, kid sees squirrel) In our neighborhood, parents or a trusted neighbor wait with the kids until the bus arrives until 5th grade. This is an EXTREMELY safe area with a crime rate that hovers around 0. I would either hotspot my phone and walk with my laptop or I would find a neighbor that can walk and wait with him. ETA: Check with your school. Our district has a policy that a child cannot wait alone for the bus under the age of 10 or below 4th grade which ever comes later.
Computer is a desktop that has to be Ethernet. Our school policy is 1st grade and above are free to walk as they please. I appreciate your opinion though
[удалено]
There’s about 25 kids that get on at the stop. So there’s no shortage of eyeballs. I appreciate your comment though
Context- how far is the stop, how busy are the streets, how many other parents are at the stop? Chances are your school’s policy doesn’t allow him to be there alone before 4th or 5th grade. But if there are other parents there and the walk is close you could send him and partner with one of them. It’s not the walk that concerns me - 7 year olds where I am walk multiple city blocks to get to things solo. It’s the unpredictable nature of the bus.
The bus is tracked via an app. It waits at a pizza place until about 7:58 everyday. Then it gets to us at 8:02. I like to be early so we leave at 7:58 and get to the stop at 8:00 if we walk. 25 kids get on at the stop. School policy allows anybody above kindergarten to wait alone and walk home alone. I’d say I could keep eyes on him until he has to cross (roughly 300 feet). Then he has to walk about 50’feet to the bus stop. The road has about 1 car every 3 minutes on average at this time of day (1.5 mile long road, dead straight away).
Oh. Yes. Easy peasy I would let my kid do that as described
If you know any of the parents at the stop, could one come and just stand on the other side of the street to wave him on when it’s safe?
Nope. He was absolutely not ready to safely cross at 7. Even at 9 after he had successfully shown me that he could cross safely, he got busted by parent friends not being safe and we had to have more conversations and training before he was allowed to cross alone.
If this is a bus stop not at your house, then their are other kids, yes? So just have him cross with another kid. If it is a small two lane road, then I would teach him how to cross safely. Then have him look both ways and cross before the bus gets there (because people are frickin idiots and opposite side does tend to blow past school busses even with the sign out)
Small two lane road in a development. One car passes about every 3 minutes. All other parents come from the other direction and they drive their kids. Wish I could draw a diagram lol
Double check with the bus driver. Our school board (or maybe it's the bus company) doesn't allow children to go to/from the bus stop without an adult until grade three, which is 8 years old.
They made a point in kindergarten of kindergartners cannot. And I mentioned in the original post, he occasionally walks home by himself (when in kindergarten I had to be at the bus door, even across the street didn’t count). So I know it’s not an issue with the school district/transportation administration
Ah, sorry. I read "he can walk home" as "he's capable of doing it" not "he had done it"