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Kids walking to school. Help me out with a few questions I need answered?

Chad

Chad

... had his first - 15/8/20
If you could take a few minutes to respond it would be much appreciated.

I'm currently writing a book on parenting and often use my Instagram to poll or ask parents questions.

The overwhelming response is from women due to my follower demographic. I've got a current topic about kids walking to school unsupervised.

I'd be really interested to see if there is a gender disparity in thoughts on this as often the primary carer decides. Most often the mum.

This is the best place I could think of to get answers to the following. All male, lots of dads, various states and life experiences.

What age did you walk to school alone?
What age do you think children should travel to school unsupervised?
What's the main concerns involving children doing this?

It's been interesting the response I've got back so far but also not surprising.

Cheers and looking forward to reading what anyone has to say on this subject
 
This is coming from my own experience as a kid. I don't have any myself as I made an decision very early in my life not to.

I walked myself to and from school from early primary school around 7 - 8 years old. My school was a kilometer away so not a far walk. It was along a main road so there was always plenty of people around.

Probably from 10 years old to travel unsupervised.

If children are taught road safety then really the only concern these days would be creeps approaching them.
 
Nanook said:
This is coming from my own experience as a kid. I don't have any myself as I made an decision very early in my life not to.

I walked myself to and from school from early primary school around 7 - 8 years old. My school was a kilometer away so not a far walk. It was along a main road so there was always plenty of people around.

Probably from 10 years old to travel unsupervised.

If children are taught road safety then really the only concern these days would be creeps approaching them.
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Awesome thanks @Nanook 👍
 
Different times I guess.
I walked on my own to both Kindy and School (they were side by side).
So probably aged 4 or 5 at the earliest age.
Distance about 1.5km, through a suburb but with little car traffic in 'those days'.
Hell...even the ice cream man came around in a horse & cart!
More traffic now, plus 'stranger danger'...but yeah...I'd let my kids do it still.
As long as the kids are switched on to dangers then fine. Depends on how 'mature' your kids are.
Plus...I'm talking about NZ here. Things may not be so safe in (say) USA or maybe Australia?
Current day kids at 10...they should be fine. Cell phone with them for putting in a 'creep' call would be handy...as long as they don't walk along playing/txting with the phone as they go. Head up, eyes open!
 
Similarly no kids of my own and times have changed since I went to school but having both parents of Eastern European origin their was little fear given towards possible safety issues as my younger brother and I where both encouraged to attend school unsupervised as luckily primary. high school and college were very close.

Having parents who grew up overseas we were lectured about the hardships of our parents who often had to walk to school alone in snow wearing poor footwear up to 15 kms away so any complaints were quickly dismissed as at least my brother and I had pushbikes which we used from around age 9 to ride to school. School ran safety education classes and I recall attending one of those road rule courses for bikes in primary school which was fun.

Later a school bus was available so we took advantage of that but back in the late 1990s and early 2000s there was less bullying and the greatest risk was getting swooped by magpies or missing the bus. I didn't get my drivers license as a teen as lazy and only dad worked so couldn't afford a car and taking the bus was much cheaper.

These days kids are more educated to potential risks and having a phone to use in emergency situations is important but having strong boundaries were important as I was always told to come straight home from school and report any issues.
 
Chad said:
...

The overwhelming response is from women due to my follower demographic.
Click to expand...

No need to boast mate!

What age did you walk to school alone? Caught the [public] bus to school alone from Year 5, but that would have been 45 ish years ago ...
What age do you think children should travel to school unsupervised? Mine caught a [public but dedicated school students only] bus from the two eldest being in high school (youngest still in primary always accmpanied by older siblings. This was 10 - 15 years ago now
What's the main concerns involving children doing this? Safety (duh!) and MY kids fighting each other on the way home.
 
My view on this subject is I would never let my kids walk to school as children are complacent under 12 years of age. From my experience in this country there are too many f*^#ng idiot drivers around using their mobiles and not concentrating on the road!
 
Interesting subject!

I'm 29, no kids and used to live under a kilometre from my primary school in Adelaide growing up.

Never walked to or from school due to some bad eggs in the state housing in the area. My mate who walked to and from every day was walked by a parent until high school, when that was literally across the road.

My high school experience was different as school was 15km away and I caught a bus from a stop closer to my home, but still a 10-minute walk. I did that walk alone from year 8 (13 years old) for 5 years. Not a pleasant experience as had some dickheads throw shit out of cars or scream at me due to the school uniform.

Would I let my kids walk to and from school by themselves? No. My parents wouldn't have let me 10-20 years ago, when society was not as bad as it is now, why would I with society the way it is now? Could they go with a few mates? Potentially.

Just my two cents!
 
Thanks guys.. great answers all well explained so far 👌

@Mark1966 had an active wear company approach me the other day. Damn Instagram algorithms make people think I'm a chick. I'm tempted to accept the offer and post pics of myself wearing it 🤔🤣🤣

When this winds up I'll post the percentages from polling on Instagram for the age groups I suggested. Was a tight two horse race between two in particular.
 
I was about year 5 when we walked to school but my parents were only happy with it because the school was literally 200m away otherwise I would have been dropped off till about 13 or so they reckon.
Ive got 2 boys, ones about to start school next year and my wife and i are both in agreement that about year 7 or 8 and more than one person is fine to go without parents these days taking into account it’s not just the candy van approach anymore, I remember a 12 yr old at my school getting approached by randoms still because she was alone.
Where we live now we can have some leeway though because it’s a town centre and the school run is extremely public and close to the point they’ll be walking to school with teachers almost.
I’d be mainly concerned with the kids mentality on it all making sure they’re aware of why I have the rules I do but I want to be sure they’re safe and in this area more so that they don’t get run over, some idiot kids just run across the road here almost becoming part of it in the process but also as always making sure they make it home in the end.

on a side note though I doubt they’d go missing for long, they’re both full on and very irritating if you don’t know how to handle them so I’m sure I’d get them back soon enough😂
 
No children of my own so form personal experience.

I started primary school (Eastwood Public School, Sydney) at 5yo. For about the first 6 months, my mother drove me to the school (about 3km away). At about 6yo, I was walking to school on my own. I was always required to carry tuppence with me in case I needed to phone home.

At 12yo I received my first bicycle but was not allowed to ride it on the road until my father was satisfied that I knew and obeyed all the relevant road rules. I started riding to school when I started high school.

I don't think that "stranger danger" is any more prevalent today on a per capita basis than it was decades ago. It is just that it is now more widely reported in the press. I also think that parents today are far to protective of their "little darlings". This prevents children from learning about life and it's joys/hardships at an early age.
 
rbscebu said:
No children of my own so form personal experience.

I started primary school (Eastwood Public School, Sydney) at 5yo. For about the first 6 months, my mother drove me to the school (about 3km away). At about 6yo, I was walking to school on my own. I was always required to carry tuppence with me in case I needed to phone home.

At 12yo I received my first bicycle but was not allowed to ride it on the road until my father was satisfied that I knew and obeyed all the relevant road rules. I started riding to school when I started high school.

I don't think that "stranger danger" is any more prevalent today on a per capita basis than it was decades ago. It is just that it is now more widely reported in the press. I also think that parents today are far to protective of their "little darlings". This prevents children from learning about life and it's joys/hardships at an early age.
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You are correct that statistics suggest that its safer than its ever been as far as a crime thing. But that's offset by injuries etc caused by the increase in traffic etc. Ironically by avoiding waking and driving kids it's just contributing to the problem.

Thanks guys this stuff is perfect.
 
I dare say that children have a greater chance of being injured while being driven to/from school than they would by walking or taking a bus.

I was a tow-truck driver in the early 70's in the Ryde/Eastwood area of Sydney. I saw my fair share of children in school uniform being injured in car crashes.
 
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Hey mate happy to answer any questions I have.. I’m a dad with with a 9 yo and a 20yo

personally I would never let my kids walk to school or catch a bus.. just to clarify I don’t wear a tin foil hat or wrap my kids in cotton wool, or praise them when the stuff up..

So it might be low chance of stranger danger and not likely but the amount of weirdos out there are growing by the day thanks to the internet and mobiles so there out there and although low chance if it ever happens the end result in incomprehensible

plus I believe it’s important to be part of your kids life as much as possible, including drop off, pick up, homework, sports and so on..

There only kids once and it’s the only time u have influence over shaping them for adulthood, and being their for them and enjoying them as children before adulthood..

That’s my 2c anyway
 
I remember walking to and from primary school around 1983/4, grade 3/4. This was through the middle of Hobart alongside the highway. In hindsight this was probably a little too young. We moved further away and would get the bus in garde 5.

Our kids never really walked to school until highschool, probably grade 8, we lived too far from the primary school and my wife is quite conscious of child safety, due to her history. If close, say 1km and not on major roads, I'd be ok with a grade 5 or 6 child walking to school they would need some road sense and stranger danger awareness.
 
What age did you walk to school alone?
What age do you think children should travel to school unsupervised?
What's the main concerns involving children doing this?


We walked a distance of about 1km to school from approx 5 yrs of age through primary school in a small country nsw town.

I would not let my kids walk to the bus stop until they were in high school but even then we mostly drove them to school or the bus stop.

Our main concern re: children walking to school unsupervised was abduction, assault. I don't care how unlikely that may be to happen I'm not taking the risk with my kids. Sure you can't watch them every second of every day (if you did obviously you'd suffocate them) but you minimise risk where you can.

My sister had a failed attempt at being dragged into a vehicle when we were kids. Another sister was abused by an uncle which wrecked her life. My daughter was stalked and groomed online by some kids 'sick' father when she was playing online PS4 and we got cops involved. That's the line you walk as parents. You let your kids live, grow, explore, take risks but draw lines where we think risks are too high and hope we get it right. We all 'scar' our kids to a greater or lesser extent but as @StratMan said, being present and involved is important.
 
What age did you walk to school alone?
I am sure I did walk alone some days but usually with neighbors kids or walked my siblings when they started school

What age do you think children should travel to school unsupervised?
Personally not until at least 15 (preferably 18) - too many creeps and usually the culprit is someone who watches their routine ie: walks past my house every day at ???

What's the main concerns involving children doing this?
Abduction and worse

A member of our high school soccer team was abducted and murdered (Ivan Milat) and a teacher's daughter murdered (Truro)
 
I've no kids, but my own experience was walking or riding a bicycle 2½ miles to and from school from the age of 7 (1051 years ago). That was in the Channel Islands though, and stranger danger wasn't an issue. (There's a significant population, but serious creeps have nowhere to run.) The first time I rode my bike on the roads, Mum insisted on supervising on a borrowed bike, but she quickly decided the roads were far too steep and winding for adult use, so I was on my own after that. :p

Generally, I have a tendency to believe the dangers are exaggerated, and much outweighed by the benefits of exercise. I see far too many cases of pudgy kids riding quad bikes just to pick up the mail from the end of the driveway. But I guess a lot depends on what kind of neighbourhood you live in, and how far they have to go. They could at least walk to the bus stop. Around here, all the parents all drive their kids to a bus stop, usually less than 1km from their home.

I know it's hard to reconcile my attitude with @Pbgoose's and @Holiday's horror stories, but offer the suggestion that they make their way in the company of other kids.
 
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Q: What age did you walk to school alone?

A: I grew up in Sydney and my parents were comfortable letting me walk alone from the age of 6 (the school was also close by).

Q: What age do you think children should travel to school unsupervised?

A: Since I'm now living in India and have a daughter, the answer would be...NEVER!!
LOL

If in Sydney, I'd say at least 10 is what I'd be comfortable with.

Q: What's the main concerns involving children doing this?

A: child abduction being the major concern.

Secondary would be possible lack of awareness of surrounding, accident/injury and not being old enough to deal with the situation.
 
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