My daughter (same age and distance from school) has been doing fine all this year. We’re just starting to let her walk from school to her Grandparent’s place which has two (TWO!!!) unsupervised road crossings. So we’re panicking all over again.
It’s only 21 months till she has to start taking a bus to intermediate (would that be like junior high? Year 7 & 8) and yep, like Dung Beetle, I’m getting a head start on the heebie jeebies.
I send her down to the shops for takeaways and minor messages and force myself *not *to stand at the end of the driveway, waiting.
She really does enjoy the trust, freedom and responsibility. It *is *good for her. And I will keep telling myself that until she walks back in the door, safe and happy, every single time.
From the age of 6 on, I walked to school by myself. Then again, my elementry school was across the street from my house and there was a crossing guard.
Starting with middle school, I had to walk 6-7 blocks (about a half mile) to the bus stop. I walked it alone every day and never had any problems.
Your baby will be fine and so will you once you have a good stiff drink (or two.)
When I was ten, my twin sister rode the subway all by ourselves. During the summer, we would ride our bikes all over our urban neighborhood. We would come home to an empty house every day and manage not to burn everything down. Two little girls in inner-city Atlanta. And no one ever tried to kill us. Imagine that!
[rant]
I know that every child’s different, but I think we’re raising a generation of fragile, helpless children. Why do people fixate on the freak accidents and low-frequency kidnappings to the exclusion of their own fond memories of childhood independence? When the OP was ten, was she or he capable of walking half a mile? Most likely yes. So why would it be any different today?
Ditto. In fact, I would be far more worried about a child who couldn’t handle this task. When I was 9, I walked about a mile down a highway with a guitar that was as big as I was, to attend my weekly lesson. No sidewalk, in all kinds of weather, every week.
I played outside unsupervised, as did my son, from a very young age. I was approached by Stranger Danger on *two separate occasions * and did not get abducted. Kids need to learn to trust their instincts. You give them the tools and hope for the best. You can’t be with them every second, nor should you want to. They need to learn how to navigate through life. Unless you live in a war zone-like neighborhood, it sounds like she can handle this basic task on her own.
The same concerns of safety were addressed almost 40 years ago when I first started to walk. Kids have been getting hurt, kidnapped and causing trouble forever. Instructing them before the stuff happens is so they know how to react is the best thing you can do. Drill into their heads now the behavior you want to see, when a situation arrives to confront them.
I didn’t actually have any childhood independence. My mother had a Very Bad Thing happen to her when she was a kid, so I was always kept on a very short (metaphorical) leash. I’m trying hard to loosen up my grip on the kids. Thank Og for cell phones!
Well, she made it to and from school yesterday without being eaten by wild animals. Thanks, y’all. I know in my head she’s ready; it’s just my instincts having a fit. “You’re letting her go Out There alone?? What about bears? What about drunk drivers? What about aliens who carry chainsaws and lust for human blood?” But it’s my problem, not hers, and someday maybe she’ll have kids herself and understand why Mom’s freaking out a little bit (I’m trying not to show it, but we all know how that goes). As I keep telling that Boy of mine, one day my grandchildren shall avenge me.
I’m female. I grew up in Queens, NY, and I walked to school and back every day from about the age of 7. We were required to ride the bus until 3rd grade, but my mom got me off the bus by bitching to the principal, because I was bullied by some other girls. It started a life-long love of walking. I often walked home from junior high school, even though it was a 45 minute walk. I walked every day, back and forth to high school too. I either walked or rode my bike pretty much everywhere by the time I was 10.
