Should a Kindergartener Be Allowed to Walk Home from School W/out Adult

What is his walk like? Does he cross a lot of busy highways? Are there no sidewalks? Does he know the way there and back? He went there and back with his neighbor, no problems, for a whole week. If it's a safe route and he's not all by himself, I don't see what the problem is. I think children walking to and from school is a good thing, if they have sidewalks and don't have to cross a busy highway.

Don't stifle the child's independence. Unless he's going through unsafe neighborhoods.

No way! That is definately too young to be walking anywhere alone - I even think the 8 yr old is too young =/

I think it really depends on the area and the crime level.
Mine rode the bus but still had a 5 minute walk... so 10 minutes doesnt seem that bad to me. But if the area is a high crime area, nah, I wouldnt let my kids walk.
You really have to decide what is rational and logical and don't give in to unnecessary fears or push those fears on to a child.
Some parents just dont give a damn, so I do KNOW what you are saying.

Nope. Not my child. And we live just around the corner, less than a 10 minute walk from our house. People can call me overly protective. Even call me a helicopter parent if they must. Still wouldn't allow it. Besides the exercise is good for all of us! :-)
A.

My son is 6 and in Kindergarten. My other son is 9 and in third grade. At our school a Kindy can walk home with a child that is in 2nd grade or older (which is 7/8). So, while I certainly would be a bit nervous in the beginning I would also allow it. We would have discussions about strangers, cars, being aware of your surroundings, but I would let my child walk 10 minutes.
Gosh, I remember as a kindy and first grader walking for HOURS outside with my cousins. Going to the local corner market, walking by the "haunted" house, petting the horses 5 blocks over.
I guess what I am saying is that I would be okay with it.
L.

Amazing that in all your communities, kids walking home from school are being kidnapped at such a terrifying and alarming rate.

I was thinking how the world has changed. When I was 5-6 I walked blocks to school alone. I had sidewalks and the scary part was going by a fence with cows that came up to 'greet' me. I was 9 and walked all over our small town alone and with my brother and 3 of us ( 2 brothers and me ) walked across train tracks and the busiest street in town then to school and home when I was 10. Now you can't go down your own street alone. Haven't we come a long way?

I walked to and from school in kindergarten, along with many other neighborhood kids. The only reason my own kids didn't walk to school is because the route is not pedestrian friendly (high speed road, no sidewalk.)

Not to be mean, but if you were my kid's teacher I would be horrified at your punctuation, grammar and spelling! What's up with that? Are you for real?

In some areas, I may be alright with it since he was with an 8 year old, but I agree with Laurie - you and his father should have been included in the decision. Also, I teach in Arlington, and there is no way I would let him walk home at that age there.

Please don't think I'm bashing Arlington. I grew up there, and I love my students. I just don't think it's the safest place for little ones to walk home without older children (older than 8).

It depends. My 6 year old niece walks to school without an adult every day, usually with a bunch of other kids from the same neighborhood. Which kids walk together varies, mostly 5-8 year olds, but occasionally you may have a 10 year old mixed in. They walk a mile through fields, then cross a busy street with a 40 mph speed limit (at a traffic light) and proceed another .5 mile to school through town - takes about 20 minutes. It is common where she lives (in Europe), there are no school buses for elementary kids, everyone walks from day one.
Sooo my point is that a 6 six old can be perfectly capable of navigating their way to school safely, if they have been properly prepared.

Is it safe for your stepson...I can't say, it depends on him, the neighborhood he lives in, the boys he walks with... would it be ok for MY child? No, but I am a bit overprotective and it is not common here, so there is no "strength in numbers".

yep fine to me , he is walking with a friend that is older he will be fine.
My son was in K last year and he was walking with his sister with out an adult last year. It's only 10 mins. ( depending on how fast or slow they walk or if they goof off on the way home)
Living that close to the school chances are there are several other kids that walk the same route at the same time. So there are likely a big group of kids all walking together ranging in age from K-5th grade. That's the way it is with our school and we are about 10 mins from the school at a fast walk.

ETA:
FYI mom's crime rates have actually gone down in the last 20 yrs and most kids that are kidnapped are kidnapped by people they know or kinda know.

If he was walking with the 8 year old.. That is how old I was in 3rd grade. I bet they are fine. In our neighborhood they would be fine.

I do think if I was the mom, I would have let you and your husband know so you all could decide if you all could have given him a ride.. If you were not available this was a fine option..

I agree with you, no way unless there is a much older sibling or adult!

Kristen:

He's not walking alone. However, he is a Kindergartner. I personally wouldn't let my Kindergartner walk home. My kids would be walking through a golf course and not on a road.

To be honest, I don't know the rules or laws in our district as my kids have either taken the bus or had me pick them up. So find out what his school policy, rule, district/county laws are.

It depends on the kid and the area. I can think of instances in which I would be fine with it and some where it would be a bad idea. Hard to say in your circumstance without more information.

It depends on the neighborhood and how far he has to walk.
Where I grew up, if you lived withing 1 mile of the school you walked - rain, shine or snow.
We had rain coats, umbrellas, and wore rubbers over our shoes.
We had back packs and lunch boxes and had no trouble carrying it all back and forth.
There were crossing guards when ever we had to cross streets.
I walked to school from kindergarten through the 3rd grade and then we moved and were too far from school to walk anymore so then we rode a school bus.
We walked in groups and our neighborhoods were not bad.
I have no idea what the neighborhood is like in your area, but the walking itself for a kindergarten wouldn't bother me.

No way. Not happening with my kid! (Especially, in many places in Arlington. No offense intended, we've just been there many times.)

No way! You just never know...Something could happen, even if the child is very close to home. I totally agree with you.

I suppose it depends on how far he is walking and what kind of area it is. When I was in elementary school, the school playground was adjacent to one subdivision where a lot of the students lived. Kids who lived there routinely walked to school because it might be 1/4 or 1/2 a mile through their own neighborhood (no cars speeding through - they entered the playground through the gap in the fence at the end of the dead-end street) which easily could take 10 or 15 minutes, and it wasn't a big deal.

Of course, things are different now and it might be helpful to know what the policy is at the school that your stepson attends. But my beef would be more with why your stepson's father was not informed that the boy's mother was out of town, and why he (the stepson) was staying at a neighbor's instead of with his dad. If my husband's ex ever did anything like that with their 2 boys without his knowledge, he would have hit the roof!

When SD was 7, her mom let her take a $20 and go to the store and get milk, candy, whatever. She saw no harm in this. Same child who was walked to school by our now very former au pair and even in the presence of an adult nearly got hit in the school parking lot. We were informed by other parents. I think 6 is far too young. Frankly, I think 7 is too young, too. My sister walked to school at that age - literally across the street. Not 10 minutes.

The mother should have notified your husband that he was NOT going to be in her care and would be walking home from school.

My girls wouldn't walk home alone or with one other child. We live in a good neighborhood. We believe in safety in numbers so there would have to be a group of kids, say 4 or 5.

What are the policies for the school district? If you don't know them. You should. Your husband needs to talk with his ex-wife and tell her that in the future should she need to go out of town to give him a heads up and help make the decision.

Personally it all depends where you live and the size of the town.

I walk my kids to and from school. But now that I'm in school my 4yr old walks the 2 blocks to our sitters house with her nephew who is 7 and depending on the day 2-3 other kids about 7 also.

Now if we lived in a bigger town there is no way I would!

But I know the kid is really good with my son and its a straight shot from the school where my sitter can see them from the second they walk out of the school until they reach her house and she watches them every day.

i still dont let my little two and they are 7 and 10. kindergarten is way to young :(

i have never heard of a school letting a kindergartner leave campas with out an adult. the school i work at you have to sign them out.

I was escorted home by a 6th grader at this age, and often picked up by a highschooler but not solo at this age.

I'm sure there are some places where it's fine.

But not where I lived when my son was in kindergarten.

I would not let any child any where walk alone. Too many things can happen even in small towns. When I was a kid, I walked to and from school from K to 12th and we lived in a large city, but things were different then. Even in the 70s my kids walked to and from school but it was in a very small town of about 1,000. When we moved to a large city that came to a Stop. But now I would'nt let any child any where. You hear too many horror stories even from rural areas

It depends on so many things, the child, the neighborhood, the distance and who and how many other kids are walking. We don't have school buses at our school, children cannot leave with out an adult there to pick them up. Even older grade kids need to have a signed paper in the office to leave school alone.
That being said I walked almost a mile to the bus stop as a kindergartener and statistically it isn't any more dangerous now, we are just more aware of all the awful stuff that could happen.
Bottom line if it makes you and your husband uncomfortable then he shouldn't do it. Maybe if your husband has a good relationship wiht his ex they could work something out when she cannot be there to pick him up.

Our school doesn't allow kindergartners or first graders out the door unless a designated adult comes to the door to pick them up. I wouldn't trust my kindergartner to walk home by himself, or with his 8 yo sister. I wouldn't even want my 8 yo walking home by herself, although I know some people allow it. Too many wierdos out there these days and he wouldn't always listen to the 8 yo. I can see him deciding to hang out on the playground, running across the street, etc.

Our school does not allow a child to walk home alone until they are in 3rd grade....so no!

HECK NO!!! I have a responsible gifted and very intelligent kindergartner. We're talking could read books at age 3. The school is about 5 minutes from my house. I'm talking walk past 3 houses turn at the corner, past 2 more houses and she is there, without having to cross any streets. We live in what is considered a lovely neighborhood and I would not allow her to walk to school alone or with anyone less than 16 years of age. It only takes 60 seconds to snatch a kid. That mom is irresponsible. I'll keep the little boy in prayer.

HELL to the NO! A kindergartener are you kidding me? A baby still in my belief.

No! I am more of a proponent of the "free range children" movement than I'm not, but I think kindergarten is a bit young. I have a boy in kindergarten who just turned 6, and I cannot IMAGINE having him and an 8 year old walking home from his school -and it's about a 10 minute walk from our house. My son is smart and almost always makes the right decisions about looking both ways, etc. but he's still a very little boy. I don't allow him to ride his bike unattended throughout the neighborhood, so I certainly wouldn't let him walk to school or back that way.

I definitely would not allow that. At least he was with another slightly older child, but still.....no. I have went and picked up my high school aged son's female friends to drive them home because they have far walks and I don't want anything happening to them.

It's unfortunate that your step-sons mom seems so irresponsible. Good luck!

Sounds like, from what you have written, your answer SHOULD be no - but what can you do about it? The mom doesnt seem to care what you think and maybe doesnt even want to know what you think.

The neighbor mom evidently thinks its ok because she is supervising this week. The teacher is evidently fine with it since she let him walk home that way, instead of holding him at the school and calling an adult to come and get him.

It sounds like this is just one of many parenting decisions you and your husband consider questionable. I havent had to deal with custody arrangements and have no idea what recourse your husband has about decisions the child's mom makes. Can your husband and the child's mom meet once a month to talk about parenting issues and concerns?

Edit to Add:

I did teach summer school at a school with no buses, and when the bell rang, we walked our kids out and then they all just left. I had no idea who was walking with who or if someone picked them up. I found it very alarming but that was the way the school worked in that neighborhood (which also wasnt considered a "nice"neighborhood.). and the other teachers just looked at me like, "So what?" when I expressed concern.

We are a couple of blocks from our elementary school, and I would definitely let my son , at the end of kinder, walk with a neighbor friend home. But our neighbor is responsible and the walk is short.

My daughter is kindergarten age, and we live in a "too close for bus service" zone. Yet WAY too far for a child that age to walk alone. She would have to walk about a mile trough some warehouses and a park and some yards to avoid a major highway. YEAH RIGHT!!! heck no.
I wouldn't allow it.

Our school rule is that if there's not an adult to meet the Kindergartener when he gets off the bus--he DOESN'T get off the bus! The child goes right back to the school & they start making calls.
What your husband's ex did wouldn't fly here.

No never leave kid that young to walk home. Heck my ten year old cannot walk home by herself. Its a different world now. You know if I was him I'd work something in the agreement that says that if she is not going to watch him over night that your hubby gets first choice as babysitter. But I'd take to that neighbor who let the kid wallk home. Also tell the school he is not allowed to leave the grounds without an adult and say who the adult is. That being said I feel a lot of anger toward this mom. As step mom You need calm it down,and just be hhis friend. Please extra pleasant tothis lady and do not talk about her in front of him

We are the very last house on a very long street and my kids get dropped off at the very top of the street. I pick up my kindergartner and my stepson in 4th grade. I wouldn't allow my kindergartner to walk by himself. The 4th grader probably could, but he has ADHD and is SO easily distracted that the few times he has walked home, it takes about triple the time it should. He messes around, stops to look at this and that, sits down and takes a break, etc....then I worry because he should have already been home, so its easier just to pick him up (my kids ride different busses).

I guess your husband or you should contact a lawyer concerning what the custody arrangements are regarding the custodial parent leaving town. Is this covered in the agreement?

This is your husband's ex-wife. You are predisposed not to like her, and of course are going to be her #1 critic. Not picking on you, this is just a fact, in general.

Personally, I would never allow this. Our schools would never allow this, kindergarteners get released only to their parent or their authorized emergency contact. I was a few minutes late one day and called the school asking for my daughter to be released to another mom who was there, and they could not because she was not on the paperwork for my child. So they had her wait in the office for me. You know what, that is FINE - and SAFE.

When I was a kid, I walked home alone, starting I believe in 2nd grade. It was a 5 block walk. I had 2 streets to cross, one was with the crossing guard. Our neighborhood was safe. My 2 younger brothers walked with me throughout elementary school. My parents worked, and one of them would arrange to work from home (they owned their own business) and be there after school but they could not afford to lose the time coming to get us, etc.

Anyways...good luck. This is a tough situation for you because you don't have a say in alot of the choices that get made.