Fivetide
1:58 Tue Mar 3
Re: at what age should kids walk themselves to school?
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If you live in a city things may have changed a lot, but out in the sticks it's the same as it ever was apart from the heavy traffic on main roads. Children still buy sweets at the local shop, make dens, play football up the rec, climb trees, go on bike rides etc...
Stop reading the tabloids and fucking about on social media for a few months and you'd be amazed how much better things look.
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Kearley
1:57 Tue Mar 3
Re: at what age should kids walk themselves to school?
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Gubba
Has society changed that much? There were plenty of paedo's about in the 70's and 80's, it just didn't get reported as much (Saville, Harris, Glitter etc...)
Kids were not believed.
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JohnnyL
1:53 Tue Mar 3
Re: at what age should kids walk themselves to school?
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I used to walk to primary school on my own, be one of only a few who went home for lunch and even stopped by the shops to run the odd errand for my teacher! Would i let my primary school kids do this now... absolutely not! I accept that some areas are different but for every inner city Edmonton, Walthamstow type of area there is always a rural community where people know everyone .... a bit like Soham.
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mentor
1:39 Tue Mar 3
Re: at what age should kids walk themselves to school?
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We all walked to school as well. As well as the girls. But there again there were no muslim grooming, raping and trafficing gangs in my area.
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Tony Gubba
1:35 Tue Mar 3
Re: at what age should kids walk themselves to school?
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It makes me sad that society‘s changed so much. I'm 43 and I don’t recall any kids at my school being taken by their parents after about 7 years old. You'd have been marked out as weird otherwise.
I have fond memories of the japes and camaraderie of the walk home among a great snaking line of kids. You had the odd fight, but mostly we policed ourselves without incident.
It was the same after school and in the holidays. You just went out and roamed, or organised yourselves for a game of 20 a-side football. There was hardly any adult guidance unless you joined a football club, cubs or judo. I’d have hated to be under constant parental supervision. I might be rose-tinting it, but it was all about freedom, adventure and discovery.
And from 6 years old, I was always being sent up the shops to get half ounce of Old Holborn, 20 Marlboro and a 10p bag.
It all sounds a bit ‘jumpers for goalposts’ and I know times have changed, but we must surely have lost something here - maybe, in terms of learning self-reliance, and being able to handle yourself socially?
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Gruesome Dump
12:49 Tue Mar 3
Re: at what age should kids walk themselves to school?
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Can't be arsed reading through all this but has anyone asked for a link to the mum?
On a serious note, with what's going on in this country at present I'd spent the 5mins escorting her to class. You'd never forgive yourself if anything untoward happened on that 150m walk.
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joe royal
12:44 Tue Mar 3
Re: at what age should kids walk themselves to school?
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Not much has changed in the last 20 years has it ?
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joe royal
12:43 Tue Mar 3
Re: at what age should kids walk themselves to school?
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My daughter walked to school from 7 onwards
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The Joker
12:41 Tue Mar 3
Re: at what age should kids walk themselves to school?
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Your kids are the most important thing in your life (or should be!), so to give up a little time / money to ensure their safety should be no hardship and its only laziness of mind or body that excuses people doing it. As for teaching them independence etc - they don't need to be independent at 8 and there are plenty of other ways of teaching it and plenty of childhood left to teach it in.
I think the key here JR is that she isn't your kid. Who knows, you may feel exactly the same if she was, but I'd guess you'd be more likely to empathise with the mother's view if she was yours.
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gph
12:30 Tue Mar 3
Re: at what age should kids walk themselves to school?
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I walked to school "on my own" from about seven - but I wasn't really on my own, as there were loads of other kids doing the same journey, and some of the younger ones had their mothers with them.
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Claret Badger
12:26 Tue Mar 3
Re: at what age should kids walk themselves to school?
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walked to school by myself from 5 onwards
just under a mile
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Willtell
12:10 Tue Mar 3
Re: at what age should kids walk themselves to school?
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AKA ERNIE 11:35
I shouldn't laugh but I did....
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Fivetide
11:51 Tue Mar 3
Re: at what age should kids walk themselves to school?
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"bottom line is kids should not walk to school on their own before secondary school"
Just not true. it depends on the child, the school, the journey, where you live...
Where I all the 9/10 year olds walk to school in little groups without parents. There are no roads to cross and it is a friendly community where everyone knows each others children and families and looks out for each other.
If the A12 was between their homes and their school, it would be totally different.
When I was that age I would often be sent on little errands to the local shop or allowed to walk to friend's houses. It's all about gauging your child/area for yourself and balancing any threat (traffic, basically) with encouragement. growing awareness etc...
No strict rules on parenting, and you can only take your own opinion on these things ultimately.
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AKA ERNIE
11:35 Tue Mar 3
Re: at what age should kids walk themselves to school?
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Guess it depends if nicey lives nearby
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Northern Sold
11:35 Tue Mar 3
Re: at what age should kids walk themselves to school?
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I was about 8 IIRC... me and a few MATES would go in together... probably about a 20 min walk to school...
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joe royal
11:34 Tue Mar 3
Re: at what age should kids walk themselves to school?
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Dunno if any of you know the area
Leave house turn left
Turn left into hale end road
School is 150 meters on the left
No roads to cross no junctions couple of PCSO's hanging about
Can't see any dangers. She even laughed and said she was a bit overprotective after I pointed out she doesn't even need to change pavements
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Badger1
10:59 Tue Mar 3
Re: at what age should kids walk themselves to school?
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Id do anything to keep my kids safe, so I'm guessing the safer you can keep them the better. If that means walking them to school when 15 so be it (i'm sure the kids wont thank us for it tho)
for me 8 is to young. I don't think their awareness of roads is great at that age, let alone all the other media shit that gets thrown at us these days
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Alwaysaniron
10:58 Tue Mar 3
Re: at what age should kids walk themselves to school?
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Life's changed so much since half of us on here were at school. Blimey, I was getting the tube on my own at 5..... granted only for one stop but nevertheless.
These days it has to be dependent upon where the school is I suppose. I wouldn't let my 7 year old go alone though and I live in sleep Bournemouth
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Big Dave
10:56 Tue Mar 3
Re: at what age should kids walk themselves to school?
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Walked to and from school from about 7 years old.
Goggle Maps reckons it is 650 metres - it used to take us an hour to get home! Climbing trees etc
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roltrader
10:40 Tue Mar 3
Re: at what age should kids walk themselves to school?
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...is she fat
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the last eastender
10:35 Tue Mar 3
Re: at what age should kids walk themselves to school?
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Was walking to school myself by the time I was 7/8 but now is different and you have to realistic.
The main danger to your kids is not dirty old men (unless you live in Rotherham, Whitechapel or any such area).
The main peril is other kids as we all what little bastards some are now.
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