At what age do you think a child is able to walk to school and home?

Hello I remember walking to the bus stop with my mom and brother and just to get to the bus stop was a good 10 mins and school itself was about another 20 . I remember too my brother and me always just wanted to walk to school , but my mom was kinda scared and well we walked with her to the bus stop until we were in middle school . I was in the 7th grade when i started walking to school and my bro had a huge group of freinds so he walked with them . I would day around the age of 12 maybe and with a huge group of friends. Take care

Hi Nixxi76, I say never! My oldest always rode the bus which I put her on every morning and picked her up in the afternoons...my youngest is 18 and I will not, under any circumstances let her even ride the NJ transit...I take her to school and pick her up...she does not drive yet and right now does not want to...it's ok with me, as long as she is safe, I'm ok with it! Be careful, you never know who is lerking around waiting for an opportunity:-( ~G~

I think one has to teach them to do things in stages, so they feel comfortable about them. When my daughter was learning to go to school alone I had to do it in stages. We would agree to meet at the corner of the school first, then the supermarket just a few meters away, then a house a bit closer by and son on. She eventually managed to do it on her own and felt proud about it too! The same thing happened with her smaller brother and I asked him to tell me when he was ready to take the bus alone, but he was the one who had to decide!

I agree with the above poster. The maturity of the child should be the determinant of whether they should walk home by themselves. However, your environment is also a deciding factor. I would think walking home in a more rural or suburban setting could occur at a younger age, while in an urban environment it would have to wait until the child is older. But, I wonder if you have some other concerns about your child. I attended a great variety of schools as a child and can tell you that adapting to the new environment is never easy (no matter what anyone tells you). I would press you son a little about the friends he is making and what is going on in his new school. You can do this by asking him to invite some of his school friends over or out for an outing. Going to the park, or something like that. There's a lot that can happen during the school day which kids don't want to talk about when they get home, but they really should. If you feel your son is adapting well and things are fine, then ignore the above. But I remember how difficult it can be to be the new kid. And that's a label that doesn't go away very quickly. Try to be involved in your son's new school in a periphery sort of way. Nothing kills street cred in school like having your parent parenting you. :) But I would wait until you feel your son is ready to walk home by himself. When he asks for the responsibility would be a good time to think about it.

well in this day and age we have to be more protective i am sad to say. so without upsetting the apple cart, i would say never.children like to feel independant it's true, but a child walking to school alone is not a good idea. so , make a game of it. tell them you need some exercise and could you walk along with them. or you could tell them you just cant stand to be without them. meet thier friends and have a sleep over and get to know them. make a contest out of it and give them an incentive for walking together. there are 100 ways to get them to school safely without being a "mom"be thier friend, it's much easier

Hiii nixxi76 I think a child can go to school and home lonely at age of 11-12 years. It also depends on maturity of a child. But in my own case i was travelling from home to school when I was in 6th i.e. at age of 11 and all my friends at the same age

I don't know if I will ever let my kids walk to school alone! I think it's just to crazy out there & a parent should always be right there with their child. My daughter is 6 & likes walking, so we walk to school with her & it's not that far away so it's a nice little walk for us. I might concider it if she was like 14.... & with a group of friends...

I am not really sure but I guess it all depends on the child's maturity and the distance from home to school. We are driving our kids to school although they're teens already.

I think it depends on how far it from your house,if the school is not very far from your house,i think ten ages is OK for them,they can walk with his friends,and i think it's also better for them to make new friends.

i totally agree with some responses above, anyway, i think 15 is a generally acceptable. But you must be certain that he gets acquainted with the way from home to school and it would be great if he has some good friends walking with him.

I think that the right age for a child to get into the school is around 6 years because at that age the child is able to learn freely.I started my education at 3 years so i feel that every child has the right to enjoy the world until they are up to the age of 5.This is because the once they start their education it would take 15 -20 years to complete their education .It will be difficult for them to enjoy their childhood life if they enter into the education. As we all know that the evergreen part of the life without any worries is childhood life.

The world we live in today, no child is save to school or home from school.If you have the time to walk with him to and from school, then do it. The first time he is late getting home, Your first thought will be is ever coming home again. Thousands of kids are lost every day, don't add to the numbers. PROTECT your children, no one else if going to. It's your job don't give it away.

I myself started walking to school when I was in fifth grade, about 10 years old. But I was a very responsible kid. I agree 100% with most people when they say it depends on the maturity of the child, and how well the you and your kid know the neighborhood and things like that.

A child is able to walk to school as soon as he/she is able to walk, but wheither you should allow your child to walk to school now a days is a completely different story. Also the answer relies on where you live i mean a child living in downtown Boston should be a little older than "Tommy" who live in Perfect ville Maine. so i think there is no single answer.

I was in 6th grade when I started walking to and from. I don't remember if my mom just didn't feel like getting up anymore or what. I think that would have made me about 11. So yeah like 10 or 11 would be a good age to start walking. Plus there were other kids who lived on my street that I walked with so it wasn't like I was by myself.

I guess it all depends on the maturity of the child, how far it is to school, and the area in which you live. I used to walk to and from school by myself at 6 years old. I lived in a very small town and it was about 5 blocks to school. My son is almost 9 years old, but we live in an area where the bus picks him up at the end of the driveway. I don't think he is mature enough to walk home by himself if we lived in town and that was an option.

As for me I went to pre-study school myself in the year that I am four ,it's a long way walk to there and I should climb up a mountain then get down ,I can see the school in front of me.That was happy times in my childhood and I can still remember many of the details . I have left my hometowe for a long time and miss it very much.

I think it would really depend on your area that you live in and how mature your child is. I don't think that there should every really be an age limit to anything as children mature differently. My little girl is 8 and I would not let her walk she is just not ready. I think this would be a hard thing to do. Times are just not like they were 40 years ago when it was acceptable for your 10 year old to walk your 4 year old to school and nothing happen.

I don't think there is a definite age for a child to be able to walk alone to school and home.It also depends on your location.You can't let them go alone at their young age when you are far from school.But you should train them to be independent.As much as possible avoid transferring school very often so they can be well adjusted to the environment.You should also trust him on how he can make friends himself.Let him do the initiative.Do not push him to what you like for him to do but guide him in what he wants to do.He will tell you when, you should not be overprotecting him.

wow, that is a tough one and there should not be a fixed guide on this cos it will depends on the country, area, environment one is in. If the school is far away and need some travelling, then it should be at a time when he is old enough to be able to look out for traffic, travelling and i see that at least a 11-13 years old kid. If the school is nearby away from heavy traffic, then i think 7-9 years old would suffice. Of course, some precaution is needed esp if the neighbourhood is not too safe and young girls should learn some precautions before allowing them to go on the street alone. I first learn to walk to and fro from school when i was about 11 years old. It takes me about 20 mins to walk.