Would you put a 5 year old on a school bus?

Sure. Sending children off to school is not only about academic education, but learning to become independent; slowly depending less and less on the presence of a parent or family member to make it through the day uneventful. When it comes to putting children on the bus, the driver's are taking responsibility for the actions and safety of your children, and this includes knowing at which bus stop that they are supposed to be getting off at. In many areas, such as where I live, most parents cannot afford to drive their children such the long distance. Many children in my area live in excess of 35 miles away from the school.

i think i won't. i have seen how the bus drivers here in manila drives and they are no good at all. why entrust your child's safety to those kinds of drivers. i think i would put my child to a school bus by around 8 or nine. hehe :D

My daughter is entering first grade this year. Last year the majority of the year she rode the bus to and from school. About half way through the school year or maybe 3/4 of the way through we switched and I started driving her. It wasent a matter of safety as we live within walking distance to the school and I didnt worry about her riding that far on a bus. If she had to go a further distance say like 5 miles even it would bother me. I dont feel buses are safe at all for kids to ride on since they do not have seat belts. This year the first day of school I think I will drive her to school and help her find her classroom.

Hi, thedaddym. If my child does not seem like they know their way around, I would just drive him/her to school. We have done this with our son when he was 5. But we also wanted him to get used to riding the bus too. So, he started riding the bus by himself when he was six. I still felt unsure about this too. Because the older kids took advantage of him. Do what makes you feel comfortable. If you think that your child can handle riding the bus alone then let him do so. If not, then continue taking him to school.

Five years old seem so young to you. But five years old is five years old. I think its good for your five years old to ride a bus by himself. Beside his a he. So let him explore the world of being a kindergarten. But I think for just for safety be sure to get good school bus. And better else talk to the driver.

I think the school bus is a great idea I wish we had ,had it. Nearly all schools here have no kind of transport and there is a general struggle every morning as car after car tries to park and escort their kid to the gate if they are little and the local buildings must put up with the sometimes hurried parking ,sometimes blocking off their access to the road and their own car. The traffic is filled with cars taking kids to school and stressed out drivers who have one eye on the road and one on their warring kids. I think if the bus is what everyone uses at the school,then I would send a 5 year old on it. It is an experience and kids soon get used to following a routine.

My grandson went to kindergarten last year and rode the bus each and every day. He was 5. The bus driver never missed his stop for pick-up or let-off even though the bus was packed. We had a long talk with him before the school year, on what to do if the bus driver should forget his stop. He looked forwards to traveling by bus because that meant he was now a 'big boy'. Each kindergartener wore a tag on their shirt, or jacket, that told which bus he rode on the way to school, and which one he was to ride coming home. At our school, it is the older kids job to make sure they get on the right bus (each student is assigned a little one to keep track of.) We stood at the end of the driveway so the bus driver knew to stop in the morning, and we stood there at the end of the day when the bus was due. If anything, we were probably more apprehensive, in the beginning, than he ever was.

i don't have a child yet at the moment... but when i do have one in the future, i think i will prefer to send my kids to and from school by myself if i can instead of using the school bus service... it gives me more time to bond and communicate with my child and i will feel more secure because i i know that my kids will reach the school and home safely... take care and have a nice day...

You didn't say where you live so this is hard to answer. My kids rode the bus at 5 and so have all my grandchildren. In today's society with all that happens I would have to say this depends on where you live. We live in the country and go to a small country school. If my 5 year old was walking to a bus stop to be picked up and droped off and there were a lot of dangers then I would be taking them. so it depends on the situation.

When you have no options, you have to. Here in India not many people have their personal cars and the school bus is the best option during rush hours. Though I see many parents here escorting their kids to and from school, yet I feel its quite unsafe running after busses in the chaotic traffic with a kid in tow. Personally I have always preferred schools that have their own transportation and thank God I found one…my son’s been using the school bus since he started school at the age of 2+. He has had his share of troubles and problems (esp. with older kids…seat sharing and such) but I’ve always been there for him, guided him how and when to react or accept and so on. Its become a habit with him now and since the bus service is run by the school, the authorities have some responsibility and it’s a great relief for me.

Your son is real young for bus ... good idea to drop and pick him.

when my son went to pre school, he went on the bus. he would get taken in to town and i'd pick him up after pre school. the minium age is 4 for us, and my son was 4.5 when he started on the bus. thou he doesn't go on the bus anymore cause i drive him to school. we go to a country school, and the bus doesn't come near us so i drive him and then go round to my parents place from there.

hi thedaddym, well its a challenge, putting a 5 year old in a bus is teaching your child to be independent. I am sure also you have check the safety of your child before you let him/her ride the bus. I am also sure there will be a lot of kids in the bus..no problem with me with that case.

Hi Thedaddym, If possible, I suggest parents send the kids to school all by their own. Somehow, some parents might not free to send and pick the kids from school as they need to work. Hence there are school bus services. If you were to put your kids to a school bus service, try to get a better school bus service with careful bus driver or a assistant will be better. At least the assistant will help the kids to get up and come down from the bus.

Well in my view a 5 year old boy is big enough to handle atleast the school bus.. for me the school bus was the first point of socialisation . The child would like to o on a bus if it is anything like me... i loved it on the bus. There are school buses which take care of stuff such as picking up and dropping at the school and home. The child is really safe there... ya you can walk him to the stop if you like...

Nope I did not put any of my kids on the bus when they were kindergardners. I drove them and picked them up. That is just so young. When my oldest was in 2nd grade I let her go on the bus and her little brother who was in first grade went too because they had each other and they would look out for one another. There was also two siblings that were a little older from the neighborhood who knew my kids really well and they promised to look out for them too and they did. I now drive my youngest back and forth. He got lost for 5 minutes once and it was the scariest moment in my life, so I am very over protective of him.

My husband never rode the school bus, and I didn't start until fifth grade and then it wasn't every year that I rode it. My husband and I live in a safe county, so that's not an issue, but when we do have kids we will most likely drive them to and fro each day regardless. The bus was okay, and it was a nice experience, but I'd think it'd be more personal for us to take the kids, and especially on the first days of school each year.

We did put our son on the bus when he was five, but only because his older brother was with him. We wouldn't have done that if his brother wasn't with him. I also always stood with them at the bus stop in the morning and met them at the bus stop every afternoon. The school also did a really good job of making sure the kindergartners got on the right bus.

If it was in the time I was going to school sure I wouldn't have a problem with it. Now adays the way life is I would not trust putting my five year old on a bus by themselves. I guess I would be an overprotective parent in these times. The world has become a scary place and if I had to do it all over again my children would be home schooled. They still would have outside activities such as ballet and piano lessons and gymnastics so they would be able to make friends. However, regular school no way. Not in todays society.

Well I did put my kids on the school bus at that age (when they did go to school) and have to ask what your own parents did? I went on the bus at that age. Perhaps you and your wife are a little over protective (I get it we all have our specific points of over protection) and the amount of kids is an excuse. That being the case what age do you feel is old enough to go on the school bus?