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Thread: How old should a kid be to walk home from school alone?

  1. #1
    Peanut_Butter
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    Default How old should a kid be to walk home from school alone?

    Yeah. How old do you think a child should be to walk home from school by themselves, cross very very heavy traffic intersections, but in a crosswalk with a crossing gard?

    I see children every day who look to be 6-7 years old walking home alone and I think that is way to young. I remember when I felt too "old" to have my mom walk me to school, I was in second grade, but she still walked me to school...only she walked on the other side of the street

    What do you think?

    Also, what's a good age to let yoru kis start staying home alone for short periods of time? I was 9 years old when I started staying home alone, but usualyl got scared and went to the next door neighbors house. I started babysitting my brother when I was 10.

    It just seems so young to me now. If I had a kid I dont think I'd let it walk home from school alone until they were at least 8 or 9. Not stay home alone until 11 or 12, depending on maturity level of course.

  2. #2
    High_Heel_Lover
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    Default Re: How old should a kid be to walk home from school alone?

    When they are old enough to know what to do in case of an emergency. 6 or 7 IMO is too young.

    I also do not feel comfortable thinking a child alone at any age is wise, in groups is better, so my yeah.

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    Default Re: How old should a kid be to walk home from school alone?

    I am so over protective, I wouldnt be leaving my kids alone until they were AT LEAST 10, we live in a fairly rural area. And even then only if they were with other kids like HHL said. Maybe at 8 or 9 if there was a responsible older kid in a group.

    Babysitting at 10? Noooo I dont think so. Seems to young to me. But my oldest is only 5 so maybe I dont have a clear idea of a 10 year olds maturity levels!
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    Featured Member The_Oceans's Avatar
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    Default Re: How old should a kid be to walk home from school alone?

    It really is a different time these days. I was walking myself home from school in second grade (7/8 years old), but this was in the late 1970s, and the school fields were at the end of my street, and completely wide open. My parents did worry when I changed schools in the fourth grade; I had to go a lot further and through a park that was out of sight from my street.

    These days my nephew (who's 11) goes to the same school I (and my brother & sisters) went to; my parents now meet him at the end of the street, and he walks between the school and there with friends.

    It was only in a pinch that I was home alone before the age of 11 - otherwise my sisters or my grandmother would be home to keep an eye on me and my brother.
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    Veteran Member AmArticia's Avatar
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    Default Re: How old should a kid be to walk home from school alone?

    Quote Originally Posted by Peanut_Butter View Post
    I was in second grade, but she still walked me to school...only she walked on the other side of the street
    My god that is clever! I send your mother insane quantities of mad props!

    I was in one of those before and after school program thingys untill the end of fourth grade. It wasn't because my mom necessarily wanted me that supervised but rather because of the hours that she worked. To be honest, I think all kids should be in after-school programs, it was a great way of keeping me from screwing around too much.

    My dad was diagnosed with cancer when I was seven or eight and died of the disease when I was nine. Because of this, I became super-responsible for myself. I was left home alone for long periods of time while my dad was sick and after his death, my mum sort of went into her own little world of pills and alcohol (I now understand that she did this to keep some level of sanity, at the time I didn't) so from about nine or so I more or less raised myself.

    BAD NEWS. Kids don't know how to raise themselves!...Especially when the main adult in their life is going "chemicals kill *hic* the pain *hic*" in effect. My mother taught me by accident that pills are the answer to life, the universe, and everything. I later used this to deal with my first two years of high school...barely passing both. Drug use is something we still fight over to this very day.

    Also, her lack of being physically and/or emotionally available led to a host of other problems that resulted in expensive therapy sessions...that she herself aborted when two different shrinks told her that I was suicidal...I was 10 at the time. Since then I've been in and out of therapy (god I hate it!) several times and have a track record of three suicide attempts, several hundred cut scars*, and an eating disorder.

    My point is...DO NOT LEAVE YOUR KIDS ALONE UNTILL THEY ARE MATURE ENOUGH TO DEAL WITH IT.

    *Neon lighting is the greatest thing on earth...cocoa butter lotion is the second greatest thing on earth. I am proud to say that stripping has also helped me quit cutting almost completely!
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  6. #6
    AudreyLeigh
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    Default Re: How old should a kid be to walk home from school alone?

    My daughter is 9 and walks to school and I worry. Its directly across the street from our house and she walks with 2 other children. It takes about 2 minutes to get to school.

    I see children walking long distances also - not around here but in some areas kind of close to here. Its really scary to see young children walking alone.

    To cross busy streets Id say 5th grade.

    To stay home alone - depends on length and maturity level. Here in CA there are no laws on certain ages to stay home alone. Ive had her alone for 30 minutes. I got home from work at 4, she got home from school at 330.. only a few times and I was very nervous. But ya know, I quit that job to start dancing again so now shes never ever home alone. Ever.

    Babysitting - 14... I had to be 14 to babysit, she has to be 14 to babysit and whomever babysits her needs to be 14... and I did that once... I just dont trust teens (probably because I was a horrible one!)

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    Default Re: How old should a kid be to walk home from school alone?

    I was walking to & from school from the beginning (5), didn't cross any big streets, though. I liked it because I was a 'big girl' and most of the kids I knew walked home, but it was really way too young.

    I was staying home alone from that age as well-not all the time, as I had grandparents and babysitters-but during the day at least. If I was home sick and not dying, I was alone. And I watched my brother all the time too. Officially started babysitting for others at...12 I think?

    If I had kids I'd never let them stay home alone that much that young (or at all) though I understand for my mom it was keep the job or go back on welfare. I am really, really comfortable being alone which is good, but I still get hysterical if I'm ill and I have no one to call to come over and check on me.

  8. #8
    Veteran Member TheLioness's Avatar
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    Default Re: How old should a kid be to walk home from school alone?

    I went to sign my oldest son (12 next month) up for the school's summer daycare program and the director says "you know he'll be the only rising 7th grader right?" lol. She said that he is ready, and that he seems more mature than most of the kids his age. We didn't sign him up yet...we're kind of waiting until closer to when school's out to see if we feel comfortable with him staying at home by himself. So yeah, I think the older they are, the better. Don't think there's any magic number/age though.

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    God/dess Pretty_Penny's Avatar
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    Default Re: How old should a kid be to walk home from school alone?

    i worked with kids for a long time. in general i would say 10+ for a very short and relatively safe (not crossing any major roads, decent neighborhood) distance. 12+ for any distance longer than a couple minute walk (say "down the street").

    of course, every kid is different.

    i wouldn't leave a kid at home alone till they were at least 13 (again, in general). and even then i wouldn't stay gone very long. i'd give it till 15 or 16 before i started leaving them home alone for hours at a time.

    short trips to a neighbors or, say, if you live right next door to a gas station or something, would probably be ok a little earlier.. maybe the 10-13 year old range.

    oh and, i'm in no was implying that your mom was a bad mom or anything silly like that, but a child babysitting a child is ALWAYS a bad idea.

    always.

    kids should be teens before they do any sort of babysitting, and even then i wouldn't recommend it.

  10. #10
    Lola Rose
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    Default Re: How old should a kid be to walk home from school alone?

    I walked to the bus stop at 11... and walked to school occassionally at 14, but only wqith friends.

    I'm comfortable being alone, but for most of my life, I never really was. I can see a movie, shop or go out alone, and feel fine, and have fun. But I bunked with my sister till 14, by choice.

    I think it's natural for children to prefer the company of others. We're not a society of loners.

    ok... OT- I think under 3 blocks- 10-11. More then that... 12+.

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    Default Re: How old should a kid be to walk home from school alone?

    Honestly, no kid should be walking alone even middle schoolers, hell even adults sometimes. People prey on them, it's not them who need to mature. My parents always said "it's not you we worry about (fucking things up), it's other people".

    Have your kid walk with a friend, they'll want to anyways. I think I was in third grade when I walked down the block back to my neighbors house with like 10 kids walking home around me.

    There should be laws on when you can leave your kid alone in the house. I think it's 10 here and thats when I started getting left.

    When I was in 10, two people tried to break in (mean while) setting a (angry) pit bull into my house through a window they busted and my dog (a chow chow) killed it first. If it wouldn't had been for my dog I probably would have been mauled, severely disfigured or dead , seriously. I didn't know what to do but call my mom at work and scream and cry. Unless you work next door and can get to your child in an emergency I really don't think it's worth it to leave them alone.

    To many things can happen that you DON'T go over, and never would think to like what happened to me.

    Plus kids try to hide stuff when they know they did something wrong ex. Play with matches when you're not supposed to, accidentally drop it and it starts a little fire and gets a little bigger in the yard. Kid is trying to figure out how to put it out because it is small and runs to get water and then it hits some dry grass and basically explodes. Now the entire yard is blazing and NOW it's time in the kids eyes to be like "oh crap NOW let me call for help"...yha by then you're freaken house is on fire. That also happened to me but it was my neighbor in her yard playing with matches. I knew I didn't do anything wrong and thus new I wouldn't get in trouble and ran to my house and told my parents (I didn't want my house burned down!), after she begged me not too. The whole street ended up coming out and spraying their hoses and throwing buckets on it once it hit that dry texas grass. The whole I know she was standing there thinking "shit.shit.shit. What am I going to tell my parents. Shit!!" not "thank god my friend went and ratted me out, I knew I couldn't take care of this little fire myself".

    Sorry for the long examples, but I feel pretty adamant about this. Children under highschool age should always have a friend with them and 8th maybe 7th depending on maturity should be able to stay alone.

  12. #12
    God/dess kryssy's Avatar
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    Default Re: How old should a kid be to walk home from school alone?

    I myself would walk home alone in 3rd grade. We lived in a country type of setting but the school was cady corner to my house. I would also watch myself at that age from after school untill about 5.

    My oldest daughter is very mature for her age. Her and my 8 year old son walk about 6 blocks to and from school. Mind you these are all suberban roads, not busy roads. There are sidewalks and many other people also walking to school or standing at the bus stops. We have allowed to to watch the 8 year old and our 5 year old daughter for 2 hours while we went grocery shopping. My kids are pretty self-sufficient. Yes even the 5 year old. They are not allowed to use the stove, answer the door, answer the phone unless it's us, the doors and windows stay locked and the older ones know how to use 911 and when to use it.

    We did start out with 5 or 10 min. to see how things would go. I slowly raised the amount of time that we would be gone. We always have our cell phones. Also, maybe 5 steps from our house is their "adopted" grandparents. They are always home and ready to help with anything.

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    God/dess Rhiannon's Avatar
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    Default Re: How old should a kid be to walk home from school alone?

    I remember when I lived in AZ, and the elementary school where my Son attended Kindergarten was literally right at the end of my street. He used to bug me, even at 5 years old, about if he could ride his bike to school like he saw the other kids (yes, other 5 year olds) doing. I still walked him there and walked him home every single day.

    Even in that short distance, something could've happened. There were instances of some sick guy leaving naked pictures of himself at bus stops around the neighborhood. So, you just never know who's watching your Kids when you're not.

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    God/dess cutey5032's Avatar
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    Default Re: How old should a kid be to walk home from school alone?

    I was 9 when I started being home alone and babysitting my sisters (who were 2 at the time). I walked to school at 12-14, but only because it was right up the street.

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    Member Chipmunkcheeks66's Avatar
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    Default Re: How old should a kid be to walk home from school alone?

    When I was in school, the stupid bus comapny had a rule that if you lived within two miles of the school and entering middle school that you had to walk. So I walked to school when I started sixth grade and it was a good mile and half to school. It wasn't too big of a deal, as I grew up in a small sleepy town, but I think for people who were two miles away, that's quite a distance. At least they had the right idea by at waiting until they were in middle school.

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