If there is the question to cross the State Highway then I'm not sure when it is going to be for my child to go alone. Otherwise when she attain the age of 15 I can take a chance.
Post by plutosmoon on May 22, 2021 12:36:23 GMT -5
I don't think I'd ever feel safe with my elementary kid walking by herself in this scenario. Maybe in junior high(7th grade), but certainly not elementary school without a consistent crossing guard. I have overprotective tendencies. We've never really lived close enough to walk to school, but I always drove to the bus stop because our bus stop was at the bottom of a steep hill that required the kids to cross at a blind corner with no crosswalk. The sidewalk just ended at the bottom of the hill. We were told by the city the corner was too unsafe for a crosswalk, but I guess safe enough for the kids to have to cross? The bus would never stop if the kids were on the "wrong" side of the street, which was very irritating. Our new school bus stop should be walkable next year, since it doesn't require crossing any streets. I'll still go with her because the stop is on a very busy street, and my kid has ASD. The school itself is just over a mile and would require crossing a 40 mph 2 lane state highway three times because the sidewalk keeps switching sides, so I don't see us walking there.
Is this something you can work up to? Like could you walk them as far as the highway and cross with them, then let them walk the rest of the way on their own? Then work up to you walk together to the highway and they cross alone while you watch. Then eventually they walk the whole thing by themself?
I like this idea, thanks! That state highway is the first street he'd need to cross to get to school, so I could easily walk him there, cross with him and let him walk the rest of the way on his own.
Am reading these with interest! I live overseas so there's no school buses. We are about a mile from the school and walk it together. My daughter is 8 and has been asking for a while to walk herself but there are a couple of awkward intersections so I'm not there yet. I've been dropping her a few blocks up the road and have been inching up slowly but not intending on her walking from home for a while (and my son will start next year anyway so I'll be walking him to the school gate).
Post by secretagent on May 24, 2021 8:37:01 GMT -5
I like the idea of working up to it!
We had kid crossing guards too growing up, but real adults for major intersections. At 11, I walked home almost 2 miles in good weather (no guards after the two major intersections; my mom would arrange a pick up in bad weather). Bussing was 2 mi + in my town and I lived like 1.8 or something. My oldest will be 10 this summer and we are hoping they can start walking home in good weather (it's about a mile to the school they'll attend next year).
In my suburb, crossing guards are all adults and actually employed by the police department (but they're like semi retirees mostly). We don't have kid safety patrol, so only bigger intersections are staffed. Can you request (maybe of the superintendent) for consistent coverage? This seems like a huge liability for the district.
Post by runblondie26 on May 24, 2021 8:58:17 GMT -5
Hmmm, I’m not sure what the right answer is, so I’m happy to read some other responses here!
DD will be in 7th grade next year, and I’ll probably let her ride her bike to the middle school with neighborhood friends. It’s a little over a mile away, but they’d have to cross a busy downtown intersection. It makes me anxious as a group, I’d be really hesitant to send her alone. Shorter distance, and a crossing guard as a check point along the way? Maybe 11-12?
That said, as another child of the 80’s, this is something we did all the time and our parents didn’t think twice about it.
Kids start walking to our school pretty young, but it is in the middle of housing development and there are no major roads.
My son is in 7th grade and last week hung out with some kids after school at a place that required them to cross a busy road without a crossing guard.
I'll be honest, it made me uneasy and he is a responsible 13 year old who was in a group of kids.
I'm not sure I'd ever letting my kid cross 4 lanes of traffic by themselves without a crossing guard. But inattentive drivers/ car accidents of any kind are a huge source of anxiety for me in general. So maybe I'm not the best go-by.
Could the schools PTO/PTA higher a crossing guard for that intersection during school comings and goings? We have that here when the kids have to cross a busy street. DD will be walking to school in the fall at 10. But it is all residential roads and she jut has to cross one street. She wants to walk to this enrichment program through the school district but the school is about a 1/2 mile and she would have to cross a lot of residential streets and a major road and I told her no way. They district is offering transportation for the enrichment activities so she will walk to the bus stop.