Parents When are they supposed to sleep?

[mommyof1]

Totally OT, but you guys are making me nervous about letting my 2nd and 4th graders walk home from school today alone! (First day of school, it's only about 0.5 miles, and you can see it from my driveway, but still...although perhaps I should be more worried that they'll kill each other!)

It totally depends on your local culture. Our school district will not even let elementary school kids off the bus unless there is a parent at the bus stop to meet them. If your school releases the kids to walk home without a parent, I can't imagine that you'd have any problems.

 

[rosiekat]

It totally depends on your local culture. Our school district will not even let elementary school kids off the bus unless there is a parent at the bus stop to meet them. If your school releases the kids to walk home without a parent, I can't imagine that you'd have any problems.

Hah, the way my life has been lately, there's probably some form I was supposed to fill out and missed.

 

[MILgymFAM]

Totally OT, but you guys are making me nervous about letting my 2nd and 4th graders walk home from school today alone! (First day of school, it's only about 0.5 miles, and you can see it from my driveway, but still...although perhaps I should be more worried that they'll kill each other!)

My kids walked home through the forest in lower elementary school, and through our town in upper elementary school and middle school. They survived- in fact they thrived. I love that my girls are now able to travel on their own. My 15yo DD just returned from traveling on her own to/from Puerto Rico and it was an amazing experience, and both my girls (15 & 12) have stayed in hotel rooms or dorm rooms alone at this point. I want independent women and I saw walking to school as the first step, even when others looked down on me for it.

 

[raenndrops]

It's a long shot but I just found an extra 30 minutes in the morning by checking the actual bus route instead of the paper. We live on the tail of a loop and the official route has the girls getting on at the beginning. I flagged down the driver ( without the girls, dad drove them this morning) and she easily agreed to pick them up on the driveway after finishing the circle. So we all get more sleep.

Is there any possibility the bus passes twice?

We had that same situation when I was a kid… but we were "supposed" to walk over a quarter mile to a bus stop with no shelter to get on a bus that went past our house 2x each route. Once we talked to the driver, my little brother and I started being the first pick up (635am… but that meant I could get up at 618am and be back to sleep on the bus by 645am and get sleep until drop off at school at 720am). By the time my younger sister was in jr high, the driver picked her up on the back end of the route - didn't even have to cross the street (she got on at 7am).

Our current district has an "in town" route and several out of town routes. The in town route makes a loop. It goes past my street 2x… dropping off kids on one side of the street on the first pass and the kids from the other side on the second pass. The same with pick up. Per school rules, unless the parents get special permission, Little Suzy is not allowed to get on later by walking across the street to the other bus stop (but the bus driver figures it is the same number of kids - it doesn't matter if they get on at point A or point G, so it's fine by her). Now KINDERGARTEN students have to have someone at the bus stop to meet them, but older kids don't.

 

[gymgal]

But don't these things have seasons? I know travel ball does

My son played travel baseball year round here in the south. They have seasons but the really invested teams play all the seasons. They used to practice 3x/week and then all day tournaments on the weekends. And expected to hit the batting cages on their off days.

 

[GYM0M]

I wish. Unfortunately YDD is also a gymnast and gets out of school at 3:20 - so I have to wait in carpool line for an hour to pick her up so that I can then pick up ODD at home to run to gym. There are no other gymnasts from her gym at the high school so she has to ride the bus. YDD's bus would get home too late to get to practice - so I have to pick her up. I had it good up until then as both attended the same school (a K-8 school).

Is there a bus that goes to the high school or vice versa? What about your ydd riding the bus in the mornings?

 

[raenndrops]

Totally OT, but you guys are making me nervous about letting my 2nd and 4th graders walk home from school today alone! (First day of school, it's only about 0.5 miles, and you can see it from my driveway, but still...although perhaps I should be more worried that they'll kill each other!)

In kindergarten, I walked to school… most often by myself - that's how I began my life of crime, lol.
In first grade, I walked with my siblings at 2 of the schools I went to… was driven to the 3rd school… and walked with others to my 4th school. In second grade, my older brother and I walked 12 blocks to school every morning. After school, we each had activities, so I walked alone either home or to Girl Scouts or to practice. In 3rd grade, we rode a bus to our school (it was in the country), but the bus stop was almost a 1/2 mile away. In 4th grade, I walked to school a little over a mile away. From 5th grade on, I had to ride the bus because my schools were out in the country.

If you can see the school from your driveway, you definitely have nothing to worry about
My stepmom didn't even wake up with us (and we lived with her from 2nd grade on).

 

[gymgal]

Wow! I think we live in a bird home compared to the US and the UK. I have walked or biked to school since I was seven (first grader) and I was going to suggest that maybe she could ride a bike to go to school but I guess it's not a possible? Majority of the kids walk or bike by themselves or with their friends or siblings here. It's considered safe to do that on your own when you turn 7. Some schools in the biggest cities have forbidden biking from the first and second graders though. I have never seen a thing called car line. Bus rides are for kids who have longer than 5 km ride/walk to the school.

Times are very different, or so many folks believe. We live in a very safe, nearly enclosed (not gated though) 1000-home community that has schools in it and almost all the homes are within 1 mile of the schools. There are no busses for these schools. We have a lot of kiddos walking on good days. both with and without parents. But we still have a huge carpool line because parents don't feel it is safe to let their children walk to school. If we have this great set-up and parents still don't feel comfortable, I can see how others would feel even more apprehensive if their child had to walk on "real" town/city streets by themselves to get to school.

 

[GymDad9.9]

I envy all of you whose children can walk and bike to school without worry. Within a 5 mile radius of my home there are 130 registered sexual offenders and predators. That's 130 too many for me.

 

[notthatmom]

I envy all of you whose children can walk and bike to school without worry. Within a 5 mile radius of my home there are 130 registered sexual offenders and predators. That's 130 too many for me.

How is that even possible!?! Are there no schools in your area?

We had a sex offender who was trying to rent a house about a block away, we had an attorney put out a letter saying if there were any registered in-home daycares within a certain distance, his rental application would be denied. Thankfully they found one. I can't imagine that many are living in such a small radius, and no violations have been broken, there's some detective work to be done there.

 

[Scotsgirl]

This sounds like madness to me , my girl would never cope nor would we . Dd gets home at 830 and is in bed by 9.15 she is 8 and sleeps until 7.30 . Im sorry I really can't say anything positive as I really can't see a positive here . She must be exhausted , it must be so difficult going to these extremes .

 

[bogwoppit]

I envy all of you whose children can walk and bike to school without worry. Within a 5 mile radius of my home there are 130 registered sexual offenders and predators. That's 130 too many for me.

Wow, that is insane. Mind you not something we would know here. Our elementary school is exactly 1km away, but the road has no sidewalk and it is a very busy road. Kids rarely walked.

 

[GymDad9.9]

How is that even possible!?! Are there no schools in your area?

We had a sex offender who was trying to rent a house about a block away, we had an attorney put out a letter saying if there were any registered in-home daycares within a certain distance, his rental application would be denied. Thankfully they found one. I can't imagine that many are living in such a small radius, and no violations have been broken, there's some detective work to be done there.

The elementary school is two miles away from our home. Plenty of kids who live close by walk and bike to school. The high school and middle school are within walking/biking distance of my home and when my kids are of age for those two, I would be comfortable with them walking or biking as there is plenty of traffic and police presence in the area on school days. I live in a pretty desirable area all things considred but even still there lurks those who will mean harm.

 

[Deleted member 18037]

Oh just google the sex offender registry, you would be surprised as to who is living around you. And just because someone makes the list, doesn't mean they are a risk to a child.

We had a guy living next door when my stepson was young. He was on the list. Because when he was 18 he had a 17 yr old girlfriend whose parents made it an issue. Really he was not a risk to the 7 yr old.

 

[Deleted member 18037]

http://www.npr.org/sections/13.7/20...for-putting-kids-at-perceived-but-unreal-risk

Times have not necessarily changed, perception has.

 

[ascarter1]

MENTAL

Firstly, what numpty has school scheduled to start at 7 am ?

Secondly, how far away is it that the bus takes and hour and a half ?

tiz all madness I tell you, madness

It's very common in the US (my region at least) that middle and high school kiddos start school at 7. My dd is in the same situation! Although our gym practices 4-8, which certainly helps a little.

 

[Iwannabemargo]

do they powers that be not listen to psychologists ?

We are discussing 10am starts now for teens

 

[ascarter1]

do they powers that be not listen to psychologists ?

We are discussing 10am starts now for teens

Well, of course not! If we did what was best for kids, a lot would change in the education system!! (I'm speaking as an educator-sad, right?!)

 

[Seeker]

I think "numpty" sums it up well!!

 

[JazzyMom]

This could someone tell me what other sport requires as many hours year round.?

"

I live in a crazy sport town. All sports go this many hours - all year round. In the other sports, they are considered separate seasons but they all have 4 seasons year round with crazy practice hours and weekend tournaments. It is hard to find a sport just for fun. Most kids are on 2 or 3 teams a season, of the same sport or different sports. You are looked at as odd if you don't spend all your free time at your kids sports. Even the band needs 20 hours a week commitment. You mean this isn't how all towns are?!?!