Should I let my kids walk home by themselves ?

[tomatheist]

@amplifiedheart It’s not so much about not trusting your kids but trusting other people.

 

[mrscott1026]

@amplifiedheart I think it's less an American thing than a generational thing. I did to but times have changed.

 

[amplifiedheart]

@mrscott1026 You could be right about that.

 

[torieb23]

@mrscott1026 I don’t think there’s a right or wrong answer. But personally, if I felt my children were ready, if it would make accomplishing other tasks easier, and if the kids wanted to walk alone, I would probably let them navigate the walk entirely by themselves with myself at a small distance a few times. If I liked what I saw I’d get them either one of those cell phones that can only call pre-determined numbers or an emergency alert piece of jewelry and let them have at it.

 

[edward99]

@mrscott1026 Honestly this is about the same walk I would do at that age
And with technology I’d say air tag the kids.

 

[haleybethb]

@mrscott1026 This leaves you 9 year old in charge of the 7 year old when you think about it. If the baby is too young to walk by themselves they need to be with someone old enough to watch them.

 

[mrscott1026]

@haleybethb That's a good point

 

[schroderj]

@mrscott1026 I think it's more about the response in the community than the kids ability. some places walking a few miles is normal. Others, walking off school property would yield a dozen police calls and turn into a fiasco.

 

[jbr]

@mrscott1026 No. I’m paranoid. Granted. The suicidal regret I would have if my kids got kidnapped or hit by a car….

 

[croseb92]

@mrscott1026 Although it depends on the kids, I would definitely go for it. I think independence is a lacking skill in this generation and you will help your kids to gain real confidence and skills they wouldn’t get with you there. I would start by meeting them half way, then shadowing then letting them go alone.

 

[incrediblyabsurd]

@mrscott1026 When I was in second grade I was lamost kidnapped on my way to school. The only reason he didn't was because my older sister showed up who was quite a bit bigger than me. I'd say no

 

[krazeban]

@mrscott1026 It depends. Are they walking home together? OK. I wouldn't let either of them walk home alone. I live in a pretty safe city, and in a pretty safe part of the city and a girl near me was almost abducted twice.

It's not about how much you trust your kids, but whether you can trust every other crazy in the community. There's more safety in numbers though.

 

[mrscott1026]

@krazeban That's what worries me. But at the same time you can't prevent kids from learning autonomy. I'm torn.

 

[flossydent]

@mrscott1026 We are in almost exact situation ! Our community Center offers a “ Wanna Walk” a safety course for waking to & from school, maybe look for something along those lines to develop confidence on your child’s end ? Next year , grade 4& grade 1 , we may try it out . I may tail them?

 

[mrscott1026]

@flossydent Great advice thank you !

 

[%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B9%D8%B5%D8%B1%D9%8A%D8%A9]

@mrscott1026 Not to freak you out by I really recommend first researching the tools/tactics that predators use to get children in cars. Asking for help finding missing dogs, pretending to know their parents, etc. Then try your best to educate your kids so they know what to look out for.

 

[gemdandy]

@%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B9%D8%B5%D8%B1%D9%8A%D8%A9 This is good advice, but keep in mind the chance of a stranger abducting a child is super super small. Most abductions are by family members, and most that aren't, are someone known to the child. So definitely teach them about stranger danger, but also you don't need to be feeling nervous while they're out there.

 

[joseph92]

@%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B9%D8%B5%D8%B1%D9%8A%D8%A9 Thank you for bringing this up. We all take risks unintentionally, but people with bad intentions find kids easy to overpower, which means we have to at least try to help them avoid it. My parents had a secret family phrase. If someone showed up and said they were going to take you home/to your parents, they needed to have that phrase. Once they say it you may approach them. Also kids need to know, should the worst happen, yell "this is not my father/mother" or people nearby will just assume unruly kids. If someone approaches my kid asking about puppies or kitties or if someone slows down while they are driving and walking in that direction, she knows to get out of there and run in the other direction. It's sad we have to ruin their innocence to explain how there are bad people out there that want to hurt others, but ultimately my goal is to raise a self sufficient & successful adult, and to be that you need to know how to recognize any kind of trouble ahead of time.

 

[dreducation]

@%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B9%D8%B5%D8%B1%D9%8A%D8%A9 I didn't want to freak anyone out either but I watched the story of Jaycee Dugard and her kidnappers tazed her when she was walking home one day. She was 11. It's a scary world out there and when the time comes to let my kids have a little more freedom I'm definitely tracking them.

 

[burningeyeslikestars]

@mrscott1026 I drive by a local school daily around drop off/dismissal time taking my daughter to/from daycare. It’s in a community where the majority of kids will walk to/from school and I regularly see kids around those ages walking together without a parent. There are enough other families out walking to/from school that there’s plenty of adults/supervision around.