walking to school age 6 (with parent)..would you walk this far? - Page 2

[Magella]

Wow! Thank you all so much! I realized last night that I shouldn't have doubted myself. I loved reading your stories, and I think it's great how much you all walk with your kids.

I am really looking forward to walking. The excercise will be good for all of us, but especially for dd who will only get 20 minutes of recess outside each day at school. I also think it might be very good talking time, and give her a way to unwind after a full day of school. Plus all of us will enjoy watching and feeling the change of seasons. And yeah, tiring the kids out isn't such a bad thing :LOL My dd takes a good 45 minutes to fall asleep if she hasn't had enough excercise, but falls asleep much faster (and thus gets more sleep which means a better mood) when she's been active outside a lot.

Maybe we will inspire the neighbors. That would be fun.

[Fieryfly]

My DS' school is a 15 minute walk away(1 way) also. I take our wagon for my DD to ride in if she gets tired and for backpacks. I do home daycare, and our afternoons usually go a little smoother if we walk home. Sometimes I'll bring a snack and we'll stop at a park on the way home to play. We don't walk as often in the morning just because I don't have a good routine down to make sure we leave on time so we don't have to rush.

One advantage that I see from walking is that we get a chance to socialize with some of the other children who walk home. Its also nice to be out in the community and see our neighbors. We walk down a main neighborhood street and at each block our walking group gets smaller and smaller until it is just us because we live the farthest down the road. Honestly, none of the kids have ever complained, unless we forgot to bring water,

[meemee]

we are a walking family. my dd loves to walk and at 16 months would easily walk two miles to and from the park and play hard for 2 hours at the park. she is a v. high energy child. today she mostly walks a mile to ps/dc on my way to work exploring and discovering things on teh way.

the only thing i can think of is she might be tired on her way to school. if she is then i would avoid that. but it would be a lovely mommy and chld time during walking. actually i find with my dd she performs better if she walks first thing to get all the extra energy out of her. it helps her focus better.

[Viola]

School started on Monday, and my daughter started first grade at a school 1.1 miles away. Actually, her classroom is 1.2 miles from our house. We've walked all three days so far, and I plan to keep walking as long as the weather is good. I do pick her up in the afternoons, though.

[nikirj]

When I was in elementary school we walked a half-mile each way, every day. We only really complained about it when it was reeaaaaaallly hot or raining really hard.

I really like my kids out and about and playing. A 15 minute walk is totally no big deal. They've been doing that since, well, since they still needed to hold our hands to keep from plopping on their rears.

We had a short walk to preschool last year - about 7-10 minutes - and even in really inclement weather, we really enjoyed it. We gave ourselves a couple extra minutes and strolled our merry way along most days.

We are now more like 10 miles from the school, but still about 1/4 mile from the bus stop, and I totally intend to walk that each day. A nice little walk every day is good for your health, even when you're a kid . And I second what meemee said; it's great for them to get out a little of their extra energy so they aren't bouncing off the walls. I find a walk to be very calming and would think that it would help a child's mindset going into the classroom situation, as well.

[Magella]

2 days of walking to and from school and I am sooooo glad we're doing it!!!! It's great. I was a little worried when I realized that because walkers leave last out of everybody (so the awful traffic from parents picking up their kids is gone) she gets out a good 20 minutes later than everyone else (it's an odd system, and if I said I was driving she'd be out front early and I could still walk and pick her up). But as it turns out, the little girl who lives next door is in her class and is walking home (with big sister and mom) also!!!!! So they wait together, and dd likes it and doesn't mind waiting all that time-she's making a new friend!

Dh was talking to one of his customers who lives in a nearby town, and the kindergartners in that town are not allowed to walk to school period (not even with parents ). This mom was very upset, because she can literally see the school driveway from her house but has to put her kids on the bus. They're the last stop, and the first day she saw her kids' bus leave the driveway of the school and 45 minutes later they still weren't home. Truly insane.

[Rhiannon Feimorgan]

That's about how far it is to my sons school and we are walking there and back. I intend to walk him everyday unless it is realy cold. We are in the north so realy cold means below -20C

I walked 1/2 mile everyday (home for lunch) as a kid. When I was very small my mom walked with me but most of the time it was by myself. Walking is a great habbit to get your kids into!

[lorijds]

We live a mile away from my kids' school; but we are lazy in the mornings, and can't get around in time to walk. But we do ride our bikes every day, except when it is raining (too much lightening in Kansas storms for my comfort....).

[momsgotmilk4two]

I walk my 5 year old, along with my 3 year old and 9 month old, that far to school. The kids handle it just fine I was actually surprised at how many people were driving who lived even closer to the school than we do. I'd rather not hassle the parking lot. Walking is easier, doesn't use any $$ gas and gets at least some amount of excersize into our day. Maybe I'm weird, but I'd feel guilty for driving that short of a distance.

[momsgotmilk4two]

I just read over the whole thread and am happy to see so many walkers But with MDC mommas I guess I shouldn't be surprised:LOL

[Ruthla]

I'm planning to walk that far with my 3.75yo- unless it's raining, snowing, too hot, or too cold.

I think your neighbors are nuts.

[ceilydhmama]

yup

[moondiapers]

Originally Posted by sledg

Dh was talking to one of his customers who lives in a nearby town, and the kindergartners in that town are not allowed to walk to school period (not even with parents ). This mom was very upset, because she can literally see the school driveway from her house but has to put her kids on the bus. They're the last stop, and the first day she saw her kids' bus leave the driveway of the school and 45 minutes later they still weren't home. Truly insane.

I doubt there would be anything they could do to her if she ignored the rule.

[Magella]

You're right. Beyond harassing her, I don't see that they could really do anything. I just think it's nuts. And a waste of time, money and natural resources. Is it paranoia that drives school systems to make rules like this? I just really don't get it. Honestly makes no sense to me at all.

[ani'smama]

I would definately walk! Or bike. Or scooter. We do all three, actually. We live just over a mile from school. Our walk is through a hilly neighborhood area, so I feel comfortable walking, riding, or scooting to school.

Our city has organized several "walking school buses" to encourage alternatives to driving to promote healthy bodies and a healthy planet. Right now I escourt my two and two other neighbor kids each day. We meet up with other "buses" along the way. We have a blast. We have walking school bus t-shirts that identify our group as such and have reflective vests for the person in front and back to wear and a flag for crossing streets. The kids love being the "crossing guard"! Walking to and from school is one of my favorite parts of the day.