walking to school

[Azazello1313]

 

in some suburbs, parents and children sit in their cars at the end of driveways, waiting for the bus. Some school buses now have been fitted with surveillance cameras, watching for beatings and bullying.

 

Children are driven to schools two blocks away. At some schools, parents drive up with their children’s names displayed on their dashboards, a school official radios to the building, and each child is escorted out.

 

When to detach the parental leash? The trip to and from school has become emblematic of the conflict parents feel between teaching children autonomy and keeping them safe. In parenting blogs and books, the school-bus stop itself is shorthand for the turmoil of contemporary parents over when to relinquish control.

 

Parents’ worst nightmares were inflamed recently by the re-emergence of Jaycee Dugard, the 11-year-old girl who was kidnapped on her way to the school bus 18 years ago in northern California.

 

The fear of abduction by strangers “has become a norm within middle-class parental circles,” said Paula S. Fass, a history professor at the University of California, Berkeley, and author of “Kidnapped: Child Abduction in America.” “We try to control our fears to the nth degree, so we drop our children off right at school. It’s a confirmation that ‘I’m a good parent.’ ”

 

In 1969, 41 percent of children either walked or biked to school; by 2001, only 13 percent still did, according to data from the National Household Travel Survey. In many low-income neighborhoods, children have no choice but to walk. During the same period, children either being driven or driving themselves to school rose to 55 percent from 20 percent. Experts say the transition has not only contributed to the rise in pollution, traffic congestion and childhood obesity, but has also hampered children’s ability to navigate the world.

 

seems like we are getting way too over-protective as a society. and, you know, maybe your kid is safer NOW if you are watching them like a hawk everywhere they go, but at some point they leave your sight completely. will they be safer for all your past hovering then? probably not.

 

I remember as a kid, I LOVED feeling a little bit of independence, walking back and forth to school and the like. my grandma still reminds me of the story when I was in first grade and she was supposed to meet me at school and walk home with me and I refused and ran a block ahead so I could walk by myself. then they just started letting me walk by myself.

[AtomicCEO]

I heard an interview with the woman who writes this blog recently. Pretty interesting:

http://freerangekids.wordpress.com/2008/04...e-subway-alone/

 

Her argument is that child abductions and trouble like that are actually less frequent now than they were 30 years ago, but they get national coverage all the time, and with Law & Order and CSI and all that... you'd think that they happen every day in every town.

 

I also remember seeing a statistic that in 2007 (I think), there were more murders on network crime shows about NYC than there actually were in NYC.

 

"TV... Teacher, mother, secret lover"

[detlef]

I heard an interview with the woman who writes this blog recently. Pretty interesting:

http://freerangekids.wordpress.com/2008/04...e-subway-alone/

 

Her argument is that child abductions and trouble like that are actually less frequent now than they were 30 years ago, but they get national coverage all the time, and with Law & Order and CSI and all that... you'd think that they happen every day in every town.

 

I also remember seeing a statistic that in 2007 (I think), there were more murders on network crime shows about NYC than there actually were in NYC.

 

"TV... Teacher, mother, secret lover"

I wouldn't be remotely surprised to find any of this to be true and I do think, as a society, we get too carried away with this. When we hear our leaders say anything but, "We'll do everything in our power..." we think they're lazy and uncaring. But "doing everything in our power" is useless, stupid, and just pandering to a pussified society.

 

Obviously, in hind sight, many horrible things that have happened to kids wouldn't have had someone been watching that very instance. But when you add all those very instances up, it's an unreasonable task and will likely turn your kid into a basket case.

[Perchoutofwater]

My kids used to ride the bus, now we drop them off, but that has more to do for our convenience than safety. My wife teaches in a different district now, and it is easier to have the kids in the district she teaches in. My oldest 11 walks the mile or so between the middle school she attends and the high school my wife teaches at most days it isn't raining.

[Yukon Cornelius]

pussification of America.

[billay]

My son just started first grade and the bus won;t drop him off unless there's an adult there waiting. Last year, our neighbor had to wait for our son for us, and the bus driver wouldn;t let him off until he confirmed for her that he knew who our neighbor was. I can;t say that it bothers me too much, and I suspect that its a liability issue.

 

When it comes to your kids, why take the risk? Who among us is so macho that they would rather puff out their chest than secure their child's safety? Wait........don't answer that.

[Azazello1313]

When it comes to your kids, why take the risk? Who among us is so macho that they would rather puff out their chest than secure their child's safety? Wait........don't answer that.

 

may as well combine the two and puff out our chests about how much we do to secure our child's safety.

[Skippy]

It kills me that my daughter walks a little more than 15 minutes at 6:10 in the morning to catch a 6:28am bus that does not get her to school until 7:55am. The ride home is even worse as it leaves school at 3:20 pm and she is not off the bus until 4:50 ~ 5:00 pm. 3 hours of her day is spent on a damn bus because we live on the edge of the city and she rides a bus that goes on a world tour every day. It is the price we pay to have her in an exceptional school but man I have got to come up with a better plan.

 

Kids that go to the same school that take public transpertation get there and home in much less than half the time. I just don't dig the idea of a 7th grader getting on public transpertation with a laptop computer in her back-pack.

 

I guess I am part of the pussification of America.

[Perchoutofwater]

When it comes to your kids, why take the risk? Who among us is so macho that they would rather puff out their chest than secure their child's safety? Wait........don't answer that.

 

It has nothing to do with Macho. If I thought my daughter was in anymore danger than she is playing in the neighborhood then I'd find another solution. Walking a mile with a group of kids in one of the better parts of town is not what I would consider dangerous. She is in more danger riding her bike alone in the neighborhood, simply because she could crash it and nobody see her for 30 or 45 minutes.

[Mr Cliche]

Better safe than sorry

[whomper]

When comparing the sign of the times as far as kids safety is concerned I always use Halloween as the measuring stick. When I was a kid I would get home from school and grab my bag , leave without my parents and go to any house I want on any block I wanted for about 3-4 hours. Now every kid that comes to the door has a parent at the end of my driveway. My wife and I go with our kids as well. There are plenty of opportunities to help a kid grow and gain independence but if the chance to be with them is available to me at a time where they are out in the open and vulnerable (walking to school alone/ halloween etc) I am going to stick around.

[muck]

Part of learning where the furniture is usually involves slamming your shins on the coffee table.

[Mr Cliche]

Part of learning where the furniture is usually involves slamming your shins on the coffee table.

 

 

This thread aint big enough for the 2 of us

[The Irish Doggy]

 

What I can't stand is the buses stopping every half block and waiting for the one kid that is always late. We're less than a mile from the school with sidewalks the whole way, one clearly marked crosswalk in the school zone with the flashing lights, 20 mph signs, and most mornings - a cop in a cruiser. Makes me nutz.

[yo mama]

I love dropping my kids off at school. We get there early, play on the school yard, I drink my morning coffee. I get to spend time with my kids, speak with other parents, and make myself available to the teachers. Frankly, with the hours I've been spending at work lately, and their earlier bed time at night, mornings are the only time I get to see my kids Monday through Friday. I'm not trying to protect them so much as I'm trying to remain connected with them.

[BeeR]

seems like we are getting way too over-protective as a society

"Getting?" The over-protectiveness and coddling has been going on for a long time now; America whacked its own nuts off decades ago.

 

As for this specifically (kids' safety vs independence/"letting go"), like anything else it's a question of degree and circumstances, like how far do they have to walk, what's it like where they're walking, their age, etc etc. But yeah, our glorious media has done one helluva job freaking parents out.

[matt770]

The solution is simple -- give each kid a gun and provide firearm safety training. Some stranger in a van stops to "ask for directions" while little Johnny is walking home from school -- see ya, wouldn't wanna be ya.

[detlef]

I'd guess that a child is actually safer walking down the street alone than an adult, especially in a sketchy neighborhood.

 

This is based on the following guesses:

 

1) Robbers and bad guys just looking for a quick buck outnumber sick and twisted dudes who want to molest children. By orders of magnitude.

2) The risk/reward for mugging a kid is off the charts a stupid bet. Maybe the kid's got $20 on him and, if you get caught, you're getting poopy raped in prison.

 

So, assuming the above is true and I would be curious if anyone finds my logic unsound, I really have to side with the woman CEO linked to.

[Skippy]

I love dropping my kids off at school. We get there early, play on the school yard, I drink my morning coffee. I get to spend time with my kids, speak with other parents, and make myself available to the teachers. Frankly, with the hours I've been spending at work lately, and their earlier bed time at night, mornings are the only time I get to see my kids Monday through Friday. I'm not trying to protect them so much as I'm trying to remain connected with them.

And the most important thing that you forgot to mention is all the MILF. I know that is the real reason so don't try to bs a bs'er.

[bpwallace49]

I love dropping my kids off at school. We get there early, play on the school yard, I drink my morning coffee. I get to spend time with my kids, speak with other parents, and make myself available to the teachers. Frankly, with the hours I've been spending at work lately, and their earlier bed time at night, mornings are the only time I get to see my kids Monday through Friday. I'm not trying to protect them so much as I'm trying to remain connected with them.

 

I do the EXACT same thing. Plus the MILF scenery aint bad . . .

[dmarc117]

The solution is simple -- give each kid a gun and provide firearm safety training. Some stranger in a van stops to "ask for directions" while little Johnny is walking home from school -- see ya, wouldn't wanna be ya.

 

 

i better get a gps

[WaterMan]

pussification of America.

 

the same thing with the NFL

[dmarc117]

the same thing with the NFL

 

 

should we get our kids red spamshirts?

[matt770]

I heard an interview with the woman who writes this blog recently. Pretty interesting:

http://freerangekids.wordpress.com/2008/04...e-subway-alone/

 

Her argument is that child abductions and trouble like that are actually less frequent now than they were 30 years ago, but they get national coverage all the time, and with Law & Order and CSI and all that... you'd think that they happen every day in every town.

 

I also remember seeing a statistic that in 2007 (I think), there were more murders on network crime shows about NYC than there actually were in NYC.

 

"TV... Teacher, mother, secret lover"

 

I just started reading a book called Culture of Fear and sure enough, there is a chapter on child abductions.

 

According to criminal justice experts, 200 to 300 children a year are abducted by nonfamily members and kept for long periods of time or murdered. Another 4,600 of America's 64 million children (.001 percent) are seized by nonfamily members and later returned.

 

Without question every such incident is a horrible tragedy, but once again, kids are not equally at risk. Child molesters, both inside and outside families, tend to target vulnerable children: youngsters with disabilities and poor communication skills, troubled kids whose reports adults distrust, and children whose parents are absent or inattentive.

[yo mama]

And the most important thing that you forgot to mention is all the MILF. I know that is the real reason so don't try to bs a bs'er.

I'm offended and appalled at the suggestion.