Would You Let Your Child Walk to School Alone?
Categories: Safety, In The News, Extreme Childhood
Fears of child abduction and other dangers stop parents from allowing kids to walk to school alone. Credit: Comstock
It was 30 years ago that a Manhattan mother watched her son walk to the school-bus stop alone, and that was the last time that Julie Patz ever saw her 6-year-old son, Etan. That case, reported The New York Times, is one reason that parents and school officials have created elaborate rules and rituals to help kids travel to and from school safely.
But when does vigilance cross the line? Parents like Lori Pierce of Columbus, Miss., allowed her 10-year-old son to walk one mile to soccer practice last spring and wound up being chastised by police.
According to The Times, passersby spotted her child walking alone and called 911. An officer drove the boy home and allegedly told Pierce that she could face charges if anything were to happen to the boy while he was walking without a parent.
The Times reports that in 1969, 41 percent of kids walked or biked to school, but by 2001 only 13 percent found their own way there, according to the National Household Travel Survey. During that same time period, the number of kids who are driven or drive themselves to school have more than doubled.
A study by the American Planning Association reported that half of parents in the San Francisco Bay Area with kids ages 10 to 14 drive their kids to school, and 30 percent of those same parents said the decision to do so was motivated by a fear of strangers.
Those statistics may be restricted to middle- and upper-income suburban families -- many children in low-income neighborhoods have no choice but to walk to school, The Times pointed out. Some communities may also be lacking in amenities like cross walks and sidewalks, but organizations like Safe Routes to School are working to help those neighborhoods enable and promote biking and walking to school.
Still, the idea of letting kids walk to school alone makes a lot of people nervous, despite statistics that belie their concerns: The Times reports that, according to Federal statistics, about 115 children are kidnapped by strangers each year -- but 250,000 are injured in auto accidents.
One Tuscon, Ariz., mother told The Times that she used to let her young daughter walk to a friend's house just five houses down on the same side of the street, until that friend's mother drove her child home one day.
"She said, 'I just drove her back, just in case ... you know,' " Amy Utzinger told the newspaper. "What was I supposed to say? How can you argue against 'just in case?'"
Do you or would you let your child walk to school alone?
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 6)
joy 9-17-2009 @ 8:47AM
Many years ago I had this running argument with my husband about letting our 3 kids walk 3 blocks to school alone. They were in second, first, and K. My husband believed they needed the exercise, needed to find their way around the world, needed to be unafraid. He thought I needed to be unafraid too. Then a serial killer started killing prostitutes in our area and dumping their bodies nearby. I said if he would kill prostitutes, then he would kill kids, because vulnerable is vulnerable. My husband still wouldn't listen. Thank God nothing happened to my kids, but after the police apprehended the killer a long list of child killings from his past came to light. I will never again mistrust my own instincts. Too bad it is a crazy world full of freaks and killers, but that's the world we live in, and it's the world you don't want your kids to get hurt in. Everybody else out there is potentially dangerous to your kids. Why throw them out there for the crazies?
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Paul Cyopick 9-17-2009 @ 9:24AM
"Too bad it is a crazy world full of freaks and killers, but that's the world we live in, and it's the world you don't want your kids to get hurt in. Everybody else out there is potentially dangerous to your kids. Why throw them out there for the crazies?"
There are 40,000 deaths a year in the US due to car crashes. BAN CARS!!!
Kids deserve to be kids, and shouldn't be bombarded with fearful messages. Statistically there is less than a one in a million chance of a child being abducted by a stranger. Stop being fearful and enjoy life.
http://freerangekids.wordpress.com/
Carol 9-17-2009 @ 9:28AM
As long as 13 & 14 year olds are still being abducted, I cannot feel safe letting any of my kids walk anywhere alone, and I live in a "safe" neighborhood. My oldest is 9 and although she is a good kid, in no way, shape, or form would I ever be able to trust her to make the right decision about going with an adult who would know exactly how to make a child feel comfortable enough to get in a car with them. I totally understand parents taking their child to school.
Misty123 9-17-2009 @ 10:44AM
In this day and age one cannot be too careful when it comes to their kids.There are numerous registeredd sex offenders living within 2 miles of our home. it is true we hear about more crimes in the news now than we used to but we also have better news coverage than in the past and sex offenders must register and we have access to that registry. Under no circumstance would I ever let a child walk to school alone or anywhere else even with the odds being high of one being abducted,it only takes a second and that can never be taken back.It is better to be safe than sorry.
katie 9-18-2009 @ 9:19PM
I can understand your fear. It is difficult, because you don't want to make your children fearful, but there are genuinely things out there to be fearful about.
If I had children (I don't now), I would not let them walk to school until they were beyond 14, however, I am still not sure about this.
I don't know if I would ever want a girl to walk to school alone---- I guess it depends on what she is like (if she is small for her age and timid vs. outgoing/bigger/more savvy/mature).
When I was 12, I looked like I was 8 or 9. I was really small. I was walking home from school when a truck came up behind me, and the male driver cornered me with the truck against some pine trees. He tried to force me into the car, and his pants were fully down. I saw things a young girl should not have seen. Someone came out of their house nearby at the time, to get some mail....and he was scared off, and I was left unscathed.
As far as I'm concerned, these types of people are everywhere, just ask the police where the level 2/level 3 child molesters are, they are everywhere. I looked them up online in my town, and they were evenly distributed thru/o my town, and there were at least 10 of them!!
I try not to live my life in fear, however, I think about that incident every time I walk outside, whenever I am in a parking garage/parking lot, anywhere I am alone. Maybe it has ended up saving my life, who knows- I am prepared, but not overly fearful. I guess I would try to teach my future children to be prepared, not fearful.
You are right. Better be safe than sorry.
Gregory Dittmer 9-18-2009 @ 10:29PM
The primary factor in deciding if a kid should walk to school has far more to do with the neighborhood and crime rates. The primary problems the police had to contend with were run away dogs and catching speeders at the local speed trap set up.
The only time my kids got a ride to school was in bad weather. We lived several blocks... maybe 1/4 mile from the school. When I was a kid in the same town I used to walk to school every day, rain or shine. I lived about 3/4 mile from the school I attended... about 200 feet from the arbitrary line the school drew for allowing kids to bicycle to school. For six years I had to walk just because I was about 200 feet inside the line and there was no one in the family that could drive me to school. So every time they would start to whine I would tell them my sad story... just like MY parents did to me and their parents did to them.
catelynnw3 9-18-2009 @ 11:27PM
I had a long comment I was going to post, but realized that it wouldn't make any difference anyway. There are some people who convince themselves they are right about something because it makes them feel better about their own choices. It lets them off the hook from being responsible or accountable. No, we shouldn't live in fear, but we should always use wisdom. Should we be afraid of cars? No! Should we go stand in the middle of a busy street? Obviously not!
suzy 9-19-2009 @ 4:52AM
I walked to school. elementary school middle school.I moved to a small town @16 and had to be bussed to school. a 40 min bus ride. I do not let my kids walk to school.1 4 of my 5 kids school is 3 miles and my oldest school is 4 miles.There are way to many registered sex offenders in my area alone that makes me nervous. I don't let my 2 youngest even stand at the bus stop alone.1st and Mostly because we are rural and there are cougars and bears.2 the people drive so bad around here and the sex offenders.The roads are to unsafe for my kids to walk or ride their bikes.I am more worried about them getting hit by a car and molesters getting my younger one who are way to young to walk 3 miles.K and 2nd grade.No way in he LL i will let them walk or ride their bikes.
SARAH BROWN 9-17-2009 @ 10:31AM
it all depends on where you live and thats the bottom line..
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Cindy 9-19-2009 @ 8:31PM
it all depends on where you live and thats the bottom line..
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It doesn't matter where you live. Kids get abducted from all kinds of neighborhoods...good or bad. I live in an upscale neighborhood and there were a couple kids nearly abducted during the school year on the way home from school. Predators come from other areas to look for their victims. I don't want my daughter to be fearful but we do talk to her about it and what she should and shouldn't do. She doesn't walk to school, she is driven to and from school every day. I would rather be safe than sorry.
RetiredArmy20 1-21-2010 @ 2:23PM
WOW!! This is why I served, PLease, PLEASE, ALL who read these comments. DON"T BE IGNORANT! Thats what you are if you believe that it depends where you live or Like Paul Cyopick (trying to convince you all, you're being paranoid) says that your NOT teaching your kids. I"m not afraid to say it PAUL, HELL YEAH, I consider it BAD PARENTING, WHen you don't heed to the warning signs, and you don't believe the sex offenders sites! HELL YEAH its bad parenting. Cmon People, How many children have to be effected before someone takes note? There are CRAZY MB's OUTthere and they are waiting for the FIRST OPPORTUNITY to snatch a child. IT only takes ONE! I drive my child everyday to school and the car lane is long, so long sometimes, my child gets into her class late. I drop her off AND wait to see her walk into the doors of the school, My neighborhood, is a very nice neighborhood, but the smart ones know, SexOffenders(SO's) don't care where they find a child and its easier to snatch a child walking alone in a neighborhood where honest ppl work and think nothing of a stranger jogging in their neighborhood then if the SO were to try and snatch a child in a brooklyn block. You see, in Brooklyn, the kids ARE taught to TRUST NOONE and stay around crowds and make a scene if a stranger approaches, but in a nice neighborhood, some children are taught to trust so much that they say hi to every stranger. WAKE UP IGNORANT PPL, This world isn't the one we grew up in. This is a whole new world and some PPL thinking that you have to teach your child to take on the real life are so BLIPPIN IGNORANT that if something were to happen to their child, THAT PARENT should be hurt the same way! Stop the ignorance, protect your child, that child may be THE ONE child statistic. Don't trust Anyone! Thank you CHRIS and LittleBG, you get it. BTW, I'm from Brooklyn and it happened to me and some friends, I was fortunate, I was robbed of my foodstamps and luckily other kids saw and yelled and the guy ran off, but what if? My Mother cryed til this day she remembers (that was over 30yrs ago) and always made sure I was ok. THanks Mom. Wake UP everybody, this is MORE than PERSONAL
Heather 9-17-2009 @ 10:41AM
6 is too young to walk alone, 10 on the other hand they should be walking with friends, or walk part way and you watch them walk the last little bit, at 14 they plenty old enough.
If you don't want them walking alone walk with them, don't drive them. I hate having to dodge the cars that don't look but just drive into the school parking lot. In our area the kids have to live in the area, there is no excuse of any kind that any child in our area needs a drive to school. Even the kids in the middle school are local enough to walk.
Kids need to learn the independance, and they get it slowly, we can't expect them to grow up if we coddle them all the time , drive them everywhere, make everything safe by banning tag , and ball in the school yard because they might get hurt, you're scared so you don't have to participate, most of those things are because we are scared not them. You can't let your fears hold them back.
All of it put together leads up to the skills they need later when they are adults.
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Lauren 9-17-2009 @ 11:48PM
i thnk it's all a little ridiculous. Yes I understand children get abducted and people might not live in the safest neighborhood but seriuosly, all this has become way to sensationalized. Child abductions have stayed relatively the same or have gone down almost everywhere across the united states. The same with school shootings ( which are drastically down from the early 90's) Schools have become way too paranoid and restrictive over almost everything. People, get over yourselves.
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Herman 9-17-2009 @ 12:58PM
Our daughter, born in 1959, walked the less than 1 mile to her school until she was in grade 8. We then drove her to a bus pickup about 2 miles from home for transport to her new (private school, due to the threat of busing).
Son walked the less than 1 mile until he was about in grade 6 and transported for same reason.
We moved closer to the new school (less than 1 mile) and they walked until graduation.
We had no problems (this was in the 1970's), but at a younger age now, I think I would be afraid of that happening.
Grand-daughter, now in grade 11, has NEVER walked, but she hasnt been close enough to her schools to walk.
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Melissa 9-17-2009 @ 1:01PM
Yeah, I am a pretty liberal mom, but I am also a little freaked that about 10 six offenders live within 2 miles of my house! 3 or 4 are within 4 blocks! My daughter is only 3 now, so I obviously don't let her go anywhere alone, but I know I won't be letting her go anywhere on her own for a long time. 12 year old girls get kidnapped too (think Jaycee Lee Duggard), as well as 14 year olds.
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Lori 9-17-2009 @ 1:43PM
I can understand where Paul is coming from and sometimes wonder if this is too much a culture of fear. But if there's only a one in a million chance of something happening to a child walking alone, and it happened to mine, I would be crushed. I would rather be considered overprotective than have to live with the "what ifs" for the rest of my life. Also, driving (or walking) your kids to school or elsewhere doesn't have to instill fear in them, unless you're telling them "I'm taking you to school because I don't want you to get hit by a car or kidnapped by a rapist." There are plenty of ways to instill joy and confidence in your child while keeping them safe and preserving their innocence while they have it.
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Paul Cyopick 9-17-2009 @ 2:09PM
You can live in the "what if" land until you never let your kids do anything. Your job as a parent is to teach your children how to think and live for themselves.
"Stranger danger" is an unsubstantiated fear, based on an over hyped scare factor media. Look at statistics, and you'll see your child is much safer walking than driving in your car.
There are way too many "Helicopter parents" that hover over their kids like they'll break if a feather lands on them. Let your kids live a free life, and save them from real, not imaginary threats.
Yvonne 9-17-2009 @ 2:09PM
I was born in 1958, and I walked to school from first to fourth grade, alone for about a quarter mile. My younger brother walked with me in fifth and sixth grade.
When I was 9, an older junior high? aged boy would meet me during the part where I walked alone. Of course, he pretended to be my friend, and being only 9, I didn't know any better. My Mom saw him walking with me and told me to stay away from him, which only confused me. She should have met me so I wasn't walking alone.
I also had an early puberty, so I was developed at 9, which is probably why the kid was meeting up with me.
Two years later in 1970, when I was 11, he told me to go behind a house, and told me to take my panties off. I screamed and screamed and it scared him, and nothing further happened. I never did tell my parents, figuring I would have gotten the blame.
So, no, if I had had children, they would have never walked alone.
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Dean Harper 9-19-2009 @ 8:19PM
Paul Cyopick 9-17-2009 @ 9:24AM
Kids deserve to be kids, and shouldn't be bombarded with fearful
messages. Statistically there is less than a one in a million chance
of a child being abducted by a stranger. Stop being fearful and enjoy
life.
Hey Paul Cyopick, yeah they deserve to be kids but I am not willing
to take that 1 in a million chance with my kids life! You mush be a
sex offender to make a statement like that or if you have kids you
must be looking foreword to the day someone takes and kills your
(kid)s so you can cash in the life insurance on them. Stay away from
my kids or I will destroy you!
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Paul Cyopick 9-21-2009 @ 8:42AM
My my, we're very accusatory aren't we? I don't mind rational conversation, but please don't be so mean spirited.