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Dad Reprimanded for Letting Daughter Walk to Bus Stop
Filed under: In The News, Weird But True
The driver on the bus says ... that's dangerous! Credit: Zemlinki!, Flickr
Why did the 7-year-old cross the road?
Why, to get to the other side, of course -- but the punchline isn't so funny to some officials in one quiet English village.
London's Daily Mail reports that Mark McCullough's decision to allow his daughter, Isabelle, 7, to cross the road in front of their home in Glentham, England, and walk 45 yards to catch the school bus so alarmed the Lincolnshire County Council that he and his partner, Natasha Fegan, were threatened with action from child protective services.
McCullough tells the Daily Mail that he and his family live on what he describes as a "quiet country road," and that he isn't interested in "wrapping his child up in cotton wool."
The schoolgirl's parents allow her to walk the distance from her front door to the school bus stop on her own, both coming and going to school. She also crosses a two-lane road. The bus driver who ferries her to and from Normanby by Spital Primary School felt compelled to walk the child across the road when he dropped her off, thus leaving his other charges alone in the still-running vehicle.
He also alerted school officials, who in turn notified the Lincolnshire County Council. That group sent McCullough and Fegan a letter calling the matter a "child protection issue," and stating that the two could face action from child services if they continued to let the girl walk alone.
That's not all -- the letter also noted that Isabelle was sent to school without a sweater, and that the weather had been nippy that day.
McCullough, a 32-year-old father of five, finds the whole thing ridiculous.
"Lincolnshire County Council says it is a busy road, but that is ridiculous, it is just a country lane," he tells the Daily Mail. "We need to teach our kids to survive on their own because it's a big world out there and they need to be able to look out for themselves."
He tells the newspaper he had considerable freedom as a boy, when he was the same age as his daughter.
Debbie Barnes, Lincolnshire's assistant director of children's services, tells the Daily Mail that guidelines issued by Isabelle's school state that kids under the age of 8 should be accompanied by an adult, but conceded that individual circumstances do vary and that it was up to parents to decide what's best for their child.
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ReaderComments (Page 2 of 6)
9-14-2010 @ 11:36PM
dougalcandy said...I guess I would have been long in jail--when my daughter was in 3rd grade she walked home from school every day. Strike one against me!!! One day on the way home, she stopped to pet some little dogs, who lived a block away from us, and ended up getting her first job walking the dogs and feeding them after school (we knew the woman, she wasn't a stranger) OMG, I let my child work instead of handing her everything! Its amazing she survived and is now successful and independent in college!
Maybe the school should have sent an e-mail to all parents that day that said "no child will be admitted today without a sweater!
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9-14-2010 @ 11:51PM
Mrs. V. said...Was the driver reprimanded for leaving the kids in the bus that was running? That's the real problem in this story! What was to stop one of those kids from taking a joy ride down the country lane? That's the real danger parents need to be wary about in Glentham! Or for that matter, anyone walking down that country lane at the time.
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9-15-2010 @ 8:17AM
Terry said...They wouldn't do that. They were the good kids. They all had their sweaters on.
9-15-2010 @ 8:25AM
Annie said...LOL Terry!
9-15-2010 @ 2:28AM
Kat said...Well, God forbid anyone teach their children a little independence these days. At 45 yards, the child was probably well within eye sight of her house during her walks to the bus stop and back. Was the bus driver fired for leaving ALL the other students unattended? Or for LEAVING THE BUS RUNNING? No, of course not...instead, threaten to steal a child away from her parents and place her in an abusive and overtaxed foster care system...simply because she walked to a bus stop without a sweater? WTF?
This is simply another case of the school systems over stepping the parenting boundaries and causing trouble where there is no real abuse...while the kids who really are being abused are left to fend for themselves.
I keep hearing one story after another of such stupidity on the part of schools....at this rate I'm going to be home schooling all my kids. They are far safer with me, and they will be smarter too, if the schools are run by so many idiots with no common sense.
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9-15-2010 @ 10:20AM
placedorders said...We put 3 through high school before we had enough of stupid teachers. The third became home schooled in 6th grade and the last all the way through. The younger ones took the standard exams every year at a school and were post high school level before high school. The youngest is a 3.8 average college student now studying to be a teacher. Go home school. Use good oversite.
9-15-2010 @ 10:58AM
sherry said...i agree with kat
9-15-2010 @ 6:15AM
Hoosier said...What in the world is wrong with you idiots, Hell, I can throw a stone 45 yards. Our driveway is twice that long. The world has gone mad. She was within shouting distance of her father. GET A LIFE !!!
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9-15-2010 @ 6:31AM
CThorne said...Red stop signs on buses are to allow cars to stop and students to walk..Students _NEVER_ are allowed to stay on running bus without the bus driver. 7 yr olds are alredy pretty indenpendant.. and i bet she is allowed to cross that road to visit her friend on the other side of that street..as a bus driver for 28 yrs.. I have seen many students walking to school or to bus stop with no jacket in shorts and tshirts and sandles in middle of MI weather... I personaly don't wear a jacket or coat threwout the winter... because i am a person who doesn't like all that heat....and i'm not stupid.. if its bitter cold i will put on my winter jacket...Law & schools are getting into peoples personal lives way too much these days... Parents have no rights to teach or raise their kids these days...law should take care of drunks and child molesters robbers etc.
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9-15-2010 @ 7:14AM
wils said...This took place in England, remember, not the US. England is well known for its...regulation of stuff. Bleh.
9-15-2010 @ 3:48PM
paintppa1 said...kinda reminds me of Harper Valley PTA...
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9-15-2010 @ 7:14AM
wils said...Oh but maybe she might get TIRED from walking that far.
Although we don't really know how busy that road is..(in fairness), but still. I had to walk a mile to get to school and I had to cross a lot of roads.
This crap will bleed over into US law I bet.... More nanny-state garbage. (which is why the princess that has that freaking nose ring SHOULD be expelled, but that is another story). Religious piercing..geez.
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9-15-2010 @ 7:16AM
Sally said...I taught my daughter to crawl up and down the steps so she doesn't fall down them when I am not looking! There is nothing different about this story............leave the man alone.....Father of five.......Older? Younger? He has his hands full........many times my son goes to school without a sweater, when I am wearing a winter coat.........I just call him an idiot........and I stay warm. Why doesn't child services go and find someone who is actually BEATING their kid? Duh
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9-15-2010 @ 7:18AM
Sally said...I think they were being sarcastic.......
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9-15-2010 @ 7:20AM
Sally said...That last comment was meant for Christine. It didn't show under her reply.
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9-15-2010 @ 7:27AM
LINDA said...The bus driver is right. Its not about being independent, its about safety.
When will the parents care, when something goes horribly wrong.
And they will sue the bus and school for not watching THEIR child.
She's still a young child and a road is still a road.
The bus driver should never leave a running bus with many children in it to do the parents job.
Parents rely too much on other people to do their job.
Get out of bed, feed your kids, and walk them to the stop.
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9-15-2010 @ 10:39AM
Bill said...There you go Linda! That is the way it should be.
9-15-2010 @ 7:27AM
Peter said...Each child is different in their confidence to break free of mom and dad's supervision. Most kids by 6 are already capable of negotiating their sidewalk skills and street crossings. Before 6 years, I fully believe that the child needs total supervision. By 7 or older, you are good to go for several blocks and a couple of road crossings, as long as they have cross walks and crossing guards or traffic control devices. Where there are main traffic roads, I feel that a guard is needed through elementary school. Drivers today are not reliable to watch for children or anyone crossing busy intersection. In NJ, we walked over 500 yards to get to the elementary school, and there was a nice crossing guard to get us across the busy road we faced each morning. No parents or sweaters required, no one was hurt, and we are amazed how much redundant safety measures are now in place compared to 1965 standards. By the way, we ate dirt and did not know what anti-bacterial soap was either!
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9-15-2010 @ 7:38AM
Kristin said...We live on a military post and are stationed overseas when we moved into our 4th floor dwelling they left us a nice little packet on how to properly take care of our kids things like what makes a terrible sitter and how long you kid can be with a sitter which by the way is no more than 3 hours. We have a huge playground right behind us and children must be with an adult until they are ten. Your kid cannot walk to school by themselves until their ten either if you kid is caught without you and they are "under age" you can be charged with child neglect not to mention you cant leave them in a locked apt asleep for 5 minuets to throw out trash you must wait to have your spouse home or get a sitter..for 5 minutes how insane is that. I understand the feeling of wanting to take care of our youth and wanting to be there for them but somethings cross the line. The packet also said that you are required to change a child who wears a diaper every hour...ummm my son is potty training he doesnt need changing every hour so im supposed to waste a diaper to appease you wtf its a joke and people here are noooosey too they call the cops for things like well i can see in their living room and their child is running around in a diaper- That was completly stupid and a waste of time..he was getting dressed and running away from his shirt. Over protective nosey weirdos!
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9-15-2010 @ 8:30AM
emerald_leah said...Ok, Now am I wrong for saying good for them?! I understand how fast things can go wrong, but the father is right, we cannot wrap our kids in bubble wrap! I feel that if the parents are confident in the child's ability and safety, then it should be fine. My nine year old walks or bikes herself ALL the way to school and home. I have no other choice. I am a single mom of four and sometimes my work schedule demands me to be at work very early. Some days I can go with her, others my older kids can walk her, but everyday she has to come home on her own. Of course we do have sidewalks and she passes four crossing guards (four very good, very caring people at that!). I have seen 5 year olds walking alone here. As much as we hate to, we do what we must sometimes.
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