another parent gets the smack down

[Racket_Man]

this is in the UK but would apply to the US too

The Parent lets child walk to bus stop 45 yards away. child has to cross a not so busy, "quiet country road" to do so. bus driver takes it upon himself to walk child across the road WHILE leaving other young children in a running bus. bus driver reports parents to the local council. local council goes nuts on the parents for endangerment AND further reprimands the parents for not having the child wear a sweater becasue it was " a bit nippy out".

parents believe that at some point the child should be learning independence.

http://www.parentdish.com/2010/09/14..._lnk2%7C170671

[blas87]

My "bus stop" as a kid was for the city bus, because I lived just a tad too far away from the limits of school bus stopping. Anyway, I had to walk nearly one mile to get to the bus, not to mention PAY for the ride every day.

This story is obnoxious.

As it is now, I see busses stop at every single farking apartment complex or array of complexes on these blocks. It's effing ridiculous. Oh, and back in my day, the bus didn't wait for you. How many times have I had to sit waiting in traffic because a bus is sitting at a stop waiting for a kid that isn't even coming or is more than a block away? Cripes.

[Greenday]

As it is now, I see busses stop at every single farking apartment complex or array of complexes on these blocks. It's effing ridiculous. Oh, and back in my day, the bus didn't wait for you. How many times have I had to sit waiting in traffic because a bus is sitting at a stop waiting for a kid that isn't even coming or is more than a block away? Cripes.

I hate this. It seems like buses don't have stops anymore. Instead of picking a group of kids up at every other corner or so, they stop at every single kids house. And they wait for them. My bus drivers would stop at a bus stop, look to see if anyone is running for the bus, then if no one is, move on. No waiting five minutes for precious to take his/her sweet time getting there.

As for the kid crossing the street all by themself, I guess the rules there are different from here. In most states in the US, if not all, if the bus is stopped to pick a kid up, it is illegal to pass the bus until it starts moving again. If the rules aren't different...then what the hell is all the whining about?

[crazylegs]

The council in question has revoked the letter stating that the language was too harsh.

So you're aware, the law on school buses is very different - you can overtake at will.

[Greenday]

The council in question has revoked the letter stating that the language was too harsh.

So you're aware, the law on school buses is very different - you can overtake at will.

Well, good that they admitted they were a little too harsh.

And now that I know the law differences, I can see why they should probably be walking their kid across the street. Hell, my 8 year old cousin probably shouldn't cross the street alone. Kid just freaking runs through parking lots and across streets without looking either way.

[jedimaster91]

As it is now, I see busses stop at every single farking apartment complex or array of complexes on these blocks. It's effing ridiculous. Oh, and back in my day, the bus didn't wait for you. How many times have I had to sit waiting in traffic because a bus is sitting at a stop waiting for a kid that isn't even coming or is more than a block away? Cripes.

The bus that comes through my neighborhood stops at every. single. cross street in the subdivision. I HATE it when I don't time my trip right and get stuck behind the bus. Kids need the exercise. They can walk a couple blocks. Now, I will grant that kids who live in high traffic areas don't need to be wandering down the street. But those who live in quiet subdivisions like mine can deal.

I got pissed at a bus driver when I was in middle/high school. About half-way through the year, she figured out I was walking several blocks to get home and started dropping me off at the end of my street. The problem? I enjoyed the walk after sitting at school all day. It gave me some time to think and reflect before I had to buckle down and do homework, deal with siblings, leave for dance, or whatever. I told the driver this and she still would not let me off at my original stop. Grrr.

[muses_nightmare]

Wow, when I was in school me and my friends had to walk down our street to get to the bus stop. Our street didn't have streetlights, wasn't paved, and in the winter months it was pretty dark out. Not to mention the fact that it was pretty common for bears and sometimes cougars to roam the area, when there were reports of that, know what we did? Brought flashlights... (This could possibly be why I'm not really afraid of bears :P) I can't speak for what it's like now, although, I'm not sure there are many kids left out there, at least on that street, since we all grew up together. My step-sister, and a couple other teenagers are possibly the only ones left. They have paved the roads, and I'm fairly certain there are streetlights.

Kids should be able to walk a block or so to a bus stop, it's not really a big deal. When I have kids I don't plan to shelter them and chase after them with Lysol and sweaters, kids have to be kids and learn independence as they grow. That bus driver was really out of line.

[MrsEclipse]

Fortunately for the driver, there's no safer place in the world than an idling school bus.

[draggar]

This comes to mind:

http://listverse.com/2007/10/26/8-di...1950s-and-now/

[Cats]

Are you freaking SERIOUS? For 45 yards? That has to be less than a minutes walk, even for a 7 year old. I lived in a low-traffic area, and most kids had to walk much farther than that to the bus stop. Hell, I had to get up, make my own breakfast, pick out my own clothes, leave, and get to the bus stop all on my own at that age. Children learn quickly and do not need the hand held for everything. Being concerned is one thing. Getting Child Protection services involved over something like this is just over the top.


And there's NOTHING said about leaving the kids on the bus unattended? Isn't that a heck of a lot worse than having a 7 year old cross the street by herself 45 yards from home?


These times are getting ridiculous. I too, see buses stop every 3 houses to drop kids off. If there's this rule that they can only release the kids under a certain age to parents, okay fine. But why the hell can't these parents just converge at one house or corner? Why hold up the traffic, which is already bad enough at school pick up and drop off times, to stop every 20 feet?

[Lace Neil Singer]

I read about this and I thought it absolutely ridiculous and yet another example of the nanny state gone mad.

When I was eleven years old, I considered myself far too old to be escorted to the bus stop by my mum. I used to walk to the bus stop by myself every school day, and nothing happened to me. When I was fourteen years old, I regularly used to take the bus to town to go shopping, and also used to catch the coach to go and see my granny. Again, nothing whatsoever happened to me, and it taught me a bit of independance to be responsible for my own transport. A lot of parents round where I live won't even let their kids get on a school bus; they have to transport them in the car. Wrapping kids in bubblewrap isn't going to help them in the long run.

[IDrinkaRum]

Back between the ages of 4-7, we lived in the village outside of Banbury, England. After the first couple of months going to that school, I eventually started walking to school by myself. The walk was roughly 5(?) minutes from my house. (Basically, I could have rolled down the hill that was on the opposite side of the street and ended up at the entrance of the school). I had to actually cross the street to get to the sidewalk that would take me to the school. And I was 5 1/2-6 years old when I started doing that.

When we moved to Omaha, at first there was a school bus for us. But then the district decided we lived "too close" to the school to have a bus so we had to walk. It was approximately a 20 minute walk or so from my house to my elementary school.

By the time I came to VA, I was a veteran of walking to school. My middle school (or Jr. High for those in the midwest playing at home), was on the other side the town I live in, so I had to take a bus.

All 4 years I attended high school, I walked to school. Even when it was cold out. Even when it was snowing/had snowed. It was up hill both ways!

[Lace Neil Singer]

Lol. Only reason that my mum walked me and my brothers to primary school was cuz she didn't quite trust us not to wander off and not bother going to school that day. XD Once we all hit ten, we could walk to school by ourselves as long as we stayed together and got there on time; not doing so would mean we'd once again have to be walked there by mum. The primary school was a fifteen minute walk away from home and hardly a problem.

My secondary school was further away at six miles, but getting the bus was no problem. Hell, there wasn't even a special school bus laid on til I was in third year; before that, I *gasp!* took the regular bus. Oh noez, teh regular bus is filled with pedophiles!1!1eleventy!

[IDrinkaRum]

In Omaha, I took the bus in 2nd grade - I was 7. The bus stopped sometime in 3rd grade. I was 8. So from the ages of 8 to 10, I walked to school. By. My. Self. Oh noes! What is this world coming to? If it was snowing, my mom would drive me, but otherwise, I was sent out on my merry way. Forgot - the Jr. High I went to in Omaha (for like 4 months), I had to be bussed as it as in downtown Omaha, and was on a hill behind the Hinky Dinky shopping centre.

[telecom_goddess]

HInky Dinky Shopping center? all righty then.

But yeah my mother would have wrapped me up in bubble wrap and carried me to school if she hadn't been so damn old and sick. I hated it I would rather have learned independence. I let my kids be independent and it's been good for them. Once when my daughter was about 7 or 8 I got the cops called on me because she was outside alone, nearby, lying on the sidewalk watching the sky. But she was alone so some nosy neighbor stuck their nose in where it didn't belong.