Should Children Be Allowed In School?

WALKING TO SCHOOL ALONE

There have been plenty of debates over the past few years about how much freedom children should be allowed at a particular age. One divisive area, in particular, seems to centre around what age is appropriate to allow your child to walk to and from school unaccompanied.

Although recent surveys have suggested that ten is a reasonable age to allow a child that level of responsibility and freedom, many parents continue to take their children to school, usually by car, well after they have entered high school. As there is no legal age at which children, in the UK, can be left home alone, by definition parents have full autonomy to choose the age at which they begin to allow their child this level of freedom.

Personally, I feel that age is actually fairly irrelevant in this particular debate because no two children are the same and neither are

• Start with a short journey first and check the most direct route yourself, on foot beforehand. Make sure there are footpaths along the entire route, adequate lighting, safe places to cross the road wherever required and a sufficiently short journey to ensure that your child can arrive home well before darkness falls.

• Teach road safety at home before even stepping out onto real roads. Your child will learn quickly how to use a variety of crossings and how to check for oncoming traffic. For example, to always check for vehicles before crossing even at designated pedestrian crossing points.

• If the transport system is part of the journey, it’s essential that your child understands exactly how to use it without worry or