Letting my 8 year old walk on her own?

All children need a certain level of independence and if the neighborhood is dense and you know the people who live on the route she would take home, letting her go with friends doesn't seem like a big deal. Maybe you could give her a cell phone to talk to you on the days she does walk- gives you a connection to know she is safe and it may help with your anxiety level. I would suggest you and she decide on a set path and make sure she sticks to it no matter what. This would also be a good time to go over rules about strangers and the like. Good luck and happy parenting.

My daughter is 8 yrs old and she keeps begging me to walk home from school. I am quite a ways from the school~ she has to be bussed to get there, so I told her no way! Then we came up with a plan. My mother lives one block from the school. On certain days of the week, she walks home with her friends to grandmas house. She loves it! The first day I as a mess! But she called as soon as she got there and even did her homework immediately so she could go out and play with her friends. If we lived closer, I would let her walk everyday as long as she has someone to walk with.

I personally would not let my daughter do that. It is just way to dnagerous these days to let children go with their school frineds without adult supervision. I would be scared to let her do it.

Much would depend on how far the walk was and whether or not they have to cross busy intersections and if there were sidewalks, etc. When my girls were young, we lived just a very short distance from the school and there were sidewalks and no road to cross. I did at times let them walk home with their friends. Later on we moved to another neighborhood. The distance from the school was not that far. In fact the school considered it walking distance and therefore did not provide a bus. It was just a tad bit shy of a mile. Still, they would have had to cross two busy intersections & there was a long,narrow,winding stretch of road with no sidewalks and very few houses. They were 11 & 12 and I would not let them walk it & I argued with the school about the lack of a bus. I worked 2nd shift and had to get up each and every morning and drive them to school & pick them up as well. Not only was it a dangerous walk but in bad weather, it was a long walk as well and lets not even get into the heavy back packs etc. It all depends on the child and the area, I think.

When i was in elementary my parents let me walk with friends way to school. It's not bad that we let our kids to walk to school as long as she got lots of friends with her and houses along the road. Just always remind her not to talk with strangers. And im sure as a mother you always worried about someone will going to kidnapped the kids so sometimes we really need to take them at school to make sure they'll safe.

It is a tough call to make. I have an 8 year old daughter, and she has been asking for a little more independence. It is not feasible for her to walk home, but we have agree that she can walk part of the way and I pick her up in the car. The distance that she walks has increased slightly, but I am loathe to increase it any more. In this day and age, it is very scary to let our kids out of our sight, but I suppose we have to trust them and teach them how to handle themselves.

mag keizer I know your concerrn but from the way you describe your neighborhood it sounds okay to let your 8 yr.old child walk home on her own as long as she is with other children. If its a good neighborhood she should have no problems. And you have probably already talked with her about what to do if a stranger should approach her, so I think she would be okay.