When can a child walk home from school alone?

When can a child walk home from school alone?
School alone, busy streets, final decision, road crossing, school rules,

When can a child walk home from school alone? A self-return would make the daily logistics much easier for parents. Find out what the law says about this and how to know that our child is mentally ready to return from school on his own.

When can a child walk home alone from school? This question bothers many parents who have children of school age. However, the answer to this is not that simple. To be able to grant it, we must also take into account: current legal regulations, the maturity of our child, as well as the practice adopted at the school attended by our child.

  • Since when can a child come home from school alone - regulations
  • When can a child walk home alone from school - school rules
  • Walking home from school on your own: it's up to you

 

Since when can a child come home from school alone - regulations

In order to determine from what age a child can return home from school and travel on the roads.

The most important here is the term "road", which the act defines as "a separate strip of land consisting of a roadway, shoulder, pavement, pedestrian path or bicycle path, including the track of rail vehicles located within this strip, intended for traffic or parking vehicles, pedestrian traffic, riding or driving animals.

Exactly who can use the roads independently? These regulations should be for the children over the age of 7 can use the road on their own. And children up to the age of 7 can use the roads under the care of a person who has reached the age of at least 10 years. These regulations should not be applied to residential areas where such age limits do not apply at all.

Therefore imply that already the first-grader can go to and from school independently. In turn, a younger child, until the age of 7, can walk on the street under the care of an older sibling who is at least 10 years old.

It is worth emphasizing, however, that when talking about the limit of 7 years - we take into account the completed age of the child, not the year from which he comes. Thus, a first-grader who starts first grade in September and has a birthday in November will have to wait 2 months to return home from school on their own - until their 7th birthday.

When can a child walk home alone from school.

So, when can a child walk home from school alone? Legally, it should be that any child over the age of 7 can walk to and from school on their own. But in practice, it's not always that simple. Many schools guided by concern for the safety of their students, raise this age limit to 10 years in their statuses.

Until then, the child must be picked up by the parents or another adult indicated by the parents in a written consent. This age may be higher or lower depending on the facility. The internal regulations of each school are established by its teaching council and headmaster.

What is worth emphasizing - usually, even if the teaching council has set a higher age limit than the statutory 7 years, the parent has the right to use the exception. For this purpose, he submits written consent for his child to return home independently. There is only one condition - the child must be over 7 years old.

Walking home from school on your own: it's up to you

Regulations, but in fact the final decision, since when a child can come home from school alone, belongs to parents. And this is where trouble usually begins... Because how can we know if our child is ready for this step into adulthood? What should you consider when making this difficult decision?

First of all, it's worth looking at:

  • Maturity of your child - after all, everyone develops at their own pace, not everyone at the age of 7 will show prudence,
  • The child's experiences related to moving around the city (for example, if the child is usually dropped off by car, he may not know how to behave safely on the street),
  • Threats on the school-home route - are there busy streets, squares where suspicious company gathers, etc.

Before making the final decision, it is worth talking to your child about the threats that await him and sensitizing him to them.