Walking to school.

Alleycat

I think a lot depends on whether the child has been brought up to walk a lot. We never had a car when we were young so used to walk or cycle everywhere, going on walking holidays all the time. More so I reckon it is the parents that will get knackered first!

As long as they have had a good breakfast like porridge, muesli etc then that will give them the slow release energy and they won't be falling asleep by lunch time. My OH has just said well kids are full of energy aren't they?

black-saturn

It takes us about 25 minutes to walk to school in the morning (and 25 minutes back). There arn't any hills but theres 7 busy roads to cross and some of them have blind spots and several children have been knocked down on the way to school in the mornings.

You could try walking your son there for a little while and see how he gets on. If not there may be some mums who would be interested in doing a car share scheme.

Kimberley

Legs are made for walking, not for the car to school :rolleyes:

The distance is fine for a 4 year old, for goodness sakes he/she will get used to it, it's called exercise.

Some 4 year olds in third world countries have to walk miles and miles and even work, think about them when kids are moaning about walking 2 miles :rolleyes:

Poppy9

It's hard to know what you mean by steep hills. I live in Wales and we have plenty of hills. Some are harder to walk down than up!!

I think your son would cope with the walk but you have to think of how you would cope with it too. You will have to walk to take him to school and back home again, then walk back to collect him and home again. How long will it take you? What if you are pregnant or have a young baby. Will you have time in the morning to get everyone ready and walk to school. If you return to work even part-time will you have time to work.

We, as a family, are not morning people. DD gets a free school bus as school is over 2 miles away. It stops at the bottom of my drive and yet we often manage to miss it as she is not ready. She's a very slow breakfast eater and I don't want her going to school hungry. We get up at 7am and the bus comes at 8.20am so in theory we should have plenty of time. She has got worse as she's got older as I don't help with dressing etc.

Come september she will be walking to school as it's just 10/15 mins away. Slight uphill walk but we've done the walk loads of times over the years and gone further so I know she will manage it.

black-saturn

Is it his catchment school? If it is they wont make any child go further than they think is reasonable which is why they decide what schools are good for each area. If it isnt his catchment school you will have to make the choice as to whether the walk is worth it. They teach the same stuff in every school you know.

Poppy9

black-saturn wrote:

They teach the same stuff in every school you know.

But some do it better:rolleyes:

aliasojo

G_R....I really don't think there is a 'one size fits all' answer for this.

I have 3 children - both sexes. What one could comfortably cope with at 4, another could not.

My eldest two would have managed this distance without too much trouble, but my youngest would be falling asleep in the classsroom if she had to walk 2 miles up a hill first.

All children are different, just as some will be more intellectually brighter than others, some will be more able physically then others.

Walking this distance with a happy child who can take it in his stride is fine.....trying to get an unhappy child who finds it tiring to walk 2 miles will be a nightmare for both child and parent and may have a knock on effect with regard to schoolwork.

Unfortunately I honestly don't think you will get the answer you need until your son is 4 and you can judge what he can cope with then. Not much use to you now though, sorry.

Gingham_Ribbon

black-saturn wrote:

They teach the same stuff in every school you know.

Thanks everyone. No offence BS, but I think I know a little about this, and not every school delivers the same educational standards, has the same discipline and attitute to bullying etc. And I want my son to go somewhere I think he will be safe and happy.

Some useful comments. I suspect he'll be fine with the walk but I can play it by ear, if we're lucky enough for him to get accepted there. If I'm pregnant, my asthma is bad etc I can always use the car all or part of the way and walk when we're able.

And for the record, when I say hills, I mean HILLS! :rotfl: There is one part where I definitely understand about it being harder to walk down than up, especially with the push chair!

Poppy9

GR it seems like you've made your mind up this is the right school for your son so go for it. If you have a car as back up then there aren't many obstacles to overcome.

ps I hate walking down very steep hills now since I fell going down one. It's surreal knowing you are going to hit the deck face down but taking ages to get there. End up with a sprained ankle, wrist, bloody knees & hands and a slipped disc. My OH said it was my own fault as I always wear high heeled boots.

vodkaqueen75

I have 3 sons aged 8, 5 and 3. It takes me 30 minutes to walk to school, drop the 5 and 8 yr off then 30 mins uphill home, the 3 year old walks both ways and again at 3pm to pick them up, theyve never complained not even in the winter but as a previous poster has already said if its all they have known then they dont whinge about a car!
Will be doing this 3 x a day next week as 3yr old starts nursery there and i will be walking there and back again at dinner time to pick him up - i may lose a few more inches from thighs :T