Why don't children walk to school anymore?

[DCal430]

I remember back in elementary/grade school everyone either road a bike or walked to school, many walking over a mile.

Now no child walks to school, in fact I am sure if a school found out a child was walking to school alone they would complain.

What happen?

 

[highland145]

Rapists.

Or should I saw cable news?

 

[Fausto]

Helicopter parents.

 

[ViviTheMage]

ummm, when I was in high school, you live within 2 miles of the school, no bus for you..and we went to a rich high school....eden prairie in Minnesota. So those people walked/biked/drove ... nothing wrong with that.

 

[shortylickens]

Rape, kidnapping for rape/ransom. Drugs. Bullies. Kids themselves are a liability to others.

 

[shortylickens]

ummm, when I was in high school, you live within 2 miles of the school, no bus for you..and we went to a rich high school....eden prairie in Minnesota. So those people walked/biked/drove ... nothing wrong with that.

Brooklyn Park, 1.5 miles.

 

[ichy]

Rape, kidnapping for rape/ransom

Actual instances of kids being kidnapped by strangers are incredibly rare.

 

[ViviTheMage]

Brooklyn Park, 1.5 miles.

Nice, you from BP? I JUST bought a house here a few weeks ago .

~Anthony

 

[darkxshade]

Pretty soon, school.edu will come to you!

 

[Fingolfin269]

The movie Ransom happened. And Jaws. If you walk to school there's a good chance you'll get either kidnapped or eaten by a shark.

 

[LTC8K6]

Not only that, but younger kids can't wait at the bus stop by themselves, either. Or be let off the bus by themselves.

A parent or guardian has to put them on the bus, and take them off the bus.

 

[shortylickens]

Actual instances of kids being kidnapped by strangers are incredibly rare.

I didnt say "strangers".

 

[Anubis]

this is really dependent on where you live. Where i currently live there is no bus service in the "town" you have to live miles away to get the bus. tons of people walking/biking in the morning and after school

where i grew up it was a 1.5 mile walk to my bus stop and ~10 miles to the school. so no one walked to school

 

[ViviTheMage]

Not only that, but younger kids can't wait at the bus stop by themselves, either. Or be let off the bus by themselves.

A parent or guardian has to put them on the bus, and take them off the bus.

I see the little ones getting on by themselves around here ...

 

[JulesMaximus]

My 10 year old son walks to school every day. We're only a couple blocks away though.

 

[PricklyPete]

The kids in my neighborhood and most adjacent neighborhoods walk to school.

 

[Vdubchaos]

My 11 year old son walks to school (3 blocks away)....and plenty of other kids around here do as well.

I believe in our town there is no Buses if you live within .5 mile of the school (or something along the line).

PS. I was taking 3 buses (city) when I was 8 years old and went to music school......in a major city.

 

[dainthomas]

I walked to school in first grade. Probably only 3-4 blocks though. Took the bus in junior high (it was probably a mile and a half). Then either walked or rode my bike in high school.

My daughter's elementary school is 3/4 of a mile away, crossing at least a couple streets. And no bus is available for her (they say we're too close). Absolutely no way I'm letting her walk that far when she starts first grade, especially when it's dark and rainy in the winter.

 

[actuarial]

I personally didn't walk to school (I lived on a rural highway) but many kids at the schools I went to did.

 

[dave_the_nerd]

The walking zone for this school is about 8 blocks N/S and 6 blocks E/W. Mostly due to high-traffic thoroughfares they don't want kids crossing. Life in the big city.

Of course, since somewhere along the line anything kids do to each other on the way to or from school became the schools' problem and not the parents' problem...

 

[Kaido]

I remember back in elementary/grade school everyone either road a bike or walked to school, many walking over a mile.

Now no child walks to school, in fact I am sure if a school found out a child was walking to school alone they would complain.

What happen?

Yeah, we had kids who would walk or bike in from like a mile away when I was a kid. No big deal.

I think yeah, cable news is a big one - we're more aware that there are a lot of creepy people out there now. Or just more aware of the one creepy person per county and that is enough to freak all of the parents out. Plus liability...your kid gets hit by a car crossing an intersection on the way to school...

 

[SheHateMe]

Why walk when my 6 year old sister can be picked up right in front of her house. There are tons of children in her neighborhood. The Bus Driver pulls up in a central part of the neighborhood and the kids walk to the bus. Where he pulls up just happens to be the front of my sister's house.

 

[Tweak155]

They be lazy, that's why!

I started walking in the 5th grade or so. Half mile to my middle school then in 9th grade it was about a mile to the high school. I would get dropped off if it was some bad weather, but I was on my own on the way back.

Then of course I started driving

EDIT:

The elementary school was far enough to take the bus. It was past the high school a little ways.

 

[Slew Foot]

pedophiles

 

[child of wonder]

We're only 1/4 mile from the school but the kids still get bused because right across the street from the elementary school is the high school and, as we all know, high school students drive like dumbasses.