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In Greece I see many (not as many as I see in Japanese movies) elementary school kids (6-12) walking on their own to their school. I myself almost always got drived to school (my parents never walked me to school). I only regularly walked myself to school in highschool (I was 14 because I was born in December). I am interested and curious about parental choices (maybe my parents could have done better, I am close to parenting age, seeing young children on the road leaves me wondering).

What should you do with your kids when the distance to school is less than a mile or two? Assume a relatively safe area when it comes to crimes, a slight uphill slope ~100 metres, and some navigation problems and risks of traffic accidents. How does this choice change as they grow older (probably they gain navigation skills, independence, can better manage their wake-sleep cycles)?

The options I see are three:

  1. Walk them there
  2. Send them off on their own
  3. Drive them to school

Walking has the benefit of freedom of motion. (Driving a mile or two with heavy traffic is not the best thing and is unpredictable; half an hour on foot is usually half an hour while a 5-minute drive can become 15-20.) If they walk on their own they gain independence and might socialize on their way there. (It also saves you time to leave for work in the morning but the main focus is parenting.) If their parents walk them there that is safer (especially at younger ages with traffic accidents) and that is some quality time spent with the kids.

Driving can save some minutes of (their) sleep especially in the morning (unless there is a lot of traffic or you can't find a place to park).

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  • @A.bakker Age was purposely left out. There is no specific age. If anything the question is general and explicitly asks how the choice changes with their growth.
    – George Ntoulos
    Commented Aug 29 at 10:36
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    @GeorgeNtoulos - Is this an actual problem you're asking about? Do you have children or are you asking for someone facing this problem? I seem to remember you have no children. Hypotheticals might best be labeled as such, or there will be a lot of questions (age? Route? City? Traffic? Country? Laws? etc.) Also, it's hard to be definitive when it's a hypothetical, as in real life, problems may be very specific.
    – anongoodnurse
    Commented Aug 29 at 15:17
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    I am voting to close as this site's purpose (from the tour) is intended for, "...questions about an actual problem you have faced." Hypotheticals do not meet this criteria.
    – Pyrotechnical
    Commented Aug 29 at 20:11
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    Comments have been moved to chat; please do not continue the discussion here. Before posting a comment below this one, please review the purposes of comments. Comments that do not request clarification or suggest improvements usually belong as an answer, on Parenting Meta, or in Parenting Chat. Comments continuing discussion may be removed.
    – Stephie ♦
    Commented Sep 1 at 5:58
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    @Pyrotechnical thank you for the copy editing. Please note that the question as is is still opinion based. (Yes / no / perhaps all valid for the current phrasing of the question.) Plus, the entire question is hypothetical, as stated by the author, based solely on the observation of some parents and their children in the asker’s locale, but without any personal knowledge or involvement. And Southern Europe strictly speaking includes both rural Albania and Monaco (plus a lot of variety in between), but that’s just a minor detail.
    – Stephie ♦
    Commented Sep 30 at 20:10

2 Answers 2

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Obviously, there is no answer that is right for everyone - a lot comes down to the situation, parenting style and so on. Also, you did not mention the child's age, so I'm assuming they are about to start elementary school, so about 5-7 years old. With that disclaimer, my advice would be:

Let them walk, with or without you.

First of all, walking is beneficial to everyone, particular to children - see e.g. Physical activity guidelines for children and young people by the NHS.

In particular, for small children, in adddition to the general benefits from exercise, walking to school also:

  • allows them to get to know their environment
  • allows them to be more independent (particularly if they walk alone, but even with you, you can let them lead the way)
  • allows them to socialize with others

So, if at all possible, let your child walk to school. You can walk them during the first weeks, and if you are satisfied they know the way and the challenges (traffic, other dangerous spots, etc.), they can walk alone.

As an anecdote - my daughter always walked to school, starting at 6 years of age. I walked with her the first weeks, then she went alone. In her case it was less than a kilometer, however.

To address your concerns:

If their parents walk them there that is safer (especially at younger ages with traffic accidents)

Yes, accidents are a problem - but that can be mitigated by walking the child at first, and making sure they know how to be safe and are aware of dangerous spots (such as difficult intersections). Also, they can be injured while in the car, too.

Driving can save some minutes of (their) sleep especially in the morning

True, but I believe the benefits outweigh this disadvantage - plus getting exercise and outdoor time in the morning may be more beneficial than an extra 15 minutes of sleep. Or just send them to bed earlier :-):

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    just to add - one of the biggest causes of accidents to young children on the way to school is parents driving their children to school - often very near the school itself - and the biggest safety benefit available is reduction in school traffic.
    – Rory Alsop ♦
    Commented Aug 29 at 8:51
  • Age was purposely left out. There is no specific age. If anything the question is general and explicitly asks how the choice changes with their growth.
    – George Ntoulos
    Commented Aug 29 at 10:39
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    Good advice, +1. Another thing to add about driving: It is very often an illusion that you save time doing that. The complete and utter chaos near many schools in the morning means that you are in fact wasting time (not to mention fuel) on moving very slowly, while depriving yourself and your kid of valuable exercise.
    – j4nd3r53n
    Commented Aug 29 at 13:29
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    Oh how times have changed. When I was a kid (60's and 70's), everyone either walked to school or took the schoolbus, and parents never accompanied them. Of course, it was the suburbs, which were considered totally safe in those days (long before the term "stranger danger" was coined, although we were still warned not to talk to strangers). The only time we drove was if we ran late and missed the bus.
    – Barmar
    Commented Aug 29 at 14:52
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    @GeorgeNtoulos - Why do you post questions like this? You don't have kids, nor are you acting in loco parentis. Doesn't medical school keep you busy enough?
    – anongoodnurse
    Commented Aug 29 at 19:36
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This is (unfortunately) HIGHLY dependent local norms, regulations, infrastructure & layout.

In Germany, it's perfectly normal and accepted that kids get themselves to school either by walking, biking or regular public transportation (there are no school busses) at a fairly young age (2nd or 3rd grade maybe). Trying the same in the US would get you arrested for child neglect and endangerment even if it is physically feasible.

When our kids where in a US primary school we occasionally walked them to school (which was super fun) but we had work with the school to put a special process in place how to sign them in our out when not using a bus.

You can't really diverge much from what "most of the other people are doing" without creating a lot of headaches that have nothing to do with the pros and cons of walking vs driving.

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