Bike Riding to School....

2nd grade is too young!!! especially for a boy, sorry. Kids that age just don't have the sense to watch out for cars (aka defensive driving) and you can't count on cars watching out for them!!!!!

My son is going into 2nd grade in the fall and no way would I allow him to bike a mile to school! JMO.

Will you be riding with them or will they be going alone?

I will say that even when I've gone with my kids, there have been issues... You have to have PLENTY of time to get there. If children feel rushed or stressed that they're going to be tardy, they don't ride as well. My then 2nd grader had an accident that way.. skinned her knees and hands pretty good falling off her bike. If you don't go, the relationship between your two kids would make a difference too. Would your daughter be patient and supportive if your son wasn't going as fast as her every day? Finally, you also mentioned that kids walk this same route. That kind of sounds like an obstacle course to me. Is your son good at letting people know he's coming up behind them, and can he balance the bike well enough if they only give him a limited amount of space to pass them?

Good luck!

Dear T.:

I'm a crossing guard in Allen, so I see lots of kids on bikes, scooters, blades, you name it! First off, make sure they ride together and that your daughter stays with your son. Second, they should ALWAYS wear their helmets. Third, make sure they understand to stay on the sidewalk and to walk their bikes in the crosswalks.

What I would do is ride with them the first day or two just to make sure they're obeying all of the above and that they're comfortable with the ride to school. Once they've got it, let them ride their bikes without you.

L. F., mom of a 14-year-old daughter

Let them! They're plenty old enough.
http://www.saferoutesinfo.org/index.cfm

I like the suggestion of riding with them. Otherwise, I think the 5th grader would be fine, but putting her in charge of the 7-year old along a busy stretch of road is a big responsibility. What if the 7 year old (who is a less experienced rider) goes off the curb into traffic or, in a lesser emergency, just crashes into a bush, or gets a pants leg caught in the chain, or something..... I let my son start riding to school when he was in 3rd grade, and it was a much shorter way. I would walk behind and confirm that he got there safely. I felt more comfortable with his riding home at the end of the day, b/c I knew when the "eagle had landed."

Good for them! I agree with the mamas who suggested riding with or walking behind them. If you do this for a few weeks at least, you will see what the traffic is like, how crowded the sidewalk is, etc.

Good luck!
M.

Well, a mile is a little long. But, maybe if they want to and you're worried about them, why not get some walkie talkies so when they're on their way they can still talk to you and you know that they are okay. Other than that, fresh air and exercise...nothing better :) (but do make sure to tell them if you want them to ride in the car with you if it's riany or cold or too hot...you know, so they can't say you didn't say it to them all ready..)

What about riding your bike with them? Either every time they want to ride, or at least a few times to see how they handle crossing the street and traffic. I won't let my kids ride bikes without an adult. They are 10 & 8, good on their bikes, and we live in a safe neighborhood, but there are a few places they have to cross the street and I'm not confident about traffic - not them watching for traffic, but how others drive.

I see kids doing that at my daughter's school and the school has a bike rack.
BUT, the parent(s) is always riding along-side their child on the way to school. And with their sibling.
The kids I have seen do this ranges in grades from 1st to 5th.

all the best,
Susan

Hi T.:

I have been going through the same thing with my son, who was in 5th grade this past year.

The only thing I want to tell you is to go with what you are feeling. Your guts won't steer you in the wrong direction. Listen to yourself.

I think this dilema is a hard one. I only let my son ride his bike to/from school during the last week of school, and he called me from his cell phone when he arrived at school and before he left in the afternoon.

Also, when I was 10 years old and walking home from school (on the sidewalk) on a two-lane, but pretty busy street, my best friend, who was walking right next to me, never got to go home.

A drunk driver (at noon) rode up onto the sidewalk and my friend didn't survive.

I really do not want to scare you. That is not what I am trying to do. I just wanted to bring another example of what could happen. My husband thinks I'm crazy and should let my 10 year old walk and or ride back and forth to school every day. I guess I'm just not there yet - 31 years later.

I just let my son ride to school for the first time by himself yesterday. He is leaving 3rd and going into 4th. The route he rides is only about a 1/2 mile and there are plenty of kids and parents walking to school. I decided to let him ride to school because he has shown me on our bike trips that he has become responsible enough with his bike to make the trip to school. We have talked about it for awhile now and he knows what to do if someone is walking and how to cross the one street. I also have a 1st going on 2nd grade 7 year old boy that I would NOT trust riding to school so I have to pass my oldest while he is riding to school so I can check up on him. My 7 year old gets too easily distracted and doesn't pay much attention to other people or street without me reminding him.
Just be prepared with your kids wanting a lot more independence after you give this one up. Now my son thinks he is old enough to do anything.

I have a daughter and son the exact same age. I wouldn't let them do it but I live in Arizona and it isn't safe. Both for kidnappings and bad traffic. I'm not sure if that helps or not but I thought I'd put in my thoughts... =)

What I see in our community is parents walking or riding with the children (even from a distance for the older kids). My girls are 8 & 6 and I plan on letting them ride to school next year on bikes or scooters (with Helmets) and with me walking or riding with them. At the end of the year I started letting them cross the street to the school (whit the crossing guard and in the cross walk).

I would suggest seeing if there are any bicycle safety classes or Bicycle Rodeos going on to make sure that they are both aware of the "rules of the road" and bike safety.

Also make it MANDATORY (if not already mandatory) to wear a Bike Helmet PROPERLY or they loose the privilage.

I don't have current experience there, but I think I have a good suggestion: Ask the principal and ask the crossing guards about this. They will know about the good/bad experiences of kids using bikes to get to school and what ages it works out best for. (Course, it helps that the youngest child is going with the oldest child I'm sure -- as long as the oldest is protective and assertive and the youngest minds the eldest.)

My kids are the same as yours exactly, 10 yo girl and 7 yo boy. We litterally live across the street from their school, but it's a cul-de-sac so they sort of have to go around some houses to get to school. That being said, they asked me if they could ride their bikes. I was dropping them off right at the crosswalk with the crossing guard but then decided to let them walk from home. At first I would walk to the end of the street. Then I would let them go and would get in the car and drive by on my way to work. THAT'S when I saw them not walking together, my son would RUN to school and leave his sister behind, both would just run/walk across the street without looking, etc. I was like, OH NO YOU DIDN'T!! So I stopped them that very day and said "look, you guys wanted to go by yourselves but you just proved to me you are not responsible enough to handle it". So we went back to dropping them off at the crosswalk with the crossing guard present. So after all that, my advice is like the rest...put them to the test first and see how well they do and take it from there. Good luck to you!

Would you be able to ride with them? I did this with my kids when they were about this age, and also rode to the school at the end of the day to ride home with them. It was fun for us all!