My girls are 6 and 7 years old, and their bus stop is the corner of our front yard. I can see them and talk to them out the window if I wanted to, LOL. Our neighborhood has sloooow traffic, so I'm not really worried about cars flying by, or strangers. They know that if someone they don't know tries to talk to them or get them in the car, they scream and run like hell!! When the bus drops them off in the afternoon, I can hear the bus coming and watch out the window while they walk up to the house. My question is (and I ask because I don't think I'm comfortable with it for no reason other than I'm 'that parent') could they wait for the bus themselves in the morning? There are some mornings when it's a real pain for me to wait 20 minutes with them for the bus with the baby in the cold... When did YOUR kids start going to the bus stop alone?
There is no reason they cant wait out there together, especially if you can see them from the window.
Of course they're big enough, and there are two of them. Kids are always safer when there are other kids around. Enjoy!!!
I am just like you, lol. The bus picks up and drops off right at the end of our driveway and I have just started to let my 8 year old wait and get off by himself. I had to train him for a year to look both ways before crossing to the bus, I know he got it the 1st week, not to mention there is hardly ever a car driving on our street. It is really up to you and your comfort level. I would not think it wrong for 2 girls their age to be waiting seeing as they are together and in eye shot.
My son is 7 and his bus stop is on the corner, 2 houses down. Like you, I can hear the bus and see him the whole way. I allow him to wait in the morning BUT I do not send him out until the last second! His bus arrives at 8:34a and I tell him its time to go at 8:30am...he has to put on his coat, his backpack and get all zipped up, then he gives goodbye kisses and hugs to me and his siblings and Dad...then he is out the door. So in reality he "waits" for his bus for 2 minutes, TOPS!
You should try it like that...
My son gets off the bus and walks home....I hear the bus, and look for him out my picture window!
Easy. We are lucky to have the close bus stops!
~Just wanted to add, your girls also have the added bonus of having the "buddy system"...one can always run/scream and get you if need be!
i went to the bus stop for pick up and drop off the fist week of first grade so that my daughter understood everything. then it was all her after that. we lived in a court and she walked to the end of it and waited with other kids. now my second daughter goes to the same school but is in kindergarten where they make you stay with yor kid for drop off and pick up. but next year she'll go on her own just like her sister did. although if the stop was at the end of my drive way my daughter would do what i did as a child and wait inside like me with the door open and as soon as we heard the bus down the street we would run out to the curb...especially on them rainy or cold days. and i'd stay inside in the doorway.
if you can see them from the window and your neighborhood is quiet, i think this is fine.
:) khairete
S.
Hi R.. I have a 7 year old daughter whose bus stop is right at the corner below our house. There are two houses between. I cannot say that I will ever let her stand out there without me watching from the window. My question is why do you wait 20 minutes? Can you not send your child out closer to when the bus is going to actually arrive? At most my daughter is out there 10 minutes.
Of course you can let them wait by themselves! I think you're being paranoid.
We have two daughters also, four year old and 5 month old. Our oldest goes to private school without local bus service. There was a time when you would have been considered to be overprotective. But honestly those days are long gone. The world we live in now is far more dangerous than the world we grew up in. One would think the bus stop in front of your house would be safe but these days you just can't tell. The public school bus stops right in front of my house, literally lines up with my front door. I'm amazed at the little kids I see walking the neighborhood alone. My husband and I wonder what they're parents are thinking. Some of these kids are coming from 2 streets away. I guess the question is: "If someone made an attempt to grab one of your girls could you get there quick enough to save them? Sounds ridiculous right? Jaycee Dugard was kidnapped walking to the bus stop while her step father watched. He couldn't get there quick enough. She was 11 at the time, several years older than your daughters and I'm sure she attempted to fight back too. All the screaming in the world does no good if you can't reach them before the car door closes. I think a better option would be to have them wait inside the front door until just before the bus comes. Then you could watch from the front door as they board the bus without having to take your little bundle out in the cold. If that doesn't work for you, perhaps invest in a video baby monitor. You could put the baby in play yard with camera on. Then stand in your front yard watching your girls and your baby at the same time. Good luck and God Bless!
Why are you waiting outside for 20 minutes if the bus stop is just outside your house? The buses run pretty much like clock work so you shouldn't have to wait so long. If the kids could stay on the porch until they hear the bus would that give them time to get to the stop in time. The bus isn't going to drive by them if the driver see them coming.
Well, my son is 7.5 and I still walk him & pick him up in the morning but if his stop was in my YARD, I'd def watch from the window! And your girls have each other there. Seem like in my neighborhood, grades 3 & up don't get walked there or picked up......
