[ShepherdsDog]

That'll lern ya.

[wildrosegirl]

DonnaWho DonnaWho:

We were taught that if we got ran over/hurt/beat up/killed/whatever, it would be our own fault for not paying attention/being careful/asking for it/running away/or whatever.

As it should be! Now parents would rather blame/sue everyone who came in contact with their kid within 24 hours of not paying attention/being careful/asking for it/running away/or whatever, and hold them personally responsible, because there's no way their child could possibly be held accountable for their own actions.

I miss the old days.

[Hyack]

ShepherdsDog ShepherdsDog:

Jesus, I was walking to school on my own when I was in Kindergarten. The only time my mom or dad walked me was to make sure I didn't get distracted and end up playing in puddles. We wandered down to Esquimalt lagoon and Ft. Rodd on our own all the time.

Exactly, I can't remember EVER being "escorted" to school or anywhere else. Even in my pre-teen years I was riding my bike from the suburbs to the YMCA in downtown Winterpeg, otherwise it was the bus and then eventually hitchhiking anywhere and everywhere.

[martin14]

Hyack Hyack:

ShepherdsDog ShepherdsDog:

Jesus, I was walking to school on my own when I was in Kindergarten. The only time my mom or dad walked me was to make sure I didn't get distracted and end up playing in puddles. We wandered down to Esquimalt lagoon and Ft. Rodd on our own all the time.

Exactly, I can't remember EVER being "escorted" to school or anywhere else. Even in my pre-teen years I was riding my bike from the suburbs to the YMCA in downtown Winterpeg, otherwise it was the bus and then eventually hitchhiking anywhere and everywhere.

Including a year living at Portage and Main, was never escorted anywhere either.

Where did all the safety Nazis come from anyway ?

[Zipperfish]

martin14 martin14:

Where did all the safety Nazis come from anyway ?

The bizzies, I call them. No problem is too petty for massive intervention by the gummint.

[ShepherdsDog]

Hyack Hyack:

ShepherdsDog ShepherdsDog:

Jesus, I was walking to school on my own when I was in Kindergarten. The only time my mom or dad walked me was to make sure I didn't get distracted and end up playing in puddles. We wandered down to Esquimalt lagoon and Ft. Rodd on our own all the time.

Exactly, I can't remember EVER being "escorted" to school or anywhere else. Even in my pre-teen years I was catching the York boat from Fort Garry to the Forks, otherwise it was the Red river cart and then eventually hitchhiking anywhere and everywhere with free passage signed by Lord Selkirk himself.

[Jabberwalker]

Oh, what those buffalo herds left behind them ...

[bootlegga]

Unsound Unsound:

Public_Domain Public_Domain:

I'm not sure at what age I consider okay for kids to walk on their own; perhaps the age they demand to. But I think there are plenty of good reasons to hold off handing out independence like skittles until somewhere in the teenage years.

So, are you saying we should be walking/driving our kids to school right into Jr. High?

As much as I want to be protective and keep my kids in bubble wrap so they never ever get hurt, it's not good for them. Someday the world will force me to let go and it's best if they learn to take care of themselves before that day. One small step at a time. Right now we're working on eating breakfast without waking daddy up. Since it's 7am and I've been up for 1/2 hour now, obviously we need to work on that some more

When I grew up, all the kids on my block walked to school, but we did it together (close to a dozen of us), so parents didn't really worry too much. In junior high, there were still half a dozen or so of us who took the bus together, although if I got detention or missed it, I'd have to take the ETS home by myself.

If I had four or five kids, I wouldn't have a problem letting them walk to school together, but I can't see letting my daughter walk to school by herself in this day and age. However, it's a moot point anyways because she takes the bus to and from school because she is in a bi-lingual program.

[bootlegga]

Getting the thread back on track, I took her toboganning this weekend and she loved it!