'I let daughter, 10, walk to school on her own - but my ex says she's too young'
A woman has sparked a debate after revealing how she allows her children to walk to school on their own so she can make it to work on time. However, her ex-partner is now threatening her with child protection service (CPS) because he believes they're 'too young' to walk by themselves.
She said the couple had been split for five months and that has caused problems with housing as she had nowhere suitable for both her and her kids. Her son is aged 13 and her daughter is 10 and her younger child stays with her while her son is with his dad. She said that she left her daughter alone for 30 minutes in the house before she goes to school.
She told fellow Reddit users that her 10-year-old knows the route and it's only a 15-minute walk which her daughter has done numerous times before. Her son, was encouraged to walk from school to her new home too and she said he is also happy to do so, with both children also having phones if they need to contact her.
The mum says she trusts her kids to be able to go to school on their own (Getty Images)She said: "We talked about her messaging me when she leaves the house and also when she gets to school, which she did. I have to work at 8am and I talked with her about going to kids' club instead, but she said she didn't want to go as she didn't like it, which is the reason I thought it would be good for her to be a bit independent.
"My son, because I've moved a little further from where his dad lived we talked about him walking to mine from school to see how long it would take him. Again, he was fine with this... he had a phone, he knew where he was going. My reason for encouraging the kids to walk was to fit in with me being to work on time – I could drive them but the traffic where I am is horrendous. I had contingency plans in place and knew the kids were happy and safe."
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However, when her ex-husband found out, he threatened to call social services on her, despite the roads the children use being quiet and not main roads with a lot of traffic. She said her ex "threw a lot of hate" at her, and is furious about the 10-year-old being left in the house for 30 minutes, even though she doesn't have to lock up, just pull the door closed and it locks itself, and he wants her to drive them to school.
She added: "Am I in the wrong? How do I approach this with my ex-husband? I'm reluctant to try this with the kids again if he then makes these threats (this is the exact reason I left him). I told him it's not legally wrong, but he argued that no it's not legally wrong but morally wrong. It's literally three roads to cross. The route is walled by other children and parents who go to the same school. There's no dark passages, it's very open and public."
Other users of the site largely agreed with the mother, with one saying: "There is nothing wrong with kids that age walking to school. My niece and nephew do and the youngest is nine," while another said: "Social services won't pay any notice to this hysteria of his. They're not marching through shark-infested water, they're going to school. No reputable social worker is going to take your kids because you're letting them walk to school."
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