3 ms·

Why do parents need to take their kids to school? I always walked to the school bus, no parents necessary

jimmy1 9y ago
For some, a bus simply doesn't exist. For others, there is legitimate concerns over the safety of their children -- I would not feel comfortable leaving my kindergartener or first grader walk to a bus stop almost half a mile away at essentially the wee hours of the morning when it is still dark outside. If you are the kid who lives at the first stop, sometimes your bus time is as early as 5:55. I would never force my child to be up at 5 something to get ready for school. That is beyond ridiculous. Finally, there are legitimate concerns over bullying. Kids are ruthless on the bus and is a real problem. When I attended high school almost two decades ago now -- fights, bullying, name-calling and harassing were common -- sometimes by the bus driver themselves! I can only imagine how much worse it is now.
- Symmetry 9y ago
  Young children are naturally early risers and it's entirely appropriate that their school hours start early and allow parents to drop them off. It's high school and college students that would benefit from later start times and can be trusted to get to class themselves.
- bluntfang 9y ago
  What concerns make you feel uncomfortable? Do you feel uncomfortable leaving your children with close friends or family as well, since statistically most abuse occurs from someone in that group?
  - blattimwind 9y ago
    I believe the term for this phenomenon is "American angst".
    - jimmy1 9y ago
      Tell me more about my American angst. I am curious.
  - jimmy1 9y ago
    > What concerns make you feel uncomfortable? 1. It is a dimly lit area . 2. My 6 year old child is 6 year old. 6 year old things happen. 3. Pedos are a thing in America, unfortunately. FFS we have one as a president. 4. Child Trafficking is a also a thing, and a rising problem in America. > Do you feel uncomfortable leaving your children with close friends or family as well, since statistically most abuse occurs from someone in that group? 1. It's about safety, which a small aspect of that is also being free from abuse, but not just abuse. 2. Just saying "statistics" and not linking the studies doesn't really say much, so this is a pretty meaningless statement to make in this situation. Most abuse occurs from close friends or family. That's a broad group. How about just friends? Just family? How does that differ if it is a migrant family? What about families of European descent? South American? Or is this your typical American experience? Again, meaningless without that context. Is it taking the average of all families in the United states? Well then we are skewed for outliers, because statistically speaking (don't you love that phrase now?) when abuse occurs in a household, it is much more likely to occur again and repeatedly in that same household. It's kind of like when people love to bring up crash and accident statistics. Statistically, if you take all the cars on the road with no regard to driving record, you, on average have a chance of getting into a car accident. But now take into account a safe driver, someone with no driving record of speeding, accidents, and the NHTSA accident and death statistics for those drivers plummet. Statistics are meaningless out of context. But I imagine you knew that.
- learc83 9y ago
  The bus system in most of the US really is terrible. There is 1 adult to supervise 40 kids and drive a bus. I wasn't really bullied that much as a kid because I was always about a head taller than everyone else, but any bullying I did experience was on the bus.

For some, a bus simply doesn't exist. For others, there is legitimate concerns over the safety of their children -- I would not feel comfortable leaving my kindergartener or first grader walk to a bus stop almost half a mile away at essentially the wee hours of the morning when it is still dark outside. If you are the kid who lives at the first stop, sometimes your bus time is as early as 5:55. I would never force my child to be up at 5 something to get ready for school. That is beyond ridiculous. Finally, there are legitimate concerns over bullying. Kids are ruthless on the bus and is a real problem. When I attended high school almost two decades ago now -- fights, bullying, name-calling and harassing were common -- sometimes by the bus driver themselves! I can only imagine how much worse it is now.

Symmetry 9y ago
Young children are naturally early risers and it's entirely appropriate that their school hours start early and allow parents to drop them off. It's high school and college students that would benefit from later start times and can be trusted to get to class themselves.
bluntfang 9y ago
What concerns make you feel uncomfortable? Do you feel uncomfortable leaving your children with close friends or family as well, since statistically most abuse occurs from someone in that group?
- blattimwind 9y ago
  I believe the term for this phenomenon is "American angst".
  - jimmy1 9y ago
    Tell me more about my American angst. I am curious.
- jimmy1 9y ago
  > What concerns make you feel uncomfortable? 1. It is a dimly lit area . 2. My 6 year old child is 6 year old. 6 year old things happen. 3. Pedos are a thing in America, unfortunately. FFS we have one as a president. 4. Child Trafficking is a also a thing, and a rising problem in America. > Do you feel uncomfortable leaving your children with close friends or family as well, since statistically most abuse occurs from someone in that group? 1. It's about safety, which a small aspect of that is also being free from abuse, but not just abuse. 2. Just saying "statistics" and not linking the studies doesn't really say much, so this is a pretty meaningless statement to make in this situation. Most abuse occurs from close friends or family. That's a broad group. How about just friends? Just family? How does that differ if it is a migrant family? What about families of European descent? South American? Or is this your typical American experience? Again, meaningless without that context. Is it taking the average of all families in the United states? Well then we are skewed for outliers, because statistically speaking (don't you love that phrase now?) when abuse occurs in a household, it is much more likely to occur again and repeatedly in that same household. It's kind of like when people love to bring up crash and accident statistics. Statistically, if you take all the cars on the road with no regard to driving record, you, on average have a chance of getting into a car accident. But now take into account a safe driver, someone with no driving record of speeding, accidents, and the NHTSA accident and death statistics for those drivers plummet. Statistics are meaningless out of context. But I imagine you knew that.
learc83 9y ago
The bus system in most of the US really is terrible. There is 1 adult to supervise 40 kids and drive a bus. I wasn't really bullied that much as a kid because I was always about a head taller than everyone else, but any bullying I did experience was on the bus.