4 ms·

I grew up in India. I biked to school that was a mile away alone. After I turned 14, I used to take a train since this other school was at least 5 miles away. T

I grew up in India. I biked to school that was a mile away alone. After I turned 14, I used to take a train since this other school was at least 5 miles away. These were those crazy kinds of trains that were so crowded people hang outside the trains clinging on to anything they can find. You can actually jump out through the doors on to the other side so you can run across the tracks and not take the over-bridge (of course I never told my mom I did this :) I don't think my mom was ever that afraid/nervous. Neither were the moms of all my friends. Letting your kids commute to school alone is a very common thing. I'm sure not all American parents and not all American neighborhoods are like this but still concerning that it's big enough for NYT to write a story on it.

HeyLaughingBoy 17y ago
A large part of it is regional variation and part of it is media sensationalizing. My 8 year-old walks 1/2 mile from school bus stop to our house if the weather is good (we live in a rural area). A neighbor's kid keeps his bike near the bus stop and rides home from there. But even if we lived only 1/2 mile from school they wouldn't be allowed to walk/bike there. Not because of kidnapping worries, but road safety: there is a lot of bus & parent traffic around the school and the administration is justly concerned about mixing high traffic and elementary school kids who aren't used to that environment.