New entrants - end of day at school

I don't have any recent experience, but I always remember I wasn't allowed to leave the classroom until my older sister came to collect me.
   I have three younger cousins - the youngest a new entrant 10 years ago. I'd pick her up from school a few days a week and she wasn't allowed to leave the classroom until I came to get her either.

To me, it's a no-brainer that the little ones be looked after until they're collected.
I don't think you're paranoid or over-protective

We walked home, but only if we were collected by someone. And only for the first wee while.
I think once the kids are settled in at school, and have someone (another kid, parent, older sibling etc) to accompany them home, then it's fine.

I certainly wouldn't want my 5 year old walking home by herself. I'd feel much happier if she was in a group/with a friend.

what a lot of bull they do these days. I really hate whats happening to kids these day with this. we walked to kindy on our own admittedily it was only up the raod and often my cousin picked me up on the way he lived in around the corner and up the street from me.
I would be absoltely livid about what the schools do these days. They have far better things to do then that. So at what age are they now saying its OK to walk home my yourself. I don't think this happens at any school down here but i could be wrong hmm i must ask my sil when i next see her.

Each school will have their own policy. At the school I teach at, children go to different lines, based on how they go home- eg. bus (we have 3) and junior/senior walkers lines. We take a roll and then make sure they go to the right place.
My job is to cross the children across a road, if parents don;t turn up then basically I have to wait there, regarless of how long they take. Teachers time is precious, so late parents are frustraiting.
One family live about 150meters from the school and she is of ten there 20-25 minutes late.

5 yearolds often have a mind of their own and so easy to wonder off (even during class time they often wonder). So it really is to protect the school from accidents as really it is the schools responsibility until children have left the school grounds safely.

Unfortionately it is a big scary world out there these days!

I don't remember what I did as a new entrant but i do remember that when I was standard four my little brother was made to come to my class until I had finished and we walked home together. I guess my older brother may have walked me home as he was two years older then me.

Dps lil sister had to wait at her class until we came to pick her up. The teacher would ask who we were if she didn't know us and ask his sister as well

My older sister used to collect me from outside my class when I was 5/6 and we'd walk home across the golfcourse (it was a short walk through a small town). I remember one day her class got kept in and I waited and waited but she didn't come so I walked home by myself. Just as I reached home my mum came out the driveway in a panic having loaded the babies into the car because she'd been phoned by the school to say my older sister couldn't find me. She took me down to school to collect my older sister and there was a big hoohaa from all the teachers and a whole lot of other parents were looking for me too. Whoops! I was fine walking home, but obviously even then risks were there. Our school was on a riverbank for example, so its not just people that are dangerous.

So my point is, 5 is awfully young to be walking home from school by yourself, and it was 20-something years ago too.

My kids will probably take a bus because we live rural. When I was older we moved schools and almost everyone caught buses home. The teachers would let us have some sports gear and supervise our play. Each bus did 2-3 runs, so the last bus didn't leave for nearly an hour after school. Anyone who was waiting to be picked up would just play with us till their parents showed. The parents knew they had to be their by the time the last bus left. It was the same in the morning - the first bus arrived nearly an hour before school started and kids couldn't be dropped off before the first bus arrived.

So yes, the teachers should be keeping track on who is leaving the school, but not necessarily who is leaving the classroom. There'd often be a teacher policing the front gate and you couldn't leave unless your parents where there or your bus was waiting. I recall trying to sneak through to retrieve a ball or raid the next door peach tree a few times and getting told off.

Edited by T_Rex

So in that case when will you let your kids take the risks that are needed to be taken as part of growing up. i don't mean this to become a slinging match i just think kids a re over protected more than they need to be these days. This is my opinion and i know it isn't everyones. Just as an aside did you agree with what that mother did in the US an 8/9 year old on subway alone?

lol I think you made it a slinging match when you first posted
Of course you're entitled to your opinion, but to relay it several times over as an argument against other people who have first hand experience with this kind of thing then I think that's a bit OTT, sorry.

There are plenty of other, more responsible, ways to let your kids take risks.   
You can't always protect your kids, but if you CAN protect them from certain things, do it.

I'm with neeandsam. I don't often comment on things like this, but the thought of my child(ren) walking home by themselves at 5 years old scares me.
I remember when I was 5 and being terrified when my sister was late picking me up.

Edited to add:

sweetpea wrote: I would be absoltely livid about what the schools do these days. They have far better things to do then that.

What better things do they have to do than protect the children they've been entrusted with for 15 minutes at the end of the day?

Edited by MamaPickle

Developmentally a child is not ready to cross the road by themselves before the age of 7/8 so I would not like my son to walk home by themselve before them. But I will be expecting him to walk home with a group (walking bus or whatever).
This day and age is dangerous and I don't think it is too much to ask my son to either walk with me or with a group until he is 7.
Sweetpea I see you live in invercargill maybe its a bit different down there compared to busy auckland??

Hmm didnt mean to start any arguements here, was just trying to find out if my schools policy was fairly standard but Sweepea in response to the comment about when would you let your kids that risks that are needed to be taken as part of growing up well for me I would probably let him walk home when he is say 6 or 7 maybe and that is only because we live in the same street as the school. There is a fine line between letting kids develope independence and being responsible and doing the right thing and in my opinion a 5 year old who has just started school and in some instances are away from thier parents for the first time is just not old enough to have the responsibility to walk home alone, They are easily distracted and persuaded so who knows what could happen.

And thanks Renee, I was a bit upset as well so glad it wasnt just me taking things the wrong way.