Poll: Am I a terrible, mean mother?

[ktmelody]

Oh and I moved this to parenting for you.

[photocat]

The only way I would send my 4 yr old on the bus was if his older brother was there with STRICT instructions to keep tabs/sit next to him/hold his hand the whole time....and if I could trust the older brother to do it and not get distracted.

Otherwise, no.

If it was just a bus for pre-schoolers and there was a supervising adult on board and he knew some of the kids....maybe.

[JennTheMomma]

I don't think it's crazy, but if I weren't homeschooling I'd let ds2 (5) ride the bus as he enjoys things like that.

My mom does daycare and her little kids ride the bus, the stop is right by the house. There hasn't been any problems on the bus, and the younger kids sit up front.

Some busses even pick up young kids early and drop them off early to avoid older kids.

[EveryDayIsANewDay]

I don't think you are being overly protective! I was even bullied in HIGH school on the bus and my bus driver who'd worked for our district for yrs and yrs ignored it. These girls also bullied me so badly at lunch that for a whole school yr I skipped lunch (and eating) to sit in the library so they couldn't get near me.

That said, DD1 will be going to Kindergarten in the fall. I work full-time. She'll be going to a daycare center before and after school. They will provide transportation to and from school. Yay! So she will be with kids her own age for $10 a wk (thank you for keeping my sanity) and the days I don't need it, I'll take her or pick her up on my own.

[mcpforever]

Well, I honestly don't like the sheer amount of TIME they spend on the bus here. Pick up for DS1's route is 6:50 am. School starts at 7:50 am. Why does he need to leave an entire hour early? Buses leave school at 2:40 and are back here by 3:20-3:30. That's a 40 minute one way trip! My kids don't need to spend an hour and 20 minutes on a bus! They can spend 20 minutes in the car with me instead.

[MyPerfectLife]

The bus is where all the bad stuff happens.....

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[z2akids]

I'll be the odd woman out. My kids started riding the bus in kindergarten. They LOVE the bus. They get to spend that 1/2 hour of time talking to their friends and playing (obviously within reason since they're sitting down) with them in ways they cannot during school.

Now, I will qualify that with the fact that my kids attend a very small Catholic school. There are only about 20 kids on the bus and the driver is excellent. She allows them further toward the back of the bus the older they get and the kids from kindergarten through 8th grade know that misbehaving on the bus can lead to problems in the classroom.

You have to do what you are comfortable with. But, riding the bus has been a real rite of passage for my kids. The bus is a very safe vehicle. I never worry about my children's safety on the bus. To be perfectly frank, statistically they are probably safer on the bus on a daily basis than if I made the 8 mile trip with them each day to and from school.

[supermansmomma]

My son is 3.5 and he rides the bus to the early learning program. But they do have a bus aid that puts him in a harness, and all the kids on the bus are also in the early learning program. I will also allow him to ride the bus when he gets older. But I see the bus driver for the elementary school which drops off at the same time, and he is very good at organizing the kids so to speak.
Anyways, I don't think your mean or a crazy lady. It's a scary idea just putting your kid on a bus and hoping he gets to school and back safe.

[Ready2Bmommy]

My brother and I only rode the bus. There was no way my mom would rice us to school. I saw and heard and did WAY to much on the bus. Definitely skip it if you can!

[keen1981]

Omg, we always rode the bus. No SAHM in my young world. And it was fun. No mean kids. No big deal. Driving your child to school in my town would put you way out of your way for work.. And at the wrong time. If driving her works for you, then do it. But the bus is not the devil. Lol. I always marvel at the anti bus posts. my parents left the house at 6am and returned at 5pm. On top of our school was not near the highways they needed. We weren't bullied or scarred. It was just life. Lol.