daft batty

There was a news item here in Pbro about a 4 year old that missed his school bus connection. He had to change buses and this was at another school.

The school said he must have been distracted, he's only 4 so likely to be distracted. They said he was being supervised by a teacher.? and he was only alone for a few seconds. The boy said longer. He was upset, funnily enough, some older children found him crying and took him to the teacher. No one seems to have said oops we made a mistake, we should have counted all the children on the bus.

So, why I am posting this, well do you think its reasonable to expect a 4 year old to travel by himself, including a change of buses??

http://www.thepeterboroughexaminer.c...ucation+Writer

Alberta_Rose

Well, I didn't think 4 year olds went to school in Canada!

The article does say that there are changes being made because of this incident.

How frightening for the little boy and disturbing for his parents!

daft batty

It may be the way the article is written, (I dont find the Pbro Examiner to be a well written newspaper in spite of its Robertson Davies connection.) The school comes over as blaming the poor boy and not accepting any responsibility. Plus I wonder if many mums would send a 4 year old on the bus?? I dont know what my response to that would be as I am not a parent, nor brought up in the school bus system.

Poor little boy.

Biiiiink

I hated putting my 4yr old on the bus. He doesn't need to be bussed, it was at his insistence as it's cool and exciting to go on a big yellow bus. Apparently

The "bus buddy" thing at this school was a disappointment to me. I assumed it would be someone who rides his bus, possibly someone who gets off at the same stop or later. It's not, it's someone who gets on a completely different bus - they're only responsible for taking him from the classroom door to the bus door after school, and they only have any involvement with the kids in the afternoon, none whatsoever in the morning.

There's no real system for getting them from the bus into the school in the morning. I think it's assumed they will follow the herd and head in the right direction as the busses empty out. One morning I found one of his classmates sobbing alone in the playground - everyone had gone in, the bells had been rung, she'd been on a school bus but had somehow not made it to her designated place. She didn't seem to know what to do, or where to head and was just standing wailing, poor thing. It must have been terrifying for a 4yr old.

Also, on a bus-related note, I don't care what they say about crash protection being in the seats, blah blah blah, those things should have seat belts.

Oakvillian

no they shouldn't... the same buses carry 4-year-olds and high school kids. A belt the right height for a 14-y-o could slice a 4-y-o's head off at the neck in a collision (well, probably not literally, but wrongly adjusted seatbelts can inflict horrifying injuries).

The two alternatives are (a) that 3-point seat belts have a height-adjustable upper mounting which is to be adjusted and checked for fit by a responsible adult for every child on every journey, or (b) go for lap-belts only, which would probably again inflict more injuries than they prevent.

We were given a load of material on school buses when we registered - there was a thread last year here and a link to more info on school bus safety features here.

gryphea

My local primary in UK had these My buses.

http://www.wymetro.com/SchoolsAndColleges/YellowBus/

The driver was fabulous (or so I heard and I definately saw checking in action)) , as they state and I believe from seeing him almost daily and from parents who used the bus that the driver individually checked every child's seat belt. All seats are high backed as well. Seat belts were , I believe, 5 point (but i'm not 100% on this). The teachers saw them on the bus every day at the end of school and then the driver took over.

Can be done, presumably pricey and fairly time inefficient.

Gryphea

why

i used to be really trusting of everyone but as i have got older and know more now. i would never let my 4 year old go alone on a bus anywhere ever...they are just sweet little targets for lifes' nasty people and they are out there waiting just for the right opportunity to do their worst.....sorry to be so mistrusting but that's the way it is

roanin

The local school board is squarely responsible. Here in Saskatchewan, under the education act, the school board is responsible for every child, from the moment they leave home, until the point of return to home address. Parents of all children are putting their trust in the mechanisms in place, for the safety and well being of their kids. Seems to me that the system (of which none is perfect), needs a little "tweaking".

Coffeepot

There are some 4 year olds that get the bus to our village school its very rural, once they are on the bus they are the responsibility of the driver and off the bus into the gate about 5 feet but still not checked in so potentially could go wandering off, i would not put my 4 year old on the bus but then again i am a neurotic mother and still walk my 7 year old into the school cloakroom i must stop that ) and i am not the only one

Biiiiink

I'm aware of that but not satisfied with it, and we too got the blurb from the province.

I don't see why it shouldn't be done. It's not enough to make me move to Etobicoke, but it's enough to ban Jr from anything other on a school bus than the trip home through the 40kmh zone on quiet suburban streets.

iaink

Offspring #1 was only three when she started on the bus (one of the youngest in her class...just the way her birthday falls). I drive her to school, and she gets the bus home. Its usually no problem, and at the moment she only goes alternate days.

First year there were no problems, but there were a couple of mix ups this year that had her stranded at school one day, and at the school she transfers at the next. Fortunately its no big deal for me to go "rescue" her, and in both cases the school was able to take care of her until I got there, so it was no big deal, although obviously had the potential to be. We werent impressed. 1st time was an administrative problem as we had switched her class that morning. The second time was because she wasnt on the bus the day before so the (normally excellent) driver left without her at the transfer...human error I guess. Fortunately she was very calm and collected and was taken to the office where she entertained the staff for 20 minutes till I picked her up.


I disagree about the seat belts. Too much of a worry to get the kids out of them if there was a fire or something that needed a fast evacuation and heaven forbid the driver was incapacitated. The buses travel slowly, and when there are accidents, the high seatbacks seem to protect them mostly. Might be nice if older more capable kids had the option at least, but being on the bus seems statistically pretty safe, so Im not too stressed about it. Would be one more thing for the driver to have to concentrate on too.

Anyway, I digress...

Bus buddy at our school ensures she is ON THE RIGHT BUS. Our bus buddy actually travels on the transfer bus to the high school...but I understand thats not always the case, if that kid is off sick for example.

At the high school there is a designated adult to ensure she gets on the second bus. The system works pretty well. When it didnt it was because she was not in her regular home room because we had requested she start the year in a different class...easily noticed by the teacher.

The time she was left at the transfer was not because she was not met, but because the bus had already left!...easily picked up by the transfer person, who took her to the office to wait. Its not like these little kids are hanging around at bus stops unsupervised, not around here anyway. The bus wont even let her get off at home if there is not a familiar face there to greet her.

My main concern is that the whole system is VERY dependent on people doing the right thing and not screwing up...and people are not all that reliable. And, having said that there is NO WAY the schoolboard should be blaming the child when it does go wrong. I think the mother is overreacting too though, the kid was never in any danger if you ask me, it was just an inconvenience.

canbritdenise

My boys (age 8 and 12) have taken the school bus a few times, but my oldest informs me that its nothing for the older kids to be getting up and moving about, being rude to the younger kids and the driver, and generally being pests. Any type of seat belt offers injury prevention from accident, but helps the driver to concentrate on the road and not the kids. I now drive them. On the plus side our school teachers stand out along side the buses, making sure that they safely get on and off the bus and all head in the right direction.

MJM1

Neurotic mother alert! Neurotic mother alert! Why did I find this thread.
Since we have an offer on a house which feeds into a rural school I am past myself at the thought of letting my kids get on the bus themselves.

Apparently the school bus will stop at the end of our looong drive to collect them.

However, I am thinking dark winter mornings I wouldn't dream of letting them stand at the end of the road on their own as the traffic will be fast going past them at the bottom and the youngest will only be 5. And lets not even get into the thought of someone taking them.........

Kids think the concept of a school bus is great. But I can seriously see me pulling out and following the school bus to the school to make sure they get off at the other end safely. Which completely defeats the purpose of the bus!!! But at least my kids don't miss out on the journey with friends!!

I know this is the current debate at the minute - 'wrapping our kids up' and not allowing them the freedom we might have had when we were younger.....but I cannot help myself.

Therefore, is it fairly common for people to still take and collect their own kids to and from school? Or will I stand out like a sore thumb in the school yard as the weird over-protective English woman......

Biiiiink

At our school in my observation, a lot more people seem to take them to school in the morning, but let them take the bus back in the afternoon. I do that, my kid is desperate to take the bus and be with his pals, but as it's such a pointless journey for us, I've limited it to the one trip a day

iaink

MJM1, You need to let go of your UK paranoia.

Also, you will notice than many rural houses with long drives have a little hut at the end for the kids to shelter in till the bus arrives in the winter...

If the bus wasnt so goddamned early my kid would catch it in as well as home, but the reality is I drop her off in the morning to save a pre 6am alarm call, and she gets the bus home, except on the days she has after school Karate, in which case one of us has to pick her up.

You wil not end up following the bus..for any given route the bus seems to take at least twice the time it takes a regular driver to make the trip, so you will probably be leaving long after the bus has gone through. We live at the end of the route...I leave at 7:45 to get her to school by 8.15. The bus pick up is before 7!

I think its true that the bus has a social importance beyond mere transportation, its a way to meet other local(ish) kids at the school, and we are happy for her to catch it home on regular days. The novelty of an hour long bus ride has long since worn off though, and she hasnt started grade one yet!