Mamas of kiddos in/out of kindy (not homeschooled)

[MamaNae]

Do your kids ride the bus?

We're without transportation right now...and probably will be for quite a while. We also don't have car seats and I'm not 100% sure when we'll be able to get those.

So...DS1 starts kindergarten this year. He needs to be able to get to school. We have in-town shuttle for the kids. But I'm scared to death putting a 5 year old on the bus by himself...

So do your kids ride the bus at 5? He's generally still harnessed in our car, having him running free scares the crap out of me

[ssand23]

My kids have taken the bus since kindergarten & we haven't had any problems. I think it's NJ law but here the school buses all have seat belts.

[MamaNae]

Not in Iowa...*sigh* we don't have a choice really but I don't like it at all

[z2akids]

what is an in town shuttle?
my children ride on a schoolbus that only goes to their school. They have ridden it since kindergarten and my daughter who is still harnassed will ride it for kindergarten this fall when she starts kindergarten.

They love to ride the bus. Buses are pretty safe vehicles and I don't worry about them on the bus. Considering the number of children transported, they are rarely in accidents and the accidents they have are rarely serious. Our buses do not have seatbelts.

I have the bus driver's cell (which really doesn't help because she isn't allowed to answer it) and the bus garage programmed into my phone and she has my cell number.

Not sure how I'd feel if it were not a dedicated schoolbus.

[nakedbabytoes]

My autistic son rode the bus starting when he was 3 for spec ed preschool. They had his teachers ride it with them though. I was worried(he was oblivious to it because that's the plus side of Autism, unaware of the outside world so thus not scared). All 12 kids rode the bus together and his teachers made it a learning experience.
I'd let my typical developing child in K ride the bus alone, but he'd be outfitted with an ID bracelet and maybe even a firefly cell. And he'd have to get dropped off directly at school into the care of a teacher, and dropped off directly in front of my house when I am home. So my eyes, to the bus driver's eyes, to the teacher's eyes. Anything less, no way!

[stephy4632]

we will be starting Kindy this fall and my DD`s school is quite a drive from our home so I will be driving her and she will still be harnessed for the trip to school. ( she is just now 32pounds fully dressed ) so I really don`t feel comfy putting her on a large school bus for an hour in the am then another hour in the pm. I live in PA and we do not have belts on the school bus here.

[3Xblessed]

Our school has done away with the bus system for all grade levels (thank-you budget cuts). Thankfully we live within 5 min. walking time of school. Most of the parents drive and drop off. Lots of parents carpool. Maybe see if someone in your neighborhood could drive your lo in exchange for some weekend or evening babysitting.

[Danielle0407]

My DD rode the bus this past year in K. She loved it, she had a few friends she sat with, and the bus driver was great. Also they aren't allowed to let K and 1st graders off the bus here without a parent. Once I got stuck at a doctor appt with DS and was like 2 min behind the bus, I had to go pick her up at the school because they wouldn't let her off.
She still rides in a 5pt harness in my car.

[MamaNae]

Thanks! All our neighbors kids ride the bus, but all the kids his age are either in a backless booster or nothing so there ya go...

In town shuttle is a bus that picks kids up at stops every block or so and takes them to school I'm not 100% sure how it works because I grew up in a town that didn't have intown bus service. If you lived in town you either walked or got a ride. Plus I was a 'country kid' so I rode a bus (picked us up at our house, drove us to 1 school, we switched to the bus that went to OUR school) so I'm not sure how the bus thing works here..

[MCR]

Dd starts K on Monday I drop off to school but she will be on the bus to come home from the first day. We went to the school and went over where she goes what to do over and over. So I just hope she can get it straight. She knows her class number her teachers name, her bus route number and the street name she gets off on the corner of, so fingers crossed here. Ds 1 and 2 both rode home but not till they were a bit older.

I figured we'd jump in with both feet on the bus thing. She is the third child, so can juggle knives, not like my cotton ball wrapped first child.