The age at which children may be left alone, unattended at the bus stop differs in each state. I remember when my first son was a Kindergartener and First Grader, a parent or other care giver had to be present at all times at the bus stop when dropping off or picking up the child. At the time, however, the bus stop was located approximately two blocks away from our home, so that was understandable and I would not have let my young school-age child walk to or remain at the bus stop by himself under any circumstances. I think you had to be at least in second grade before you could consider staying at the bus stop by yourself. Currently, my youngest son is a Kindergartener and I am happy to say that the bus stops right in front of our house. My little guy has to walk a couple of feet to get to his bus stop and if I wanted to, I could watch him from my window until the bus picked him up. However, since I am a bit overprotective, and since my son does have to cross the road briefly to get to the other side, I tend to walk our family dog around our front yard until the bus arrives, so that I can keep a close eye on my Kindergartener while he waits for the bus. While he is a very independent little boy and takes great pride in doing things by himself (including staying at the bus stop, which elicited a small argument, as he did not want me to stand there with him since nobody else’s mom or dad was there) I still like to smother a little every now and then when appropriate to truly ensure his safety. So the dog-walking deal while he waits worked out great for us. Overall, I think when deciding to let your child go to or stand at the bus stop by him/herself you should weigh all factors involved, such as age, grade-level, and overall maturity of the child, how well your child is informed about avoiding contact with strangers, safety measures necessary, distance to bus stop (or school, if applicable), and time needed to get there. If the child is still in his early school years and the bus stop is located close by (like ours is), no problem, let him be a big boy and walk by himself after you review safety issues with him (how to safely cross the street, not to wrestle with friends while waiting, staying out of the street and on the grass or side walk, no running, etc.). Or you can watch him while he walks/stands there waiting. If the bus stop is a few blocks away, I personally would not feel comfortable enough to let a young school child (ages 5-7) walk by himself. I think 2nd grader status is likely a good time to let them handle a greater stretch of walking distance to the bus stop and to let them wait by themselves. Under no circumstances would I let a young child walk to school by himself. Even if it is only a few blocks away, at least when he’s on the school bus he is somewhat protected and around other students/adults. When he walks by himself to school however, you never know if he’s with a friend or if he trails off at some point and encounters a suspicious stranger. My older son was in 3rd or 4th grade when he first started walking to school, which was just up the hill from us and the only reason I allowed him to do so was because we lived on a military installation and the military police would actively stop traffic and guide children across the street and up the hill until they made it safely to school.

Times have changed. When i was a kid my mother would make me think i was walking to school by myself. She would let me go out the door when i got far enough away she would follow and make sure i got to school safe. After school she would wait farther and farther away from school doing the same but still making sure i was safe. Their have been so many cases of abduction from all different parts of the country. Its hard to believe their is a safe time or place to let your child walk alone. Women in college still have to look out for muggers and those who would do them harm. Ask your local police department for a list of child molesters located in your neighborhood. You might be suprised at the amount of sex offenders on your block alone

I let my son walk alone from school to our house, but before I allow him to do that. We walk together going to his school and going back to our house. I make it sure he knows the safe place and walk with other students. I just read this blog that caught my interest. I would like my son to have this on his phone. I would like to share it to everyone here's the link http://tidbitsfromamom.blogspot.com/2011/08/safekidzone-review-protecting-your.html