What age is old enough for the walk to school?

From the National Post

On Wednesday morning, Sarah and Thomas Brisson will get on their bikes and pedal their way to the start of a new school year. It will take about 15 minutes, about the same time it would take their mom to drive them in rush-hour traffic.

The exercise will get their blood pumping, the fresh air will clear their heads and they'll arrive wide-awake for the first class, unlike when she used to drive them, says their mom, Denise Brisson.

But like a lot of parents, she's leery about letting them make the trip on their own. There's a scary intersection they have to cross where morning commuters seem more focused on merging than on the kids in the crosswalk.

Sarah, 11, is keen to go without adult supervision, and when Brisson was Thomas's age, eight, she walked to school on her own.

Parents are more protective these days because of their perception that the world isn't as safe as it used to be, says registered school psychologist Bev Baker-Hofmann. But there's a fine line between being protective and being overprotective, she adds.

It's important to help kids begin to assert their independence, and letting them make the trip to school is one way to do that, she says. But when are they ready?

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