Need HELP and ADVICE!!

[Lucy]

Hope this doesn't get too long, but here goes. A little backstory first. Three years ago, our school district implemented a "walking boundary". Our state recommended that elementary kids could walk 1 mile, and it went up from there as far as Middle and High Schoolers. Our local district decided that 1/2 mile was what they would go by. Well, at first they wanted to deny the bus that had stopped right in front of my house for 15 years, but a couple of the parents and I took one of those wheel measuring devices, and walked the route, and it was EXACTLY 1/2 mile. We fought the district and won. For the last 3 years, we've continued to have our bus.

School here starts Sept 10th this year, by the way.

Ok, (bored yet?) this year we got a new Superintendant, and he decided to go by the State's guideline of 1 mile. So sadly, we're inside the "walking boundary". The parents were very bummed. I have 3 school-agers, a 2nd grader, 3rd grader, and 4th grader. So they are 7, 8 and JUST turned 9 this week. The parents of the 3rd and 4th graders have come to terms with it, and have just accepted that this is the way it has to be. We have done "rehearsals", and the kids know exactly the route, when to be on which side of the street, where to wait for each other after school, etc. etc. However, the 2nd grader mentioned to me (don't you love when they spill the beans on their parents?? ) that her mom does NOT want her walking, and wants to ask me if I will drive them. She said that her mom doesn't trust the 3rd & 4th graders (there is no reason she shouldn't... they are both very trust-worthy and level-headed kids).

As far as the route, they will exit my house and cross a residential street with no crosswalk, then they will cross a sorta busy, but still residential street WITH a crosswalk, then travel on a sidewalk along the whole side of the school, turn the corner, and go half a block to the front door. The 4th grader will then go another half block to the back door of the school next door. (Weird situation - the elementary schools are next door to each other - but facing different streets - because they were originally a K-3, and a 4-6, but were switched to K-6 probably 20 years ago. The 4th grader's family lives in the boundary for the other school.)

I'm getting to the point, trust me! So when I told my husband what the 2nd grader's mom said, he got very concerned. He thinks if something happens to the kids between my house and the school, that this mom will go nuts and hold me responsible. He freaked on me over it (which he normally never says a word about my DC, but he sure let me have it on this topic. We actually had a little tiff over it and I assured him I would do what needs to be done, but this is still new information for me and I haven't worked it out yet.) He says she could sue us, or try to bring charges against me, or at the very least make complaints to my licensor and I could lose my DC.

So... finally... what are your thoughts on my responsibilities here? If one of the kids gets hit by a car, or kidnapped, or just falls and breaks an arm, or if the kids goof off and cause damage to someone's property along the route, or if they just goof off and are repeatedly late for school, things like that.... could I be held liable for anything? Hubby says they're in my care until they get to the school grounds. He wants me to talk to a lawyer. My take on the whole thing is that it should be understood that when they leave MY house, I'm not responsible for them anymore. If I have done everything in good faith to prepare them for this walk, then that's all I can do.

So sorry this turned out to be so long. I really need everyone's input. I know many of you probably have DC kids that walk to school unsupervised. Ever had problems or parent complaints? HELP!!! And thanks. Oh, and I can't term the 2nd grader, as I watch her sister full-time, and we really need their income. It's very hard to get clients because my town is small and saturated with Providers.

[Country Kids]

I would call your licensor first thing Monday and tell them your concern. I personally haven't heard of this law in our state (same one). If your licensor says that you are allowed to do this, I would have the parent sign a form releasing you of responsibility once they leave your property and are on their way to school.

I can bet there will be a ton of uproar from parents over this and I bet the superintendent will be pressured back into having kids ride the bus. I do though remember walking out of city limits back when I was in school (2 blocks) to catch a bus so I wouldn't have to walk the 2-3 miles it was to school. We had no buses in town it seemed like.

[Lucy]

I personally haven't heard of this law in our state (same one).

It was a guideline 3 years ago, not a law.

Good advice on calling licensing. My husband brought up having the parents sign a release, or waiver, or whatever. My thoughts on that is that it would pretty much be meaningless. You can have someone sign anything you want, but that doesn't mean it would be upheld if they wanted to sue. God forbid one of the kids is kidnapped and killed (I hate even thinking about that or typing it out!) and the parent blames me, their signature on a paper won't mean much. I could be totally wrong, but that's how I see it. Yes, it won't hurt to have them go ahead and sign something, you are right. And I probably should do it, but I just think it would be sort of going through the motions. Just the way I see it. Thanks.

[Angelsj]

It certainly wouldn't hurt to talk to a lawyer, but here we have the parents sign a form saying (in general) what you just said. They have parental permission to walk such and such route and what happens between school and daycare is not your responsibility.

Personally, it isn't really your job to show them the route at all, or practice it with them. That is the parents job. If you don't want to transport and the mother is unhappy with the walking, it is her responsibility to transport. Of course, that may end in her finding other care, so you will have to work that out, I suppose.

[Lucy]

It certainly wouldn't hurt to talk to a lawyer, but here we have the parents sign a form saying (in general) what you just said. They have parental permission to walk such and such route and what happens between school and daycare is not your responsibility.

Personally, it isn't really your job to show them the route at all, or practice it with them. That is the parents job. If you don't want to transport and the mother is unhappy with the walking, it is her responsibility to transport. Of course, that may end in her finding other care, so you will have to work that out, I suppose.

Could you possibly post the form, or PM me and I will PM back my email address? I'd love to see the wording. I'll probably end up with a form it looks like.

As far as walking the route to practice it, I've had the 3rd and 4th graders since birth, and they feel like family. I WANT to have them be confident in their route before school starts in 3 weeks. So far, we've done the practices at various times of the day. Starting next week, we'll do it at the time of the morning that they will be leaving once school starts. I will gradually walk further and further behind them just to make sure they are 100% on their own. Also, it's good PR if I show that I am pro-actively helping in the planning stages for this new adventure. The parents really appreciate it.

[Country Kids]

I'm actually thinking of having my parents (after 17 years) sign a release that once the kids leave my property and go to the bus stop, I'm not responsible for them.

It's directly across the street from my house and I don't want to have to bundle kids up to stand in my drive way and there is no way I can just leave them in the school room so I can watch the bus stop.

[Nickel]

I am probably going to get flamed here, but this is my take as a parent. If i hired someone for before and after school care i would be entrusting them to ensure my child arrives at the school and gets picked up from the school. If i was told that my provider would not be transporting them or walking with them, i would find another provider. Thats jmho. I do not let my daughter work to or from the school without an adult and she is starting fifth grade this year. While i live in a safe neighborhood, accidents can happen. I walk to and from the school with her or i drive her the five blocks straight down the street. Literally i live on the same street athe school. If i accepted school agers i would also be sure to pick them up and drop them off and watch them walk into the building. Because i would feel that they are my responsibility.

I know a lot of people will disagree with me. I have all of my parents sign a transportation form and i tell them up front that i transport children to and from the school to pick up my daughter. If they dont like it, they can find someone else. Safety is my top priority and i want to ensure my child is safe. Again jmho

[DaisyMamma]

I agree with Nickel 100%.
As a parent I would never let my child walk. And I'm not an overprotective parent.
As a provider I don't like the sound of any of it. I would drive the 3 kids. I would not like it one bit, but I would do it.
The kids get off the bus right in front of my house and I go outside to greet them.

[countrymom]

in the city here, only the 3 and 4 yr olds get the bus, the rest walk and it can be 3miles, which is stupid. Have you seen how kids walk with snow clothes on, talk about slow. I'm lucky and live in the county so they have to bus my kids. Oh, I would fight and tell them that there is no cross walk, and don't they have to have crossing guards if its a busy road.

[MrsSteinel'sHouse]

So what are they walking 4/5 blocks? I would probably walk with them and walk to meet them for the first couple weeks of school and then so how they were doing. We use to walk a lot further than that (I am getting old).. when I was a kid. I guess a lot would depend on the neighborhood and the kidlets. Are there other families so they could walk as a fairly large group? Would some other moms split the walking days with you? So maybe you walk them to school and she walks them home?

[DayCareDynasty]

Hi Lucy! For my SA kids I hired a driver because it just wasn't feasible for me to load up the toddlers and baby and take them to school. I made sure the driver was some one I knew and trusted and they did get finger printed and have a background check on file before they started. Like Nickle, I too feel I am responsible for the children once left in my care.

When I worked outside of the house I enrolled my then 2nd grader & Kindergartener in day care. I repeated to the provider when I enrolled them, and the morning of care that my K grader goes in the evening...what happens, I get a call at work from the office staff who is telling me my child is sitting in the office at 8am. I was upset thinking he is only 5 my kid could have walked out of the office or anything. The provider very nonchalantly said, I am on my way to get him it was a mistake! So my point is I left my child in her care which in my eyes meant she was responsible for him until I returned.

If the kids are going to walk maybe the oldest child can have a cellphone to call when they have made it on the grounds either you or parent.

[Unregistered]

KGMNoz

A little of the topic in a way but I was just reading an article about retired people (grandparents, stay at home parents , people with flexible schedules ,etc. ) helping out with their grandchildren who's parents can't get them to school and back because of work...it suggested (of course this all being if the grandparents or volunteer is close enough) that for the kids AND the adults to get more exercise, the adult could form a "walking school bus" where they walk the kids to school and back ...and "pick up" other kids on their route...

Of course, the adult would need all the proper checks, etc. to be entrusted with the kids but I thought it was kind of a neat idea to help out both sides. I know there would probably be some glitches but if there was a network of people who could do it, it might work...

[Blackcat31]

It certainly wouldn't hurt to talk to a lawyer, but here we have the parents sign a form saying (in general) what you just said. They have parental permission to walk such and such route and what happens between school and daycare is not your responsibility.

Personally, it isn't really your job to show them the route at all, or practice it with them. That is the parents job. If you don't want to transport and the mother is unhappy with the walking, it is her responsibility to transport. Of course, that may end in her finding other care, so you will have to work that out, I suppose.

We have similar guidelines here. Our state regs say we must have written permission for a child to leave our home. So if a child came to care before school and needed to walk to school, the parent would have to sign a permission slip saying their child has permission to walk away from child care.

This also releases us from any liability since once a child leaves my care facility, they are no longer MY responsibility.

If a parent is concerned about their child walking to and from school, I think it is THEIR responsibility to figure out how to manage it.

As far as a certain form, there is none. It just says a parent must give written permission.

I don't take the SA'ers any more but when I did, ANY and ALL transportation to and from care for ANY reason was the parents responsibilty not mine.

[Angelsj]

Could you possibly post the form, or PM me and I will PM back my email address? I'd love to see the wording. I'll probably end up with a form it looks like.

As far as walking the route to practice it, I've had the 3rd and 4th graders since birth, and they feel like family. I WANT to have them be confident in their route before school starts in 3 weeks. So far, we've done the practices at various times of the day. Starting next week, we'll do it at the time of the morning that they will be leaving once school starts. I will gradually walk further and further behind them just to make sure they are 100% on their own. Also, it's good PR if I show that I am pro-actively helping in the planning stages for this new adventure. The parents really appreciate it.

I know, and I would probably do the same. I was just pointing out that you are already going above and beyond, and the mother just expecting you to accommodate her discomfort is ridiculous. She either needs to trust you, transport herself, or take the school up on their issue and get it changed.
So often these days, parents abdicate the parent role to the providers and school.
The form is a pdf and I can't figure out how to get it here, but it basically goes like this:

I (Parent name) give permission for my child (child name) to leave the residence of (your name) from the times of __________ to________
for the purpose of _________________________

Once the child leaves the residence, (provider name) will no longer be responsible for the child until the child returns to the residence.

Signature of parent and provider.

This form also has other things on it, like an emergency medical release, and insurance information type stuff, but in this case, I would just create one that says what makes you comfortable, and give it to the parents to sign. Anything else you do (like practicing with them) is totally above the call.

For the record, I would NEVER allow my 2nd grader to travel to school alone. But, *I* would be doing what was necessary to make that not happen, or having a clear chat with you to clarify everyone's feelings. Perhaps a talk with her, to let her know all you are doing, and how responsible the older two kids are, would help her feel better about it all? Or at least clear the air?

[Country Kids]

For Nickel and Daisy Mama would you have enough room in your cars to transport all your kids to get the SA to school. To say its the providers responsibility is a little harsh. It would only be hers if 1. She had a big enough car 2.She offered that as one of her services.

I think sometimes the parents have the outlook to look at all the things that it takes to put a child into childcare. Its not our responsibility to figure out how these kids are going to get to school, that is the parents. Just because we are home doesn't mean we aren't doing anything or watching any other kids.