Do you think 3 and 4 year olds are too young to ride a school bus alone and start school?

Question

It seems children start school so young now I was 5 almost 6, my son will just turn 4 when he starts it seems like we expect children to grow up too fast now what do you think?

Answer 1

I would say it's too young. But it depends of the level of maturity the child has. Does the child know not to talk to strangers? Does he know what to do if he misses his bus? What if someone came up to him, called him by name and said they were to come with him instead of go on the bus today? Would he know how to handle that situation? I would go over all the ground rules with the child first. And keep reminding them of those rules.

Answer 2

It depends on the size of the bus, and why the child is going to school. Early childhood students (3-5 year olds) are sent a small yellow bus with seat belts and carseats, that goes the same for 4k students in larger towns which do not have bussing for most of the district. Other districts bus little ones on big buses with other kindergarteners. If a person lives in the country there are not alot of bussing opitons and sometimes it is t he only way a child can get to school. My 3 1/2 year old nephew attends a half day speech program and has been riding the bus with no challenges. I have also seen children who did not ride the bus have significant separation anxiety when their parents dropped them off, because parents often linger thinking it helps. Whether or not a child rides the bus is completely up to the parents. School buses area a service provided by the district to ensure all children have the opportunity to attend public school. If a parent wants to deal with picking up and dropping their child off everyday that is thier choice. Personally, depending on where I am working and what time my children would get picked up, my sons will ride the school bus.
Most of the time, when small children ride the bus, the child is not allowed off the bus unless there is an adult waiting outside for that child at school and at home.

Answer 3

no i don't think it is too young my daughter is three and half wit autism and she takes a bus everyday to school. She has an aid on the bus and she loves it. Her experiance with the bus is the only thing she will talk about!! But i was terrible nervous when we decided what school she was going to go to and that she was going to have to take a bus so i call the bus company and found out all the background info on the driver and the aide and met them and followed the bus and finally i am more relaxed.

Answer 4

I think it depends on the size and envirnment of the school. My daughter is 4 and goes to the public elementary school preschool program. She LOVES riding the bus, but I only let her do it because the school is at the end of an old suburban country road and the school is small, so the driver knows who everyone is and where they live. If the school is near a busy road or you have to go to a bustop then you might as well drive them yourself to be on the safe side.

Answer 5

i started kindergarten at 4 but we didn't learn what they are learning now. all we did was the abc's. i don't agree with kids taking the bus til about 6 yrs but as far as starting school- all my boys started pre-school at 3 yrs. it was only 2-3 days a week for about 2 hrs each day. they get bored doing the same things at home. pre-school was a great way to introduce them to the idea of school and have fun at the same time. they made new friends, found out that all people are different and learned that no matter where you go, there are rules.

Answer 6

I was not quite 5 yet when I started riding the bus (of course that was over 20 years ago...). My mom had an older girl, like age 9 or 10 kind of watch for me to make sure I got on and then off at the right places and she also kind of watched out for me during the ride. Not sure if this is an option for you, but it certainly worked for us.

Answer 7

I no longer allow my kids to ride the school bus. The environment is not safe and/or healthy, in my opinion.
The buses are not required to have seat belts and recent accidents prove this to be dangerous. The buses run on diesel and the fumes have been shown to be unhealthy. The bus driver is not capable of controlling the kids and drive safely at the same time.

Answer 8

Yes, 3 & 4 is too young to ride a school bus alone..

Answer 9

I would be a little worried about putting my four year old on a bus by herself but you are right kids start earlier and earlier now days. I would take him to school myself or at least make sure the bus driver is going to look after him very well. Good Luck!!

Answer 10

Kids now days are reading by the end of Kindergarden, so they need preschool to help them adapt to the social end and get a jump start on learning. I would not have liked my kids riding a bus that young but know people who have and their kids have always been fine.