[blparent] a new school

[Veronica Smith]

Several parents, my husband and me, included, walked our off spring to the
new school this morning.  Gab, her friend Sammantha, and 2 boys will be
walking home and one of the boys and Gab will make it all the way down our
street.  G and Kyle used to walk home from the bus stop all last year and he
is a very nice kid when they are alone.  He is tempermental when with other
boys and I hear this is true for most boys of that age.  He promised me that
G wouldn't walk alone.
I told Gab, if when she is leaving school and find out that she is a lone
walker, she must call me and dad to pick her up.  The street she has to walk
on is kind of a main road, not a busy main road, but a road that connects
this part of town to another.  There are nice sidewalks all the way and the
girls/boys know the route well.
I am going to get G a cell phone so that when she and the others leave the
school, she must call me to let me know when they are on their way.
 I'll keep you posted on their success.
You can always say you live in a good neighborhood, but what you can't do is
control the bad that drives in.
V

-----Original Message-----
From: blparent-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:blparent-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
Behalf Of Erin Rumer
Sent: Wednesday, August 10, 2011 3:36 AM
To: 'NFBnet Blind Parents Mailing List'
Subject: Re: [blparent] a new school

Hello V,

Go with your gut instinct on this one.  I know that Gab wants to be cool and
not stick out since she's getting older but as you know there are a few
factors a parent needs to consider before letting their child walk home
without parent supervision.  First off, how safe is the area?  If you live
in a really safe neighborhood that is at least a comforting factor, not to
say that protects them from all harm, but it's peace-of-mind.  Secondly, how
safe is the walking rout?  Are there crossing guards where there should be
near the school and are drivers pretty respectful of children walking in the
area.  Additionally, I think that walking with other kids would always have
to be a must for safety since there's power in numbers, but as you know it's
crucial to know who those kids are she's walking with and where on the rout
will it be her turn to go home?  In other words, will Gab be walking in a
group of 8 kids and be in the last 2 to go home and if so for how long will
it be just her or just her and another kid walking?  I hope this all makes
sense and happy new school year for you and your daughter.

Erin

-----Original Message-----
From: blparent-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:blparent-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
Behalf Of Veronica Smith
Sent: Tuesday, August 09, 2011 9:11 PM
To: 'NFBnet Blind Parents Mailing List'
Subject: [blparent] a new school

I just wanted to tell you that Gab is starting midschool tomorrow.  This is
a bit scarey for me as we now live in walking distance, no more buses for
us.
I and a couple of mom's will walk a group of kids to the new school but the
flipside, they want to walk home alone.  I want to go meet them, but they
already told me they are now midschoolers and want to walk home alone.
I know in a couple of weeks this will be old hat, but right now, I am not
ready to untie the strings. V


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