The issue of kids walking to school alone is back in focus

There’s a furore right now about an issue we’ve all likely dealt with: When is a child old enough to walk to school alone?

A notice carrying the Queensland Police Service insignia has been doing the rounds – again – on social media, that warns parents that children under the age of 12 can’t walk or ride to school unaccompanied.

“Kids under 12 cannot walk or ride to school alone, there must be some level of supervision,” the notice says. “Blatant disregard for this responsibility has already led to criminal charges against a parent in Miles and others could easily face prosecution.”

The same notice first made its appearance on social media in 2015, then again late last year, and the ABC says that it’s legitimate: police in Miles, Queensland, published it in a school newsletter two years ago after they found a 6-year-old girl walking a considerable distance to a location she had never visited before with just a handwritten map for guidance. 

But the new attention on the notice has raised plenty of questions about when children are permitted to walk to school, or elsewhere, unaccompanied. According to the ABC, the laws vary from state to state, with New South Wales having no law on the issue at all. 

Kidspot.com.au, the popular parenting website, spoke to non-profit Kidsafe, which says children aged from 5 to 9 don;t have the sensory awareness to be totally safe around cars but that from the age of 9 their peripheral vision develops and they’re more aware of vehicles and their walking route. But the busier the roads, the older a child needs to be to navigate the walk, Kidsafe warns.

What age did you walk to school alone? Do you think police are being unnecessarily cautious or are the risks higher for children today?