[Etta]

Does anybody let their kids bike to school? My children have been begging me to let them. They will be in 1st and 3rd grade this coming fall. It's probably only about a 5-10 minute commute, kind of trafficky in the morning around the school. They have a bike rack out front of the school where they could lock them up with a cable lock. But I am not sure what they would do with their helmets during the day. I don't think they will fit in their small cubbyholes in the classroom. Anybody else's kids bike to school? At what age did they start?
Willing to hear anyone's advice or tips on this subject matter.

 

[tajcrews]

You could always ride with them or walk with them to see how it goes and if they and you could handle it.

 

[TxCyclist]

You can't ride your bike to school here until you are in the 6th grade. I guess it would depend on the route, skill of the rider and your neighborhood but 1st grade is pretty young.

 

[michaelangelo]

tajcrews has a good idea. Bike or walk with the for the few first week and see how it goes! Then you can better decide...

 

[sarahk]

Down here lots of schools ban the kids from riding until they are 10 which is ridiculous but in our part of town they've had to build extra bike sheds it's become so popular. The kids even ride to preschool.

I would definitely ride with them - it gives the kids more confidence, the drivers more confidence and you're not at home hoping they're ok. If you'd normally be walking them then riding with them is actually taking up less of your day.

I ride my 12 year old daughter to school (2x a week) because it's further, well only 6km, but it's a big deal to her and the roads are busy and very hilly. It makes the difference between her being happy to ride and her not wanting to. Her little brother will ride with me on one of the trips. That's a bigger ask as it takes an hour out of my day at both ends of the school day.

However as she gets older and wants to go places she'll be more likely to think about using her bike rather than just relying on us or sulking because we can't get her someplace. I think it's a good investment.