Walking Your Child to Class

I think this is one of those rules you should respect. Parents in the hallways are very distracting, even if you are in and out quickly there are others who no doubt would hang around and get in the way, plus it IS good for the kids' independence :)

This is the same rule at my kids school. I think it is a good rule to have. Parents like to hang around and gossip with each other. It can get distracting and crowded to have so many adults in the school.

I think I like our schools policy better. We drop our kids off where a teacher, the school nurse and the Principle are there to supervise them plus I can watch my daughter walk into the school. I then know that the building is secure and there are no other adults in the building except school personell unless they have signed in at the front desk.

You got a whole month!? We only get the first week! I don't like this rule, but I understand it. I think it is good to keep "strange adults" out of the school. (How could they possibly monitor if you were a parent dropping off or a monster...ya know?) It hurts because I am a worrier mom and I like to make sure that my son arrives safely to class and into another adults hands. I always have a fear of him running into school and out the back door. I just walk him as far as I can and watch until I can't see him anymore and say a little prayer.
Good luck, momma and prayers for your peace.

Having a ton of parents walking around creates a ton of confusion. I'm surprised you get to walk them to class for a whole month!! At my kids school, you can walk them pretty much the first week (which is either 3 or 4 days), after that, they're on their own. My kids have had zero problems going to class themselves since kindergarten (my oldest is in 2nd grade now), and their school is this big old ancient building. *I* get confused and turned around in there, but they know it like the back of their hand! We have a 'goodbye zone' in the front foyer... but even walking kids into the building is discouraged. My kids take the bus, but when I do have to drive them, I drop them off on the sidewalk. It's never been an issue, they're fully capable of doing this themselves. There are always teachers monitoring the halls to help students if need be.

I'd see how it goes before bringing this up... who knows? You might enjoy the fact that you don't have to get dressed first thing in the morning and walk around in public ;) Give it a chance, and then once things calm down a bit, if you still want to walk your kiddo to class once in a while, bring it up after the dust settles. I'm sure there's a handful of parents that are on the same page as you, so maybe something will change before you have to address it.

Do they all start school at the same time in the morning?

Do they enter the same doors?

Can you just walk him up to the school door closest to his class?

I know at some schools, the halls are so full, having parents there really makes it crowded, loud and can be a bit chaotic.. It is all of the children with their backpacks.. makes those hallways tight. Maybe this is one reason they really do not want the kids in there.

And yes, I do think it is important for the children to be independent enough to be able to walk to the classes in their own school. This is a development for them.

And how is this "parent involvement" if you are only walking your child to class? The reason I ask is that if you write a letter and state this, you need it to make sense.

We were only allowed to walk them the first two days, even in kindergarten. I'm fine with the rule for the reasons others have mentioned. Our youngest son is in second grade now, and he doesn't mind at all.

When we walk them we have to check in with the office first, get a hall pass, and then can only walk them to the door, which when you could see my kids room from the office was a pain. All that for 20 steps!

It sounds like there are some parents or kids that have a hard time saying goodbye. Keep in mind that the rule may be aimed at younger kids like Kinders who are still clingers and criers. So the school is trying to create a zone away from the classroom for this. It wouldn't be fair to Susie the 1st grader who can't stand to leave her mom to be told that she can't be walked to the class so that she can have each last second with her mom, and yet you Billy the 2nd grader's mom DOES get to walk with him.

Kids tend to pull out the tears when a parent leaves which can be upsetting to other kids and a distraction to the class. Usually within minutes the kid is fine, the parent is scared and the class is off schedule.

I would try not to take offense to the rule. They've been in school for over a month. Your child should be comfortable finding their way to class.

Hi K.C.~

I had the same feeling as you did a few years back when my twins were in first grade. One of their teachers said this to the 4 of us during October conferences (kids and hubby): "We want to see Michael and Christina enter the first grade hallway on their own starting next semester. This new routine will allow them to grow independently."

Well.... it was tough for me to let them go and spread their wings, but it happened! My husband would see them off in the morning too. So the 4 of us walked to school each day and entered the office doors together. We then walked to where the 1st grade hallway BEGINS and my husband and I said our goodbyes from there and watched our kids enter their hallway without us. They got what they needed to get from their lockers and entered their rooms. (Maybe they'll let you transition like this? That helped us.)

STAGE 2 of the TRANSITION....Then when second grade came we weaned ourselves a bit more. We said our goodbyes from just inside the school near the front doors (office doors).
STAGE 3: After a month of this, we stayed right outside the school and said our good byes.

STAGE 4:Third grade came and we said our good byes from 100 ft. away from the front doors.

STAGE 5: Now it's fourth grade and we say our good byes just a bit farther away. (Many kids at this age are saying their goodbyes at home and then walking together or riding bikes to school together.) However my husband and I prefer to still watch to make sure that they enter the school doors. We know they are safe hands when they enter there, too.

So.... yes it was hard but it was worth it. My daughter would cling to me in first grade and keep giving me "just one more kiss and hug." My kids were in the afternoon kindergarten and the teacher just opened the side door and only the kids could come on in. Then when we all entered the front door in 1st grade, we just started a routine of walking them all the way to their classrooms. I liked saying hi to the other kids and to the teacher. I never told long winded stories to the teachers because I knew they were busy.

BUT their were a few moms who would do this and that put the teachers in an awkward position. They probably wanted to tell them to stop talking but they didn't. It also makes the hallways much more crowded and really it DID MAKE MY KIDS FEEL MORE CONFIDENT WITHOUT ME HOVERING AROUND THEM. That was hard to initially take in and accept.... kind of bittersweet, you know?

I would think twice about writing a letter. Your kids will do just fine. It's all about "letting go a bit" and feeling okay with it. Take some deep breaths... I've been in your shoes. You say "they claim it teaches independence." Well... they are RIGHT it does teach each child independence.

I taught 2nd grade before having my kids and all parents said their goodbyes at the recess doors. Then I would come outside when the morning bell rang and I would go to my line of students and walk only the kids inside and upstairs and to their/my classroom.

Good luck.... there are plenty of other things that you can still enjoy doing with your son. Just let this one thing go.

I am a substitute and have been for the same elementary school for 10+ years.

Some parents do walk children to K and 1 but it usually dwindles WAY down by 2nd grade. Actually they prefer parents do not walk the children in but are good about it especially the first month and by the time conferences roll around, you can tell what parents just want to say bye in the mornings, what parents are having a hard time letting go, and what parents are just helicopters.

As a sub, I've had parents even go out at recess with me because I guess they think I can't take care of little Johnny better than they can or read to the class as well since some stay in the reading class. UGH.

I brought this to the attention of the last teacher I subbed for (1 week) and she told me "it is not you with the parents this year, we all have helicopters that aren't leaving the classroom".

For security purposes, it is good to not have parents all over the classroom. For social purposes, the helicopter's child is not gaining social activity when mom is hanging out all day.

A good way to be involved is to volunteer on the days they needs parents to be involved in the classroom, working on projects for the teachers.

I will say that in 10 years, I have never seen it so bad this year. Our principal is strongly considering a no walking to class and/or hanging out in class rule because it is distracting to the students and teachers in charge.

I get it if you just want to go once in a while and see no issue with that. The issue we have as teachers are those parents who just don't let go.

I don't think there is any law but if you feel that strongly about it, ask the principal. You might agree once you get the reasoning behind the decision.

Good luck

While it sounds like a great idea to let parents who want to walk their kids to class every day do so, in practice it can create problems - not the least of which is security. In my kids school after the first week all parents are required to check in at the front desk if they want to walk their kid to class so that they can get a hall pass - which has their picture ID on it. That way they know if some adult walking down the hallway is supposed to be there or is cruising for kiddos. Not trying to be flippant, but I've heard 3 stories in the last couple weeks about sex-offender parents being allowed on campus - sorry, but I don't want those people walking the halls with my kids when no one knows they are there!! It's for your kids safety that they close campuses, please consider that.

I have 4 kids and have 3 grandchildren. Other than the first day of school in kindergarten we have never been allowed to walk the children all the way to class. We walked them to school. but once you get to the doors of the school what is the reasoning for walking them all the way to class? thats just setting them up for other kids teasing and making fun of them. "mama have to bring you to school again today?" and the like. I just don't get the need. Especially a middle school student. Mine would have been horrified.

Part of the issue with parents being inside the school is a safety issue. How do the teachers know which parent belongs with which kid. If it was allowed for parents to be walking in the school every morning it would be easy for a random person to be in the school with perhaps not being noticed til to late. It's why school doors are mostly locked now and why you have to be buzzed in and then signed in before being allowed past the office. Unless your kid has some sort of problem getting to class on his/her own they should be sent in the doors with a goodbye have a good day. sounds like it is more a separation thing for you than the kids.

Is there some reason you can't still walk your kids to school and say your good byes at the main school entrance? Honestly, I see the school's point of view. Parents in the school can be a distraction. Lingering, chatting, some kids can be clingy and slower to start school routines with parents around, some kids are distracted by other kids' parents (think little Susie coming over and saying, hey, can me and Janie have a playdate after school, please, please, when Susie needs to be sitting down and starting to write down her spelling list) . The teachers and staff need to focus on transitioning the kids into their day, and the kids need to learn to be independent. I know it's so great to get that glimpse into their world if only for a moment or two. I love that too, any time I have a reason to be at school, but I think you should let it go and respect the school's rule. You may be in no way a hinderance to school routines and your child may be starting the day perfectly fine with you walking him or her in, but since that isn't the case with everyone, they have to have this rule. And unfortunately, they can't make a rule for just some people.

My daughter is 25 and my son is 16 and a Junior in high school.
When they were little, I walked them on the first day and that was that.
Unless, of course, there was something that I needed to speak to the teacher about such as, "he really scapped his knee up so there's a bandage on it, but there are a couple more in his back pack just in case".
That kind of thing.
My son went to the same school K-8 so he knew very well how to navigate his way around. But, on the first day, I walked him to class, said Good Morning to the teacher, confirmed where the kids in that class would meet after school for pick up and that was pretty much that.
That's not to say I never chaperoned field trips, helped in the class or with parties, but walking my kids to class each day, no. They knew where they needed to go. Without fail, that's right where they went.

Since you are a working mom, as I am, and was when my kids were younger, maybe you could talk to the teacher about walking the younger one to class on Fridays or something. But really, there isn't any hug or kiss or positive thing to send your kid to class with that can't be done away from the classroom door.
School and the classroom becomes their space and their realm and it's okay for them to have the confidence to make it there on their own.
Keep in mind that if the other kids are walking to class just fine, your child can be fine with it too.
The older they get, the less they're into mommy walking them. It's not that they don't love us, they feel secure enough in doing it on their own.
That's not a bad thing.

Just my opinion.

You can write a letter. You can voice your concerns. Be prepared for it to be understood it's more about what you need than what your child needs.

I mean no offense whatsoever.

Best wishes.

Do you mean walk him into the building at the beginning of the day to make sure he gets to the right place? Not sure what you meant, but by 2nd grade and a month's worth of getting there with you, he should be able to do it. I have to think that if ALL moms walked their kids into the classroom there would be alot of foot traffic in the hallways and a parking issue.Unless there is some sort of safety issue...let go a little mama! He will do great!

My daughters school does this starting after the first day of school. They gave the same reasons about independence, but at our school they line up outside then walk in when the bell rings. So you can stand with them in line and give them hugs and kisses and send them in. In my opinion its not a big deal.

i think it's a great rule. all the little johnny's and suzy's become MUCH more independent much faster if they are encouraged/allowed to do some things for themselves. i have one friend that raised all kinds of hell to be allowed to walk her VERY babyish 1st grader to his classroom every morning - all it's doing is further retarding his social growth and independence. now, it REALLY doesn't sounds like you are "that" parent, but i am glad my kids school doesn't allow it - seems like a major security threat - all kinds of adults roaming the hallways without any checks and balances, who's to say they all leave? i think that is one of the big reasons for these new rules - my school allows it for the first week, and after that, the kiddos have to buck up and head in on their own.

I don't think the school should be able to dictate this to you. I have seen some parents linger every single day right in the doorway of the classroom sometimes even making it difficult for kids to walk through, and this must get annoying for the teachers. The school should focus and emphasize on telling parents not to hang around the classroom, but I don't think they have a right to tell you you can't walk your child to the classroom.

In our district, we can't walk the kids to class after the first week of school. I think past kindergarten this shouldn't be an issue. They know the routine by then. I have to walk my pre-k kid into his class, and honestly, it makes for a traffic jam and confusion in the classroom.

drop off at our school is like this.. you drive through the parking lot.. as you get to the front of the school a teacher opens the car door your kids get out and the teacher shuts the door.. your car should not stop for more than 20 seconds as the line of cars dropping off is long. They discourage parents parking and walking the kids to the front of the school just ties up traffic.. kids line up outside until the bell rings and then they enter the shcool . no parents enter the school.

I think the idea is to limit adults in school. With all the sickos out there, and divorced parents who would 'kidnap' their kids, it's understandable that the schools want to do what you're describing. Also, the kids need to learn that little bit of independence. Walk your student to the school door, but allow the student to take it from there.

Did your mom do that?

Parental involvement can manifest itself in other ways. Let this go. One of the main reasons FOR school is for the kids to develop into individuals later. You wouldn't think of walking your child to his job office would you? Just let it go.

We can't even walk our kids to class the first day, unless you check in at the office and get a pass first. This changed a few years ago and my child was old enough to be fine, but my youngest is starting kindergarten next year and I may have an issue with it then! We do have "meet the teacher" a few days before school starts but, now that I think about it....I may have a BIG issue with it next year. We used to be able to walk them to class the first week of school.

Can you see the classroom door when you drop off your kids? Is there somewhere outside that you can see them go in?
I would worry if the teacher wasn't in the room yet. I also worry when kids go missing walking into school. I always walk my daughter to class and go in with her. She attends a private school and the staff encourages the parents to walk them, just in case. I don't know of any laws stating that you couldn't walk your child to class. I am all for independence but more for keeping kids safe.

I think it sounds completely normal. We have to take my DD in for PreK and it is horrible. Way too many people in the hall, it is chaos and not a calm start to a day. The older kids can be walked to the door closest to their room and the teacher meets them there so they have a calm start to the morning. I think by 2nd grade he should be able to get to his room on his own.

Also, it would not be possible to do a finger print/background check on every parent to make sure they are OK to be around kids. This year DD's school even has a new rule that if you come in for something and it is not a class event, you have to be escorted by someone in the office to the classroom. I am glad because it means they are working to keep my kids safe.