Riding the School Bus

Riding the bus is a rite of passage. A learning experience for kids. They really need the experience. They learn how to get a long. I do not believe in driving kids when bus is available. As a treat once in a while maybe but not every day.

My son is three and rides the school bus to a special-needs VPK program. He LOVES it! I cried the first day, but he didn't.... He is genuinely upset if I pick him up from school and he doesn't get to ride the school bus. Ha ha.

Good luck!

My 6 year old and my 3 and a half year old ride the bus, we have had a few issues with the 3 and a half year old in the afternoon on the way home, being troublesome to his big sister or to anyone who looks at him crosseyed, but it is just the age and him being tired at the end of a long day. Otherwise they haven't complained at bit - to them it is more time with their friends.

My 9 year old daughter rides the bus to and from school daily. She does not mind it too much and actually does enjoy getting to visit with others she would not necessarily get to see otherwise. She is only on the bus for about a half hour. My 6 year old autistic son also rides the bus to and from school - he rides a special needs bus and he loves it in the morning but by the time the afternoon has hit it can be too much. This is of course understandable seeing as he is on the bus for at least an hour. My two children do attend different schools from one another. My eldest's school is a mile away whereas my youngest's is about 5 miles away from our home.

My daughter loves riding the school bus. This is her first year and she has been wanting to get on that bus since she was 2. She likes it because she gets to chat with kids that are not in her class and some are older. I think if you make it seem fun then your kids will like riding the bus. I think it feels like a right of passage to an older age for them. Good luck!!

My son and his bus buddies love riding the bus. It is like playtime to them. They aren't allowed to bring electronics so they play alot of cards but its mostly social time or finish your homework time. All the kids have grown up together (I guess they all are still growing up together) so they know each other - the older ones look out for the younger ones and all that. Our mornings have turned pretty cold, so every Fri us moms get together to bring the kids at our stops hot chocolate and hot biscuits or donuts while they wait.

Maybe our kids like the bus because we are all pretty close knit. But riding the bus is a privilege my kid doesn't take for granted, which is why he is never late for the bus.

He's only in 1st grade but its been an awesome experience so far.

My boys have always taken the bus when possible. They are 7 and 10 now. Walk to the bus stop by themselves, which is about 2 blocks away. They wait with 68 (yes sixty eight!) other kids! When they come home they walk the two blocks back by themselves as well.
They like it. The bus gets them to school earlier than I do if I drive them so they get an extra 5-10 minutes to play on the playground before school starts.
L.

Our 4th grader rides the school home and he likes it. I take him in the mornings so he only rides it in the afternoons. It gives him a chance to make after school plans with his friends who live nearby and on the same bus. Some of the kids do get rowdy and loud but the bus driver settles it down pretty quick.

My kids both rode a bus for a few years, then the bus route changed and didn't come through here anymore so we walked for 2 years. Now my older son walks to his school and my younger rides the bus that comes through again. The ride is short - he is at the last stop before school and one of the first stops after. It is pretty much identical to when we were walking as far as time goes. The schools here have different start times, so the K-6 and the 7-12 groups are never on the same bus together.

We only had an issue with another kid one time, and it was a doozy, but it was not a bus-specific problem. The bus was simply another environment, but the kid got banned from riding it at least.

In the beginning both my kids loved riding the bus (kindergarten). Now, they tolerate it, we live very near the school, so the ride is very short. If given the choice, they opt to get a ride to school.

I wasn't sure how mine would like it, but he started Kindergarten in the fall and now he takes the bus almost every day. He seems to like it and never hesitates to get on the bus. Our bus driver is great.

The only negatives so far, aside from the fact that the bus comes so early, are: 1. He overheard the older kids discussing a high schooler's suicide. He didn't really understand the nuances of the situation, but we definitely had to discuss that more than I would have liked. 2. Early on he had some conflicts with one kid on the bus. I told him to tell the bus driver that he didn't want to sit with this particular kid any more and that solved the problem immediately. Since then, he seems to have struck up a friendship with the problem kid. Go figure! :/

My daughter loves it. She gets on every morning and is on for about 90 seconds. I LOVE that she spends hardly any time on the bus yet gets to be on it. I think we are very lucky. She rides home 2 days a week and again, the trip is about a minute - but she sits on it a bit longer waiting for departure. She gets off laughing, smiling and waving.

I agree it's a rite of passage. My friend was upset to put her daughter on a bus because she never had been on one as a kid. It's a good learning tool - responsibility for your stuff and to treat others nicely.

My sons school district doesn't provide buses:( last year he was in a different county and rode the bus and loved it! most days he rides his scooter and I walk, it's just about a mile and a half one way.

Mine hated it. I drove them to school every day. Always seemed to be some trouble on the bus. Some like it, some don't. Mine did not because of bullying of others.

I guess it depends on where they end up sitting. Mine have never rode the bus till they were in middle school, so they didn't like it at first, now they just do it because they have to. If I have off from work I usually take them as a treat.

My son takes public transportation to another city where he attends a charter school. From there he catches the school bus to his high school. It's a lot but he loves his HS. He doesn't love riding the bus but has learned to use the time to do schoolwork or watch videos on his laptop. And I like not having to drive 35 miles round trip twice a day to get him to school and back.

My son loved it in kindergarten. It actually really eased his transition, because he sat with a group of kids his own age on the way in to school and then felt like he already had friends starting out.

Now, in 1st grade, he doesn't seem to care as much, but it's never been a problem.

My kids rode the bus in elementary and middle school. Other than the long ride they liked it and never had any issues.

My 4 year old loves it.. he thinks he is cool.

Has been on the bus to school since he was 3.5 for about 1 year now.

My kids don't ride the bus. I would not have bought a house that wasn't within walking distance to schools. If for some reason we didn't live within walking distance to the school I would have them take the bus as opposed to driving them.