Canadian CPS equivalent prohibits father from letting kids use city buses without adult supervision

[killerrin]

This has to be a Vancouver/B.C thing. When I lived in Toronto, and even now in Ottawa I see young children under 10 riding the public transit system to school/back home all the time. Youngest being at least 6-7. Hell, they even have a safety volunteer (crossing guards) who will get on somewhere along the route and ride with them all the way to school. Just to provide an example on the route I used take to the office, it was half way through from the main station, with tons of kids getting on at the main station and before them. In the end, there are no problems and nobody bats an eye at it

 

[Arebours]

I don't know how it is in Canada, but in other places in the world adults do harm small children. And yes I know most attacks on children are initiated by someone they know but if you dont have to expose your kids to the potential dangers of an actual busload of strangers then why would you. This isn't helicopter parenting. It's common sense. Ive seen a lot of people online who seem to think that you're coddling children by not teaching them things the hard way. A kid will learn not to stick their fingers into outlets by getting shocked the first time, sure, but I'd rather not be a dick and just explain to them that doing so would hurt.

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We used to take the bus alone to school as 8 year olds in Sweden, and we didn't even have any cellphones. I'm sure kids still do the same. Here in japan I see seven year oldish kids take the bus/train or walk to school alone all the time, in fact it's encouraged here. Some people, especially in some countries, seem to be conditioned to see danger in everything.

 

[CaptainK]

It's pretty normal in Hong Kong as well, for first graders to take public transit to school by themselves. It's not like they're heading into unfamiliar territory or trying to navigate by themselves, they just take the same route every day. And it's not like they're traveling in the dead of night when the streets are dark and the buses are near empty. They travel during the day when there's lots of people around. Plenty of good strangers to help them out if need be.

 

[ezrarh]

I don't know how it is in Canada, but in other places in the world adults do harm small children. And yes I know most attacks on children are initiated by someone they know but if you dont have to expose your kids to the potential dangers of an actual busload of strangers then why would you. This isn't helicopter parenting. It's common sense. Ive seen a lot of people online who seem to think that you're coddling children by not teaching them things the hard way. A kid will learn not to stick their fingers into outlets by getting shocked the first time, sure, but I'd rather not be a dick and just explain to them that doing so would hurt.

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Kids are more likely to die from car accidents. Guess no one should ever put their kids in a car. Coddling your kids and not giving them freedom has other negative side effects too.

 

[Squarehard]

I'm okay with this as long as they aren't riding alone, and the kids are taught to ride with one another to use the transit system.

 

[Unknownlight]

As someone who lives in Vancouver and takes public transport daily, I'm completely comfortable with this situation. Nothing's going to happen to these kids. The morning commute surrounded by students and 9-to-5 workers is one of the safest places you could be.

That said, I'm really uncomfortable with issuing a blanket "Yes, it's totally fine for an 11-year-old to take care of three smaller children while far from home". I'm perfectly fine with it in this circumstance in this city with this responsible parent, but there a lot of circumstances where I'd be completely not fine with it at all.

Obviously deciding these things on a case-by-case basis is the ideal option, but then you're relying a lot on arbitrary judgments and creating weird cases of precedence.

I really don't know.

 

[Baroque]

We used to take the bus alone to school as 8 year olds in Sweden. I'm sure kids still do the same. Here in japan I see seven year oldish kids take the bus/train or walk to school alone all the time, in fact it's encouraged here. Some people, especially in some countries, seem to be conditioned to see danger in everything.

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I'm assuming by "we" you mean a bunch of other kids along with yourself, right? A culture, like in Japan, where kids are expected to take public transport and there's a large group of them together offers its own set of protections. If there's 50 kids in a train the odds of someone doing something to them are really low cuz it'd be harder to get away with it. On the other hand, there is no such culture in this Canadian man's town as evidenced by the lack of other parents being hit with the same citation. As for other cases where a small number of kids have to ride public transportation by force, because of a lack of a car or school-provided transportation, it's unfortunate that it has to happen. I would hope no child has to go through all that but I know that's not the world we live in. I understand that there are circumstances that can't be helped. Still, I feel there's a great difference between only 4 kids riding a bus by themselves for 45 minutes because their father wants to teach them about self-reliance and kids who have no choice but to do so. This man has the means to ensure his kids get to school through other methods.

 

[Lagamorph]

Whilst I think this is a good lesson for the kids to learn at this age, I don't think it's one to put into practice at this age.
It'd be one thing for the 11 year old to do this alone, but an 11 year old really can't and shouldn't be given sole responsibility for 3 younger children.

 

[Deleted member 15737]

My brothers and I took a 3 hour Amtrak trip every other weekend, on our own. Spent the weekend with dad then Amtrak back to mom. 6, 8, 10.

This is crazy. An 11 year old knows if something bad is happening and can call for help. What else can anyone do to prevent tragedy?

Also is safer for the 3 together than the 11 year old alone. If someone were to try taking 1 kid, the others would be there to notice. If someone tried pretending to be a parent, the others would be there to say no way.

 

[FriskyCanuck]

It is actually more dangerous to drive your kids to school and drop them off than it is to have them walk.

 

[TarNaru33]

You can teach kids to be self-sufficient and all that crap without putting them in danger like that. Especially when it seems like there's no need for it. Dude apparently doesn't have a car on purpose. Sidenote: Not knowing how to ride a bus isn't gonna make you a shitty adult.

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Dude, this is a good thing. The reliance on personal vehicles is causing major economic issues.

Also I love how so many of you are so against this. These kids are more safer doing this than having someone drive them. As a person who lived in NYC as a child, I walked to school myself since I was 9. They are in a crowded city with multiple eyes around them, so long as they stay distant to strangers and heed traffic, the vast majority are going to be safe. Boomers love to talk shit about younger generations when they are a large part of the reason the younger generations are the way they are and in the situation they are in.

 

[FriskyCanuck]

Dude lives in downtown Vancouver and people expect him to own a car? Having a car and living downtown defeats the entire purpose of living downtown in the first place.

 

[Napoleonthechimp]

I was riding the bus at 8, maybe even younger but I can't remember well enough to attach an age to it.

 

[tabris]

Those kids are getting on the bus in a very well off part of downtown (Yaletown) and I assume their school is in West Vancouver - also a very well off part of town - by the 45 mins away piece.