[ajjhmf]

Okay, we live about a mile from J's school. He's a walker. I will pick him up if it's raining, but now that the weather has turned cold, I'm trying to figure out when it's too cold for him to walk home.

I make sure he's dressed warmly and has a good coat, hat and gloves. The walk home seems to be a good break for him, energy wise. It also gives him some additional fresh air and time to unwind a bit before he gets home.

Tomorrow's forecast is for the mid 30s with a strong chance of flurries.

I'm just trying to figure out where to draw the line, ya know?

[lucyjoy]

How far is the walk?

S walks no matter what the temp is or even if it's raining.

If J rode a bus, he would be standing at a bus stop in the cold, wouldn't he?

Kids generally are not bothered by being cold. If the time is not long enough to get frostbite, he can walk.

[aspenhall]

Can he do something like ride his bike? to speed up the walk?

[mrsred]

I would base part of my decision on how wet it is. If it is 35 and raining he is likely to get much colder than if it is 28 and dry. Take a walk yourself for a block or two. If you are miserable, he will be too.

[Indy]

I think you are doing it right. If it is nasty outside, I would get him...otherwise walking is good.

[sheababy]

As long as he is dressed warm and not complaining, I think he can walk no matter what the temp, except raining, snowing or a bitter wind.

I remember playing outside for hours when it was cold so a 20 minute walk shouldn't hurt.

[Barksum]

Does he ever complain? And not the normal whiney kid thing. When I lived in Alaska we walked to the bus stop, had recess, and I'd walk with friends to their home from their bus stop all in the wind and snow. If it was blizzard conditions the parents would snow machine out for us. We truly didn't mind the cold much, but not being able to see was a problem. When I lived in a cold rainy climate, though, walking while wet and trying to keep school books dry, etc., was really the pits. I'd have more compassion for rain than snow!

Hm...when we lived in a really hot climate the house was at the bus stop so no big deal. Although that's where the crop dusters would soak us while we were standing in line for the bus. Getting soaked in DDT, defoliants, and herbicides probably wasn't such a great thing, I think.

[ajjhmf]

Well, he's not complaining, so that is a good thing. I may end up having to drive him anyway as his lack of social skills, poor impulse control and overall negative attitude towards the other kids at school seems to be causing him trouble. Sigh.

I really need him to walk so M can get his nap in.

[athikers]

Here we play outside with our kids anytime it is above zero (not freezing, zero). If you've got the proper clothes and he's active (like walking), he should be fine.

[Barksum]

LOL Jenny. That would be our issue; lack of impulse control along the way. If someone suggested running 10 blocks in the opposite direction I'm not sure he'd think that was wrong, and I'm not sure that he'd be able to find his way home after that kind of caper. Of if someone started wacking bushes in peoples' yards as they walked along...or throwing things at passing cars...or kicking their backpack in front of them along the way...well, you get the picture!

[qs mom]

My son's impulse control is so poor, that he has always had door to door bus service, not matter how close the school is.

If he didn't have a bus pick him up in front of my parents house, he'd never make it to school. If he had to wait on the corner, he would never stay there long enough for a bus to come. He'd walk off!

If he walked to school, he stop at Dairy Queen and wait for them to open. Or the pizza place. Or he'd be in the playground across the street from school all day. He asked he we could go there today - it was 22 degrees! And he was really pretty mad when I said no.

Could you get a bus ride written into the IEP?

[ajjhmf]

I can ask about a bus, but I doubt I would get it.

We made the decision this weekend that J isn't going to walk any more. It has nothing to do with the weather, but he just can't seem to handle that much freedom right now. If he's still there in the spring, we might reconsider if his meds are going okay.

We got the application for the charter school this weekend and we will most likely be moving him there once a spot opens. We still have to wait for him to be acepted and visit the program, but there are just too many pluses for J. Our current school may be able to meet his academic needs, but the other one actually includes social skills, brain gym and interactive learning in their curriculum. Plus, the kids are never unsupervised. They are escorted everwhere and have close supervision in the lunch room and on the playground to reinforce the social skill stuff.

On another note, the stealing took a turn for the worse. Last night he took some stranger's tokens at the batting cage with his dad. At church he took H's candy she earned in Sunday school for learning her verse. At home he's been taking M's snacks. I feel like all I do is have him turn out his pockets these days.