How old should your kid be before they are allowed to take public transit by themselves?
This is an interesting, “Mind your own business” story that has been occupying water cooler conversation across the country all week.
A Vancouver single father of four has trained his kids to take public transit to and from school, as the family does not own a car.
The kids are aged 7, 8, 9 and 11.
Someone complained to the Ministry of Children and Family Development (the B.C. version of Children’s Aid) and all were told to stop immediately.
This, despite there not being a law on the books in the province saying how old you have to be to ride the bus.
LISTEN: Liberal trial, picking high school classes, and kids riding the bus
However, where there is no clear law, the ministry has full control to make the call.
As if this man’s life is not challenging enough raising four kids by himself — he needs someone questioning his parental ability?
The reason there is no law is that each kid is different, and develops and matures at different ages.
There are many factors at play here depending on how they were raised.
Most parents know their kids, and obviously, these kids have been raised to be independent and self-sustaining.
In the end, if you have to ask yourself whether your kid is old enough, they’re probably not.
But who better to decide, than the parent?