I let my 2 young kids walk to sports practice by themselves. Other kids started asking their parents if they could join them.

The author’s daughters, not pictured, walked three blocks alone to sports practice.

As my daughters prepared to return to school last January, I reviewed our schedule. My fourth grader and kindergartener were signed up for the swim team for the first time. To get them to the practices three afternoons a week, I would need to stop working about an hour earlier than usual. It wasn’t ideal.

Then I thought, “Why can’t they just walk?” The pool was on a college campus just three blocks from their school.

I grew up walking a half mile to and from school every day. That’s not an option for my girls since we live in a rural area, about a 20-minute drive from town. But once they were in town, walking seemed like the obvious solution. My biggest hesitation was that no other kids were walking to practice despite how popular swimming was.

My husband was hesitant, but the girls were immediately excited

I was set on the idea, but my husband wasn’t so sure. Like me, he didn’t have any safety concerns. He was just worried about what other people would think.

He thought our 9-year-old would be fine but worried our 5-year-old could cause trouble. But we know our kids and ultimately felt sure our youngest would follow her big sister’s lead during the walk.

With my husband on board, I talked with my daughters. They were immediately excited about the idea. They love going places directly after school, and the novelty of a walk with no adults was appealing. I told the school the girls would be “walkers.” I prepared for questions or pushback but didn’t get any.

We prepped the girls with lots of safety instructions

Before the girls started walking, we went over logistics. We mapped the possible routes, and when the girls chose one I wouldn’t have selected, I had to bite my tongue — it was up to them. We covered crosswalk safety and made them promise to stay together.

I emphasized that help was always nearby if they needed it. It’s important to me that they feel safe in our community and know that they can count on our neighbors. I reminded them they could always go back to school, into the police station along the route, or into the college athletic center and ask to use the phone.

I assured the girls they could do this, but they didn’t need to hear that — they weren’t worried at all.

4 families were walking by the end of swim practice

On the first day of swim practice, I finished work and headed to the pool. I held my breath as I went into the locker room and breathed a sigh of relief when I saw both girls changed for swimming and having a snack.

“Did they walk?” another mom asked me at pickup. She wasn’t sure if her two daughters could handle the walk, but soon, they asked to walk with my kids. By the end of swim season, four sets of siblings were walking from school to practice. I have no idea if that happened because I was the one to break the ice, but it was heartening to see more kids walking independently. The kids loved it so much that they chose walking over a ride, even on the coldest days.

I have many fond memories of walking to and from school, whether chatting with the crossing guard, making up silly games, or just exploring with friends. Walking to swim practice gave my kids, and eventually their friends, the unsupervised, independent space to have similar experiences.

I never want them to miss out on opportunities because I’m worried about what others might think, and I don’t want the culture of helicopter parenting to dictate what’s right for my family. So come swim season this year, they’ll be walking again — and I hope their friends join.