Hello everyone. It has been awhile since I've posted but I have been lurking and learning! I need advice and opinions about an issue we are dealing with. Unfortunately, Macy (6yrs old) will be riding the bus home from school this fall. I hate it but with kids at two different schools, and me working night shift, I don't see another option. The problem is that the bus drops off at the entrance to our neighborhood which leaves quite a long walk for Macy. I'm not comfortable with her walking that far to our house. I can drive to the entrance to pick her up but I really feel like they should add another stop INSIDE the neighborhood. Do you think I have a right to request this and am I being unreasonable? Thanks!
Yes!! you do ...and whats it going to hurt to ask anyways ...my dd just started riding the bus these last few weeks of school and it was a very scary time for mom but so far things have gone well and hopefully they will this next week and next year...good luck
You might want to look into the bus that picks up special need kids. I beleive this bus picks up right at the house.
A child with diabetes can exercise like any other child -- in fact, blood sugar are more in range when a child has regular exercise. I would figure out how to manage the snacks and the insulin so she can do this walk every day. Don't shun exercise. Exercise related lows usually come after exercise, not during.
I don't see it as a diabetes issue but more as a safety issue for a 6 year old. Figure out exactly how far she has to walk and call transportation. Generally, they have some sort of rule about how far is reasonable for kids to walk. But they also need to consider the safety even if its a short distance. Will other kids be walking as far as your house....perhaps some "responsible" 4th or 5th graders? Also are they literally being dropped off at the entrance to your neighborhood? Is that street outside the entrance safe? Even our middle and high school busstops are just inside the neighborhood so they aren't hanging out on a busier road while waiting for the bus. When I looked into moving busstops for my guys when they were young, they generally said that if I could get signatures from all (or most?) of the parents at the busstop, they would make the move. They may not be willing to do it, esp with the economy like it is. But it is worth asking about. Before you call, consider some reasonable options.....they like to drop at corners (though after telling me they only drop off at corners I discovered they also drop of right smack dab in the middle of one street here...no where near a corner.)
First, make sure that her BG is checked a few minutes prior to bus departure. That way there is enough time to treat a low if necessary. Give them a minimum acceptable number for her BG to be prior to riding bus. I agree that it is a diabetes safety issue with a 6 year old to walk a long distance. Heat, cold, stress (barking dog, stranger, strange car, etc.), exercise, excitement - so many factors can cause a sudden drop in BG. Someone mentioned the special needs bus. That is always an option. Of course, you could show them that it would be more cost effective for them to slightly alter the current bus drop off instead of having to alter the special needs route. A minor departure from a route is less expensive. Call, write or visit. You cannot get a "yes" if you never ask. If they deny your request, you are in no different place than before you asked. So, ask.
make sure they don't schedule her PE at end of day. end of day is worst for type 1's. mine was always rushing to get to nurse to check bs/fix a low. our bus won't come into neighborhood since they aren't state roads/this has been brought up here before. not because of D, but since the kids have to walk so far. it was brought up long ago when we had a serial killer in area. everyone was alittle paranoid back then. he's dead now.
This mom isn't "shunning" exercise! She's asking about bus policy, and issues of safety for a 6 year old!
What is quite a long distance? Can she see the house from the bus stop? Is there a friend she can walk with? A responsible older student? You could even "hire" an older student to escort her home - giving them some small monthly payment, etc. You could always ask for the inside stop but if you are home and able, I would suggest just going to get her. I am not sure how your work schedule is affecting the bus drop off time, etc. - are you still asleep when she gets home?
I called our the main bus garage manager and explained the same issue for Connor. He now has a bus stop right in front of our house, so I can see him at all times from my house. They were very willing to accomodate my request for a closer stop within view of my home - for safety. Good luck!
Yes you do have the right...Here, my children are bused also...and if your child has a medical need (which she does!) then they have to accomodate her needs...Here the bus will pick up a child at his front door and return her to the front door... Ask at your school...maybe its part of the 504?? Good luck
Dylan catches the school bus each day, I drop him off at the bus stop on my way to work, and after school, he gets off the bus stop and walks to his babysitters with her son. Its a leisurely walk for him from the bus to the babysitters, but he does it with her son, so that is fine, if the son was not there, my babysitter picks him up. I wouldn't ask the bus to make a special stop, and Dylan wouldn't expect it.
Thank you for the feedback. To the person who made the comment about exercise, I am not shunning exercise and I really think you need to reread the post. My child is only six years old. The walk is quite long for her. It is up a long, giant hill and then down another street, so she can in no way see our house. She is typically lower in the afternoons, which also worries me. I am a nurse and I work nights. I only sleep a few hours during the day when the kids are at school. My children will be at two schools this year and they are far apart. It is impossible to pick them both up through the car rider line and I cannot change my schedule. So, I will definitely contact the transportation department to see what I can get accomplished. They probably won't agree to add another stop but I have to at least try.
If it were my 6 year old I would also want to see if the bus could drop her off/pick her up closer to the house. We never had this problem because Kaleb's normal bus stop just happens to be at our house for all of the kids on the block. Good luck and please let us know what they say.
The suggestions are good. If there is not an older kid or Mom of a friend who can walk her home then the Special Needs bus would be a great option at least till she is older. They should be able to do this. Call and talk. Ali
I would go ahead and ask. When my Nephew was going to public school (He now attends the Washington School for the Blind) they picked him up and dropped him off in front of the house. He has life-threatening seizures and his parents and I felt it was a safety issue. I feel the same way about this situation. At 6 I would not let my child walk that far without someone who is older and responsible being with them. I would definitely ask for the bus to pick her up and drop her off in front of your home. By all means go ahead and ask. And to make sure, I would put it in her 504 plan.
If you're home when the bus usually arrives, could you pick her up at the bus stop? When my bus used to drop off all the kids who live in a trailer park, it would just drop them all off in the parking lot at the front, and there would always be at least one or two parents there to take their kids back to their houses. You could drive to the bus stop to pick her up or walk her home. If you walked with her, you'd be using less gas, getting exercise, and you'd be with her the entire walk home.
I agree, an unsupervised walk home would be out of the question for my 6 year old. He is terribly active to begin with, and he runs the risk of lows with the smallest of exertion. (Yet to adjust his Lantis to account for his activity-related lows will leave highs the rest of day...) Fortunately, I've been able to both drop off and pick up my son every day (so far). That being said, I've found the school district very user friendly. Even the county-employed medical experts, while diabetes trained, are not diabetes experts like a parent would be. They don't get which highs are ok (like before exercise or within the time-frame of fast acting insulin) or when today's lows are leftover from yesterday's t-ball practice- which has a different impact from an actual t-ball game... So with doctor's support and armed with experience, I've been able to discuss most successfully any special arrangements for his care, simply because I've logged more face-time caring for MY diabetic child than any of them.
Absolutly suggest (demand?) help with transport here!...Are there any other sp needs busses coming into development?...otherwise you def need somone to do a favor (neighbor?) to meet your child at the stop...Nobody else picks their kids up???? Funny in our neighborhood even just a 3 block walk to bus stop and you see tons of parents their!!....Our bus stop for Em in on our corner, but 1 day she dicided to get off another stop and walk 2 Looong blocks...and got home @40!!!!! PS i cant really believe that comment was made by a D parent...Any child in decent control on insulin can experience a low at any time ESPECIALLY walking after school!!!! ) Em many times leaves school High (adrenaline??) and returns LOW...also...can you keep contact and make sure bus driver has your info just in case ER on bus???? Or accident or somthing???
