Helping Your Child Prepare for the School Bus

Helping Your Child Prepare for the School Bus

“This post is a partnered post and may contain affiliate links. These thoughts and opinions are in line with my own personal beliefs.”

Not all children get to walk to a school which is close to home. Not all children have the luxury of being driven there by a parent or carer either!

The school bus is a useful mode of transport for children who live a certain distance from school and can’t rely on their parent to take them daily. It’s more common in secondary school but some primary school children need to catch a school bus too.

If you’re facing your child’s first term on the school bus, you and your child may have a few worries about the new routine. It’s important to discuss the new routine with your child carefully – make sure they understand what it means to catch the bus.

The most important fact is that if they miss the bus, then there won’t be another – the school bus is usually one which has been arranged by a local authority or by the school itself.

Ensure your child knows what the bus looks like but be careful to find out if it will always be that particular bus or if it will sometimes be a different model. This will save confusion.

Ensure your child knows exactly where to stand to catch the bus and which stop to get off at. It’s useful to do a few dummy runs so that they can look out for landmarks and be certain to alight at the correct bus stop.

If your child is younger and you’re worried they may get travel sick, talk to them about the importance of sitting near the front where they can see out of the front window if possible because seeing where you’re travelling to, helps with the symptoms of travel sickness. Another tip is never to read whilst travelling, this can make travel sickness worse.

Discuss what to do if things do go wrong. Your child should have a plan which they know to implement if they miss the bus or get off at the wrong stop. For example, a child of secondary school age should know which stops are before and after their own – that way if they get off too soon or too late, they will know how far from home they are.This will really help prepare them for the school bus.

Younger children should be told to return to school if they miss the bus home and to inform a member of staff. Staff will be primed to look out for children who should have left for home already, this international school in the UK for example has rigorous guidelines for the end of the day.

The bus can be fun and your child will hopefully adjust to the routine very quickly and gather some good memories too.