Kindergarden School Bus Travel: 5 Tips To Keep Your Child Safe and Happy

Can you believe your son or daughter is heading to kindergarten? You probably have a ton of mixed emotions about the whole “kindergarten” issue, but now your child is going to ride the bus too? You’re a mom or dad who needs a few tips to help your kindergartner have a smooth transition (and to maybe help you with the transition as well).

1. Tour the bus

Most people have great memories of their bus riding adventures as kids. Well, the first stop in making sure your child has great memories is to take a tour. If your school has kindergarten roundup, then a bus might be available for you to check out. If not, I would suggest calling the transportation department to see if you can get a one on one tour. You might even be able to ride the bus with your child on a “tour.”

2. Take it easy

I think a lot of negativity about the bus comes from parents themselves. Bad experiences from your childhood do not need pushed on your kids. Instead, take a moment and channel those experiences into something positive. You know what to look out for in the best interest of your child, thanks to your experiences. Just take the whole bus riding thing a little easier on the emotions, and everything will be fine.

3. Talk to the bus driver

Getting more involved in your child’s life is one way to ease anxiety. I know bus drivers do not have a lot of time to chat, but at least have a small chat with them. It’s also smart to see what plan the bus driver has for protecting kindergartners. I mean, let’s face it; these kindergartners are a lot smaller than the rest of the gang. A lot of schools have protocol put in place to help protect kindergartners while riding the bus. For example: kindergartners ride up front.

4. Head to the bus stop

There are a lot of bus stops these days, instead of the bus picking your child up at your house. If you can work it out, stay with your child the entire time and watch them get on the bus and off the bus. You will want this peace of mind in knowing your child is headed to school without any interventions. Do a few trial runs to make sure you can get to the bus stop on time and without any delay. I should mention that you should prepare for some bus delays, at least during the first few days of school.

5. Have your child ask questions

It’s great when parents and children have open communication. Make it easy for your child to come and talk to you, when there’s a problem. You want your child to tell you if something went wrong and you can work together to fix the problem. So many families aren’t involved in this aspect of school, but it’s so important. Talk to your child and KNOW what’s going on in their lives.

Take a deep breath, mom and dad. Your “baby” is growing up. This is one of their biggest responsibilities in life right now. While it may not see a big deal to you, it’s a turning point in their lives. Stick to these tips and you should have no problems when your kindergartner rides the bus this fall.