Getting a 5 year old to go back on the bus

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Forum -> Parenting our children -> School age children

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amother

cornflower

Mon, Oct 12 2015, 9:49 pm

My daughter had a scary story today on the bus. The driver yelled at her and skipped her stop on purpose. Of course I complained to the school and it's being taken care of, but she told me she is never going on the bus again (not that I blame her).

Picking her up everyday is not an option. How do I get her to go on the bus again? Should I pick her up for a few days or is that encouraging her fears? Anyone have any experience with this?

Rutabaga

Mon, Oct 12 2015, 10:00 pm

That's terrible!

Can you arrange to have an older student watch out for her?

mommy3b2c

Mon, Oct 12 2015, 10:06 pm

I hope the bus driver is getting fired! I'm horrified!

yaeli83

Mon, Oct 12 2015, 11:29 pm

Honestly, if the driver wasn't fired, I wouldn't send my kid back on the bus.... I don't know what I would do. Arrange a carpool if it's possible?
But if it's a new driver, I would encourage her by explaining that what the old driver did was not ok, and no one can treat a child like that, which is why there is a new driver, and the new driver knows better. Arrange for an older child, who she knows, to look out for her on the bus, and let your daughter know that the older child is there to help.

I so wish there were an adult on the buses! 5 year olds are still young...

amother

cornflower

Mon, Oct 12 2015, 11:40 pm

Thanks for your reply, she it's a preschool bus so she doesn't have any older sisters with her. I can't imagine them firing her, maybe just telling her what she did was wrong. Having a baby soon so need to work this out!

PassionFruit

Tue, Oct 13 2015, 7:41 am

A five year old is practically a baby. She is legitimately afraid. In my book, making a kid feel safe and making a kid safe are almost equal in importance. The driver needs to be fired and the kid needs to be validated that the driver's behavior was wrong. Until then you need to take her to and from school. A child should never be forced to do something that makes them excessively fearful. Doing so messes up the trust/relationship with you. [at times children are scared of something that does not seem "legitimate," in which case they need to time process, perhaps with a therapist. But forcing a child to do something in a life-is-tuff-DEAL manner is SO so terrible long term.]

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