School's out and the children are free. Most flee to the exhaust-ridden yellow buses or to the idling cars of their parents, but some don't. Instead, some elementary children walk home alone.

And these small children aren't just nine or eight! I've seen children with backpacks bigger than them and no older than six crossing the street by themselves. One little boy who crossed in front of me wasn't older than six and was so small I couldn't see him over the hood of my car. How on earth is that safe?

Sure, the children are warned repeatedly and know not to talk to or accept rides from strangers. But can they defend themselves? No, because they're small and weak and easily picked up by anyone older and larger.

I know the school systems have rules when it comes to a kid's transportation, especially the buses. Live this far away, and get to ride the bus. Any closer and the parents have to make their own arrangements. And, yes, it's hard to find someone else who is reliable and trustworthy enough to play nanny to your children.

But is letting your eight-year-old walk home better than making arrangements? No, in fact, it's worse.

The world is a bigger and different place now than when you were a little kid. Most children don't walk across fields and down dirt roads anymore. No, they walk across large intersections and down heavily trafficked roads.

Today, schools are everywhere and close together. My neighborhood is surrounded by schools and there is a university not three miles away.

Now, wasn't there a warning (possibly a statistic) that people who mean harm to children, mainly pedophiles, live close to schools? If that's the case, aren't young children walking alone in an area where there are three different schools at risk?

The world isn't safe anymore, and that's a fact of life.

Now, walking to school is something many parents would like their children to do. It increases their physical activity, familiarizes them with their neighborhoods, and even helps to build social bonds and confidence. These parents, however, expect their children to be in the company of many children or possibly an adult.

What they don't realize is that most children who walk to school are alone or with a sibling. And the reason they're walking is that their parents can't be there to take them or accompany them.

Many districts have a "walking school bus" program where children meet up and walk together in groups with the supervision of one or more adults. With this program, it shouldn't matter how far away you live because this "bus" can easily find a path to walk by the house.

So, there are solutions for parents who have children walking alone. Unfortunately, they're not easily achieved and school systems are complicated.

However, parents with transportation issues aren't alone. Why not make arrangements with neighbors and/or other parents? Find ways to take turns to walk the children to and from school. Or get together to find one adult/babysitter everyone trusts, and have them take or walk with the children?

There are always ways.

I'm not saying walking to school is a bad thing, because it's not. I walked to school myself, but I was older and I had several friends with me. It's not even an issue of maturity, because most children are surprisingly perceptive of danger. It's an issue of strength and safety. Young children walking to school alone have neither of those things.