The school bus can be a threat or a thrill. I have first hand experience of the school bus of today, and I think you parents need to be aware of the dangers that lurk when you decide your child is old enough or independent enough to get the school bus. What you need to think about is are they STRONG enough to stomach the horrors they may well encounter.

I don't know if this cliche was around in the school days of old (ie, my parents time!) but in my school it is definately true that the 'cooler' you are, the further back on the bus you sit. This leaves the 'back seat' as the ultimate sign of cool. Everybody is full aware of this, and you do NOT try to oppose these people. You accept it meekly and take your place. From this, you can probably tell these people are intimidating, and right you'd be. When it comes their time to leave the school, they all generally choose somebody to take their place, and quite often, this 'honour' is passed through familys.

These people believe it gives them a right to push around the people further forward, tell them what to do and so on. Quite often, scenes of bullying can happen on the bus, in fact, it happened to me in year 7, my first year at 'big school.' One of my friends fell out with another one of her friends, who you should understand, has connections - ie an older sister, the most popular girl in the school and plenty of rough boys to do whatever she wants them to do. Not a girl I'd particularly want to cross paths with. But, since she'd come to blows with my friend, now I was in the firing line as well, and for the next term she made my life hell. She ignored me at school but on the bus, we were called rude names and threatened regularly. It was over soon but while it happened it was hell. And there was nothing I could do to ignore it, mum worked and there was no other way to get home.

She got bored after a while because neither me or my best friend responded to her and that's the best lesson you can teach your child - be thick-skinned. It won't help in every situation though.

Another problem that comes naturally with getting a bus is, quite simply, missing it. I've only done this once but when I did I was in big trouble because mum was at work and no way was she leaving. Another girl who had missed the bus was a mutual friend and thankfully she called her dad and he took us to school. Mum was mad but I learned my lesson and now I have strict time-keeping, the only thing that gets me to school on time.

In certain circumstances there are horrors that I can barely stomach. Everybody in my school will agree that this one boy who gets my bus, and lives around the corner from me, is gross! It's not debatable, it's a fact, and here's my proof (if I can bear to write it). Everybody is quite close on the bus but by the time it gets to the last part of the journey (my part) everybody is more spread out and relaxed with each other. So relaxed, in fact, that this boy felt the urge to urinate (to put it politely!) in a bottle. Not nice for all the people on the bus at the time. BUT! As if this wasn't enough, a couple of months later he did the same thing again! You need to be strong stomached to put up with my school bus, and that's the best thing you can teach your child!

Learn more about this author, Sheila Fforde.
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