Hey everyone,

DP and I have been having a disagreement over my children catching the school bus. My oldest is 8, the youngest is 6 and they are my children from a previous marriage, although they see their father only a few times a year so DP is the father figure in their lives.

We are looking for a place to move as our house is becoming too small with the impending baby and also is old and falling apart. I feel it's very 'germy' and am worried about a baby in this house. We rent the house, it's expensive, but around the corner from the beach and also directly opposite the school, so it's very easy for me to take the kids to school of a morning and pick them up. I don't drive due to a mental block with it, so DP is the main driver, but he goes to work early and finishes well after 5pm. For this reason, living opposite the school is perfect.

DP has been getting annoyed at me because I don't want to move out of walking distance to the school as I don't feel my DD is old enough to go on a school bus. HIs arguement is that heaps of children younger than her do from the kindy class and also heaps of her classmates. I argue back that heaps of parents allow their children to roam, play computer games all day, eat what they want at her age too, but that doesn't make it right. For me, my DD is too young and it's not her age as such, it's how she would cope with it.

She's extra clingy and not overly independant. I went through an awful marriage and tuberlant breakup with her father which is why she is like this. We are very close, she still won't go anyway without holding my hand all the time, I didn't even notice this till DP pointed it out, it's always been that way. She actually cannot walk without holding my hand, it's a security thing I guess. She's not wanting me to hug her all day or anything, nor does she cry when I drop her off at school. I just have to be in the same place to pick her up and accompany her to her classroom in the morning to drop her bag off and then she's right. My DS is a typical boy, says bye at the gate and then goes his own way, I'm not even allowed to hug him in case his friend's see :P so I know he would be fine on a bus.

I cannot imagine being okay with the morning trip especially, not taking her bag to her classroom, not saying goodbye to her at the school. DP doesn't understand this and says too me often that I need to 'cut the umbilical cord' with her. This makes me more determined to not put her on a bus, because I'm not going to do this till her and I are good and ready and he needs to get that, if he doesn't, too bad.

He's complaining as we have an extremely limited choice of where to rent next and because it's more of an upmarket suburb here, the only houses we can afford to rent are run down ones so therefore there isn't too much point in moving. IN the next suburb we can get a 4 bedroom pretty newish house for the same price, but there is no way I could take them to school except via bus.

I was wondering if it's just me, or do others find sending a 6 turning 7 this year old child on a school bus too young? Or am I being a clingy mum?