I walked about a mile to school starting in first grade,and no one thought my mother was a criminal. I see mothers walking nine year olds to the bus stop.
Here, the local soccer mom’s who are too lazy to drive their kids to school pick them up at the bus stop in their SUVs.
I walked a mile to and from school in Kindergarten, then either rode a bike, walked or took the bus until high school.
In Jr. high my dad punished once (for good reason) by taking my bike away for a month and made me walk 2 miles to school, except I’d walk around the block to a buddy’s house and we’d double up on his bike and ride there.
High School was 3 miles away and whenever I got a detention and missed the bus my Mom said I had to find a way home. That’s when I started hitchhiking regularly. Most days was there was little wait for a ride as the neighborhood ice cream man passed the school on his route and he’d give me a ride to the house.