Oh, so High School starts a lot later here. That explains it!
I live in a very safe Nordic country. All of the Nordic countries are like this. Kids can move around safely and very independently, even in bigger cities. We don't have school busses either, the kids just take regular public transportation to get to school, if the school is further away. In more rural areas there are school taxies that take the kids to school, but the commute has to be longer than 3 km for 1st, 2nd and 3rd graders or longer than 4 km for 4th to 6th graders. In the Middle School the limit is 5 km. So if the commute is shorter, the kids are expected to walk or ride a bike to school. Usually 1st and 2nd graders are encouraged to walk, because they are so little that biking could be a bit risky. I remember starting to bike to school at 3rd grade.
School breaks are sometimes a struggle for some families, because schools don't provide childcare during the holidays. Spending the whole day alone at home is not ideal, but some families have no choice. I remember spending holidays with school friends or with grandparents when I was little, but sometimes we spent the whole day alone with 2 of my brothers, one older and one younger. We didn't even have cell phones back then, but we had a number for my mother's work and sometimes we called when we got into arguments with my brothers. We learned to be very independent and helped with house chores from early on. We were expected to take turns taking the dog for a walk, cleaning the kitchen and preparing the dinner starting in Middle School. Every 3rd day it was my turn. Parents prepared the dinner on weekends.
