Kids often commute alone. Here's what parents need to know

CHICAGO - If you're a parent, chances are good you're in for two child-rearing milestones: the first day of school and the first day of kid commuting.

You know what your own urban commute requires: the steely resolve to make it onto packed train cars, the determination to walk in all kinds of weather, the catlike balance that keeps you upright on a lurching bus. It's decision time: Is this the year your child is ready to commute on his own?

Each year, when Chicago schools open their doors, CTA buses and trains fill up, too, with kid commuters. Chicago's public transit system provides more