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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

I REALLY hate the school run

168 replies

Remembersweetvalleyhighbooks · 24/05/2023 22:11

For some reason, I looked forward to it Pre Dd and imagined it would be *Fun..wtf šŸ™ˆ
I hate the rushed, stressy mornings, i’m organised but getting Dd ready can be hard at times. Drop off isn’t *As bad, quick kiss and hug at the outside door bit, it’s the pick up I don’t like. I wait in my car until the last minute when the door opens, then rush up, can’t stand the awkward standing waiting around everyone does. I hate if the teacher comes over to me and wondering what she wants to say to me. I just want to get my child and go home. Sometimes when I think how many years left I have to do this for, day in, day out, I feel panicked
Anyone else, or am I just a proper weirdo?

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TheHandmaiden · 25/05/2023 00:04

It was and is awful. Secondary school is bliss by comparison.

Goodbye also to class WhatsApp which is always deranged

Fandabedodgy · 25/05/2023 00:02

I've never done the school run

Pre covid mine went to breakfast club and after school club and now I wfh they get the bus.

AssertiveGertrude · 24/05/2023 23:37

No I have to be in work before they go to school and they start at 8.40 but I have to be in at 8.15 so I pay a childminder in the mornings and evenings

NotMeSecretFormular · 24/05/2023 23:34

Earphones in. Get in and get out. Every single time. DD is about to leave year 6 and I've been doing this since year 2 when I realised what a bunch of bullshit the other parents really are.
I’m not there to make friends or indulge anyone else's twattery. I smile and say hello if necessary, nothing else.

Loub55 · 24/05/2023 23:28

Parker231 · 24/05/2023 22:43

Dropping off at breakfast club is much easier as is collecting from after school club. Can go days without seeing another parent due to different drop off and collecting times and no teachers around.

I must admit both me and DH much prefer drop off and pick ups on the days that DD goes to wraparound care. It's so much easier and more chilled out!

darton · 24/05/2023 23:17

DH does drop offs and helps get the dc ready in the mornings, so mornings aren't too stressful. Pickups are fine. I have a 1yo who comes along, so I spend most of the waiting time chatting to her, and DD does school enrichment clubs on 3 days so it's a quieter crowd. The other days I'm taking her to other after school activities, so it's a quick pickup and rushing off to those. Actually I love seeing DD's face when she rushes out of class, always smiling and keen to show off something she can do in the playground.

CadburyDream · 24/05/2023 22:55

I absolutely despise it. We didn't get into the local one so it's a bus ride away which is even worse. At least you only have the one child so will be over soon I have 4 so been doing the school run for what feels like forever 😰 baffles me when mum's says they love it 😬

fadeddoor · 24/05/2023 22:55

I hate it too. I’m socially anxious, so small talk is awful. I tend to stand where I know people are less likely to approach me! There are lots of nice parents, I’m just a weirdo. I worry that people think I’m an unfriendly cow. Seeing my dc come out is so lovely though.

willstarttomorrow · 24/05/2023 22:52

Bloody hell- I am getting flash backs. Late DH mainly did it until he died. So from year 4 I had no choice. Even in a large city- they had created their own village and the cliques were awful. I was a bloody governor and work full time in a professional role. But I was not part of the club...I remember being on sick leave following DH's death and venturing to the gym. One of them was there (she worked in the kitchens at lunch times, best friend with all the TA's (who all had children in the school) turned up at drop off every day in gym gear ready to for workout, dc always on a regional sports team for something.) etc. etc. and she bloody gave me the thumbs up 'for getting to the gym' - as if she invented it. Thank god it ends with high school.

APurpleSquirrel · 24/05/2023 22:49

I hate the stressful morning rush to get the kids out the door with everything they need etc. But I enjoy the pick ups - I get to chat to the friends I've made there (also on the PTA), & as I wfh it's a good opportunity to actually talk to some adults & get outside.
Rainy pick ups are crap though.

Remembersweetvalleyhighbooks · 24/05/2023 22:45

I wish I could walk and do it at a leisurely pace, it’s too far and I have to drive straight to work. I don’t know..maybe I’m lazy, I love the relaxed mornings when you don’t have to go

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DanceMonster · 24/05/2023 22:43

Jk987 · 24/05/2023 22:39

I hate all the traffic! No one walks to school anymore!

I’d love to walk but have to go straight on to work afterwards.

Parker231 · 24/05/2023 22:43

Remembersweetvalleyhighbooks · 24/05/2023 22:13

@AssertiveGertrude But don’t you still have to do it? I drop then rush to work

Dropping off at breakfast club is much easier as is collecting from after school club. Can go days without seeing another parent due to different drop off and collecting times and no teachers around.

DanceMonster · 24/05/2023 22:43

AssertiveGertrude · 24/05/2023 22:13

I hated it to so luckily I went back to work full time

I work full time too but still take my kids to school.
I also find this threads a bit weird… I don’t know if it’s different at our school but I don’t find taking them to school stressful. We get out of the car, walk to the gates, I give them a kiss and say goodbye then walk back to my car and go to work.

Snoopsnoggysnog · 24/05/2023 22:40

Gosh it’s hardly a big deal, it’s just part of life with young children isn’t it?
Admittedly I didn’t do it every day as I worked part time so I can see how it gets monotonous. But it all goes so fast and suddenly they are teens!

Oysterbabe · 24/05/2023 22:40

I like it. I always have a nice chat with the kids when we're walking in and walking home, I arrive a few minutes before end of school so no real waiting around, but I'll generally chat to someone in that time. I can't really think of anything bad about it.

Zhougzhoug · 24/05/2023 22:39

Yikes I do wonder what some schools are like! Our school run is just...not a thing. I can't imagine how it would be stressful. It's a big wide gate, I walk in chatting to my lovely kid, give him a kiss, say "see you tonight!" and walk out again. Might say hi to a parent friend, might not. I live on the same street as the school. Sometimes I carry my mug of tea with me.

@Lolaandbehold OP is clearly an Elizabeth...

Jk987 · 24/05/2023 22:39

I hate all the traffic! No one walks to school anymore!

TookTheBook · 24/05/2023 22:38

I felt a bit like this. Then lockdown 2020 hit and I realised how much I missed the small talk and the short walk and micro interactions daily. Lockdown 2021 was more misery as it was winter. So yes, YABU. I like the school run now, far better than the alternative. And it's not for that many years all told.

CannotDoThisAnymore · 24/05/2023 22:38

I hate the stressy mornings but i do enjoy chatting to other parents. Im also part of a pta and have an older kid so have been there a while. Im invested šŸ˜‚

Remembersweetvalleyhighbooks · 24/05/2023 22:37

@Lolaandbehold šŸ˜…A combination of the two I think šŸ¤” but definitely wanted and aspired to be more of a Jessica

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Remembersweetvalleyhighbooks · 24/05/2023 22:36

@eddiemairswife I do

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Remembersweetvalleyhighbooks · 24/05/2023 22:35

@toomanyleggings Yes, that’s the good part that I focus on

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Remembersweetvalleyhighbooks · 24/05/2023 22:35

@unlikelychump Exactly..I had no idea that every week, there would be something to sign, something to bring in, so many emails and WhatsApp’s

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Remembersweetvalleyhighbooks · 24/05/2023 22:33

@CalmDownBoris72 That’s it! Can’t believe I was excited about it šŸ˜…

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