To have zero issues with other school gate mums?

I was always friendly and chatty on the school run, would talk to whoever I happened to be standing by but was never interested in developing friendships, and I never had any issues at all. That's with 5 dc in a total of 4 schools, not including preschools.

Good for you op. Your post reminds me of the poster who said that having a coil fitted doesn't hurt. It didn't hurt HER. But it minimised the experiences of others.

Yours is kind of the same and really quite smug.

For what it's worth I made a really good friend at the school gates. Many others were pleasant and some were downright cliquey. It often depends on where you are and not the sort of person you are. So yabu

No issues here either, and it’s not just school gate Mums - pretty even mix of Mums and Dads dropping off and picking up.

I don't have any issues with any of the school parents.
There are a few mums (3 I think) that hang around the gates about 30 mins before they open chatting and gossiping.

2 of them (on separate occasions) have walked the same way as me home and tried to bitch about other mums to me. My response is standard "I don't like talking about people who aren't here, sorry" it then went very quiet and she toddled off.

I can't be bothered with bitchy people, but there are some lovely parents I mix with, a few dads and a few mums.

I agree, but having 2 dc in different year groups I can see a different dynamic in each - luckily both fine in their own ways, but I can understand that others might have a different experience. So I don't think it's just drama seeking, but the luck of the draw.

Why do you put the word friend in inverted commas? It sounds like you don't really want to think of them as friends...

It’s not trope, it’s luck of the draw. Vast majority of school parents are lovely normal people who are insanely busy and trying to remember which day to send which book in and what app to submit this weeks maths homework on.

A very small minority have nothing better to do with their lives than gossip, stir up drama, then gossip some more.

Same as the world of work, and any other grouping of people to be honest.

It’s definitely a product of how much else you have going on in your life and how much you care what other people think about you. I have always worked FT and only done very occasional drop off / pick up when DS was in primary, but was generally invited to get togethers by the SAHMs when he was at private pre-prep and when he moved to state primary for KS2, his little group of pals had simpatico mums (all bar one of whom worked too) and we became friends beyond the playground - we rarely saw each other there, just made the effort to get the boys together at weekends and holidays. We’re not all big outgoing personalities but I think enough of us are to keep the quieter ones involved and maintain the group now the boys are all at different high schools. The ones with different aged kids have circles of friends from their other class parents and we overlap with them all at things like the cricket or rugby club. However, I also have significantly stronger friendships with my local book group pals, my uni friends and people from work which means I didn’t spend time wondering what the school mums thought about me.

I don't have any issues either OP. Imm just friendly but don't get too involved with politics.

DDs, not Dads! Bloody Autocorrect!

My Dads are 18 and 20. I have a fantastic group of friends, ex PTA and primary school gate Mums.
The school gate thing is a massive sexist trope, lots of women together so they must be bitchy and awful.
Misogyny is what it is!

I’m with you, I didn’t wish to be friends though and was more than happy to chat and be sociable when the occasion warranted or if we were all waiting. But I think some folks are lonely and want to be friends and object if folks don’t reach out to them and are friends with others.

I know someone else who said this.

Then their next child started school and they suddenly saw what it was all about.

I've never experienced it either.

My friend (who is friendly to everyone and would hate to offend anyone) had a bit of an awkward one where a mum kept latching on to her and trying to be her new best friend, in an intense way.

I honestly think it is mostly an MN trope. Like never answering the door. Or never eating alone in a cafe lest the waiter looks at you pityingly.

I find the whole school run mums or school run fashion or dressing for the school run rhetoric a bit weird. It's just people going to a place to pick up kids. Like anything in life you like some people, don't like others. And why would I dress for that walk to pick up kids any differently to how I might dress to walk the same distance to the shop.

My DC1 started reception last year and I was dreading the pick ups etc due to the horror stories on here.
But I agree with you, there's no drama, everyone talks or atleast says hello/smiles.
I'm closer to two of them, other groups formed but everyone is polite.

I know a few school parents and say hi to them, but more concentrated on getting my easily distracted DC through the gates.

The only thing I would like if more had some awareness of their surroundings and didn’t stop in the middle of pavements and gates to have a conversation or block the pavement entirely making it hard for the flow of traffic.

Never had any issues
.Don't believe in cliques. If people didn't speak to me I assumed they were busy, stressed or had their own problems. Nit that they hated me.

Some of my best friends are the mums I met from the school playground.

The problems come when there are friendship issues with the kids and people don't have the skills to navigate the situation- like 4/5/6 years from where you are now. I've had two school mum friends stop talking to me because one child got in trouble for hitting my child, even though it was a spur of the moment thing and I didn't feel it was a big deal, and another who has mental health issues and essentially had a drunken rant at me at a mutual friend's party because she didn't like my child's friendship with hers.you can only control your reaction to being in a small community and unfortunately not everyone has the life skills to step back and just get on for the sake of it. It's upsetting that it's happened but I don't think I'm the problem, and these things do happen in small
communities.

Never had any problems (my kids are now 16 and 18). I did keep myself to myself though - happy to say hi and have a casual chat but I wasn't looking to make best mates. I didn't gossip or get involved in any taking sides situations.
There were a few parents VERY involved in each others lives (joint holidays, regular dinners etc) and I know there were a few dramas with them falling out and making friends and falling out again. Watched from afar and was glad it wasn't me!

I’d have said exactly the same as you a few months ago. Until one batshit mum I had become friendly with started some batshittery. Now I avoid them all! Cba with the drama. A smile and polite “oh I know” when someone mentions the weather is all I’m investing.

I always got on fine with mums at my children’s school, but some were definitely not that pleasant and did gossip about others. With those mums I just kept it to hi and bye as much as possible. I don’t get involved with drama which sims of them definitely loved.

Most mums (and dads) were nice and we’d do play dates with the kids and occasional nights out with some of them. I wouldn’t call them friends but they were nice enough and they were/are the parents of my children’s friends so we made the effort.

Agree. I haven’t made friends with any. But everyone smiles and is pleasant and are nice to chat to at parties. I’ve not come across any bitchy cliques or anything like that.