Talk to me about school WhatsApp groups

[Welltroddenpath]

I’m on three school / class WhatsApp groups. On the surface they seem friendly and helpful. However when you get face to face with the other parents, it’s not quite so simple.

There’s lots of outrage or annoyance at some things said on the groups that I have been oblivious too. Even worse it think that twice I have unwittingly said something wrong. Anyone else?

Ours is mainly lost cardigan talk.
It's hard to get into a huff over cardigans.

It did briefly touch on reading eggs, but someone tried to stealth boast about levels & nobody really responded so that ended as quickly as it began.

Your group sounds a nightmare OP.

We don't have groups at either of the schools my kids go to, I think from reading your post that I'm glad!
What sort of things are talked about?

Ours is asking for the spellings the night before the test or trying to organise a mums night out or help with lifts and walking kids out of school as the baby has fallen asleep in the car etc

We've just been added to one for DD's new secondary school, but no messages yet!

I'm on one for DS's primary class which is very relaxed, DD's group when she was at that school could be more fraught as there was one mum who was quite brittle and easy riled who did quite often get very vocal and sometimes had to be gently ecouraged to taker her complaints offline.

Similar to Groggy . What day is PE? Where do we drop the kids to get the excursion bus? Where did you buy the recorder and how much is it?
That kind of stuff.

But, then there's the wee cunt dad who corrects everyone's language errors, but only those who aren't natives. My friend referred to him as an imbecile today over a beer, not on WhatsApp.

Lost cardigans is a no no evidently on one, yes it does get people’s back up “I will check little Berties when he gets home” on the group, but “ just look in lost property ffs” in real life. I’m shocked really at what boils some parents blood.

DS’s class parents’ group seems entirely straightforward — missing homework, bafflement about poorly-expressed maths problems, non-uniform day reminders etc. I don’t in general do drop off or pick-up so maybe everyone is festering about trifles in RL, but I can’t say it overly concerns me.

I'm new to this, older children were pre-whatsapp, so now back in reception I've discovered the thrills of it all.

We're all mums except one dad. Some mums say not very much, some post a fair bit asking where/what etc. The lone dad's sole contribution is to post the newsletter and any other letters we get via parentmail no more than 30 mins after they're sent out. It really bugs me, because it seems so patronising. He never interacts in any way, I don't know who he is in the playground, but every week he feels the need to 'help' us by giving us information we've clearly already got because we've all got fucking parentmail. The first week there were lots of replies of 'Thanks so much Steve!' but they've tailed off now. One person thanked him this week.

How do you get each other's numbers?

@ReturnofSaturn, I believe in some schools, permission is asked to circulate a list of parents' phone numbers. Not in ours. One parent who's a school gate regular, and probably knew most of the other parents who regularly did school dropoffs and pick-ups, started our WhatsApp by asking people for their numbers and creating the group. I don't think I even knew it existed for a year after that, as I almost never do the school run, but I asked to be added, and find it very useful for homework confusions etc.

Really low key stuff on ours - swimming, fairs etc

Can be very useful also everyone is very friendly so I doubt people talk about it.

I don’t do my drop off or pick up for two of my kids either so it’s useful to me. It seems that lost property and homework is pretty standard. Maybe I just have just happened to catch a few individuals who are who are easily offended

The most annoying thing is when someone posts: 'I've got a ticket for X event if anyone wants it'. Then there's a wave of responses from 59 people explaining that they have a dentist appointment/at work/seeing granny and that's why they can't attend. Ffs, nobody cares, only respond if you want the tickets!

Why do you need it - the school will give you any information you need to know and without any drama.

Why do you need it - the school will give you any information you need to know and without any drama.

From my point of view, as a parent who doesn't do drop-offs and pick-ups, it's really useful if DS has inexplicably come home on Friday without his homework book, or has lost the sheet of spellings for Monday, or if half his school uniform has not come home with him, or, alternatively, he is wearing someone else's shoes/poloshirt.

It's useful for reminders (usually issued by parents who volunteer at the school or are there regularly) about non-uniform days, deadlines for paying for class trips, donations for the tombola -- again, I will have these on the fridge door, but they can be overlooked.

It's useful if maths problems in homework are slightly oddly phrased and it's not clear what the teacher wants them to do. It's useful for having parents' contacts to arrange playdates if you're not at the school gate to talk to them, and it's a much more convenient way of issuing birthday party invitations -- people tend to RSVP immediately, and there isn't the problem of paper invitations being mislaid.

Bane of my life! Mainly the club activity ones. Ding, ding, ding all the time, Karate is the worst. Why would you tell the entire group of parents from 3 towns that Benji has a cough instead of DMing the teacher?

A -Benji has a cough so won't come on Tues.
Teacher - thanks for telling me.
B - hope he feels better
C - Annie had that last week
D - 😢
A - I'm sure he'll come next week

Aagh, I don't know who you people are and I give no fucks about your kids.

Football what's app.
Coach - Training 10am Sat.
Followed by 15 parents posting 👍 or OK or it might rain. We have an app to say if you're going to attend. It's completely unnecessary.