What does this school mum actually think the rest of us are queuing for??

[aperolspritzbasicbitch]

In general I arrive at my child’s school for pick up about 5 minutes before the playground gate is opened. Not on purpose, it just happens that sometimes the walk is quicker than others. Sometimes I’m the first one there, sometimes there are a few people in front, and others join the queue behind me.

One particular mum will turn up bang on collection time (fine) and just walk past the queue of people patiently waiting and stand right in front of the gate.
As if we aren’t all there for the same reason.

It actually baffles me that she seems to think that her need to collect her child is any greater than the rest of us, but so far haven’t said anything because I can’t be arsed with any playground drama, although yesterday I was tempted to side step in front of her just as the gate was open.

is this not just straight up rude behaviour?

Might be a queue by strict definition but it’s a queue of fucking pointlessness and as such I could not spare the energy to get annoyed about it.

In fact she’s probably annoyed that you are all queueing for nothing.

I hate when people ask these questions.

This thread is mad. Why are so many people so baffled by the queue set-up? At my kid's primary, to collect reception kids you had to go down an alleyway between a high wooden fence and the school building. When you reached the playground there was a length of low, brightly coloured fencing with a single-person gate that would be unlocked at kicking out time. If you were first and the gate was locked, you had to wait. You'd wait on the high fence side because that made a more natural waiting place, you could lean on it, and you could tuck yourself out of the way of the path because further on was the nursery and there would be parents with pushchairs needing to get past. A queue would form along the high fence and when the gate was opened the queue would file in and take their places on the playground. Yes, in a random order with no bearing on who got to take their child home first but usually people chose the same spot each day so teacher and child know where to look to find you.

If you were coming from the nursery, so approaching the queue from the other side, meeting the person in first place first rather than the back of the queue, you may queue in the other direction but there wasn't space for another full queue from that direction so you may well go past the front of the queue and join at the end. Or if the queue was filing in you could wait until someone let you in.

OP's scenario seemed perfectly reasonable to me. Sometimes there's a queue to get from one waiting area to another and it is polite to wait your turn.

Loving the amount of passive aggressive 😂😂😂 on this thread.

For most normal people they understand it. But there’s some angry people on here that will argue about anything and today it’s the queue.

madness.

our school have a similar set up with one gate. People queue (god forbid!) up the path so they don’t block anyone who may be coming up. Nobody seems to push their way to the front thankfully.

Failing to understand why some people are struggling to understand the point of this queue.

Maybe she is not English? In some cultures queuing is not really a natural thing.

Also, could never understand queuing at the school gates. Once they are open, everyone goes in in one huge crowd - unless your gate is small and very narrow? Whether you are at the front or at the back, its literally a difference of 1 minute.

Had the same at our school (child just started reception) used to infuriate me as she would push past right to the front to get her child and it’s a first come first served situation. Then later realised she was a childminder who has to go to multiple classes so has to be quick at each class to get the others 😂😂😂 felt like I right idiot for thinking badly of her. Does annoy me when people at the end of the queue send the sibling to push in to the front to collect their brother/ sister. So they don’t have to, just dress it up as aww they want to see their sibling when really the parent cba to wait.

I cant believe there's 12 pages of this

It's MN - I'm surprised there's only 12 pages! 😂

The OP’s school set up sounds exactly like our school but I think most people are more chilled about the whole thing. Some people go up near the front to stand with their friends, some people stand along the grassy area so away from the queue. It’s better if people bunch up and don’t queue at our school as the queue will often spill out to the pavement which just means people are in the way.

No idea why people would care who is first or last in the queue as we’re all going to different classrooms.

My grandson's school is similar, queue in line on the pavement with a gate, but then once in the playground have to form another queue for the teacher to then release child from teacher's queue. It is annoying when Ive been first in queue outside the gate then cheeky ones come straight in from over the road or just rush pass me and beat me to the second queue!!!

My DC were at secondary school by the time covid hit. We were queuing at the school gate years before.

I agree that she has main character attitude.
I am sure she thinks she does not need to be in a queue because she came at right time and can directly go to the gate.
Now if other mums also start coming at the door opening time, she would demand people coming after have access to gate after her. There is no winning with such characters. Op can try telling her once just for own satisfaction.

Is this in the UK? The English love to queue for nothing!
who queues for pick up anyway that’s so strong. We all hang around once the gates open everyone just walks through.

Philip Schofield incoming...

I love the word queue. Queue, queue, queue.

Surely we need a diagram?

I do this. I have a couple of friends who are often early. They are at the front of the "queue". Im usually last there having finished work and dashed there. I walk through the general melee of parents (scattered around, not a line) and chat to my friends. As you say @aperolspritzbasicbitch it makes no difference to how quickly i get my children, particularly as they are released in alphabetic order and mine are at the back

Have you asked her why she goes straight to the front?

How do you know it's England if it's a UK thing?

My DD used to always be released first as my son's taxi driver needed me to be at the meeting point at almost the same time so if I wasnt at the front I would go to the front as the TA would be waiting for me with DD (prior to class doors officially opening). Maybe she has a similar situation?

At my child's school I've been asked to collect my child first regardless if I'm there first or not, they struggle with waiting, although I've told the other parents I'm not skipping intentionally.

I probably have done this but my child’s school is tiny. I wasn’t aware of any queue. I actually don’t think there is one. The kids all just come out there is no one policing it as such. And there is loads of room for people to stand around at the top waiting.

@aperolspritzbasicbitch One particular mum will turn up bang on collection time (fine) and just walk past the queue of people patiently waiting and stand right in front of the gate.

I found a video of OP out for a walk.

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/9Jl9TPlxr9U

A queue is something to facilitate fairness, to ensure that people who arrive first receive a service first.

Here, we are talking about a situation in which queueing is redundant, because when a parent can collect their child is solely dependent on when the child arrives at the door, which is random. Forming a queue does not do anything.

Why is that hard to understand?