To think that I shouldn't be made to feel guilty for driving on the school run?

[DSM]

Some people have to drive their children to school, I am one of them.

AIBU to feel put out at the constant letters home and remarks from other parents/teachers about driving to school? To the point where last week I was given a very hard time for not signing the petition to stop parents driving to school?

As much as I agree that walking to school is a great benefit for children, the campaigners really should consider that its not a viable option for everyone.

The parents round here who live locally yet everyday drive their children the 0.5 to 0.7 miles to school are all really quite overweight. I don't know if they are so overweight because they loathe and avoid even mild physical exercise or whether their size actually prevents them walking the short distance. Either way I feel sorry for their children who would doubtless prefer to chat and walk with their friends whilst going to and from school.

I also wish that they would refrain from parking with their cars half way across the pavement meaning that a queue of walkers builds up behind the car when they open their doors to let the children out. If you use a car, park it on the road - roads are for cars, pavements are for pedestrians. Simple!

And switch your engine off so that those of us who cycle or walk can avoid your fumes.

I would love to walk my children to school, but due to other parents playing the system to get their children into the school that's closest to us (renting flats round the corner to get them in, but never actually living there, except for a couple of weeks for the home visit), we didn't get in to that school. The school they go to is over a mile away, up and down steep hills and so I drive.

When DD1 was in Y1, she came out wearing a small pin badge one day. In front of her teacher, I asked her what it was for - Walk to School week was the reply. I said 'But DD1, we don't walk - it's too far, we drive'. 'But we walk from the car' she said . Fortunately her teacher was much amused (I was ).

I walk to school 90% of the time and feel guilty the couple of occasions a week I do use the car. Most of the time it is vastly easier to walk for us though. I have to set off earlier to drive because of the ridiculous parking.

During school hours, ie from when my dc enters the gate until my child exits, the school is in charge. Outside those times, I am in charge and free to chose how my dc arrive at and depart school providing it is by a legal means, they arrive on time and attend every day they are well enough to go. All members of our family are within our bmi, how we go to work or school is nobody's business but our own.

We did, however, have this all the time when the dc were at primary school. I well recall the day I showed the HT aka the walk to school and healthy eating queen (who was also grossly obese) my ds's maths exercise book and asked her why a fully qualified, experienced teacher had labelled the horizontal axis y and the vertical axis x. I gently pointed out that I would be more confident if that could be dealt with at the next inset day.

Those who run and teach in schools should focus on what they are paid to do during school hours. Those who look after their dc should do what they need to do to care for and encourage their children outside of school hours. If teachers don't want me commenting on their professional modus operandi they should refrain from commenting on my maternal modus operandi.

A few years ago (when I used to do school runs myself) we used to walk past several families as they got into their cars to drive kids to the same school. I used to arrive at the school a minute before they did

Then they would drive back home (as SAHM) and I would wave and walk on past to my house (several hundred metres further away).

Yes many families have no choice but to drive - due to distance, disabilities or work etc. BUT many many families could perfectly well walk yet they choose not too.

What a really fucking scary society if people are banned from driving their kids to school. It is nobody's business and I would point blank refuse to justify myself. People have many different reasons for the things they do including driving. What's the next thing to ban? Will school inspectors come and examine your homes and fridges to make sure you have a home worthy of their standards. It is ludicrous.

And for all those on their high horse about walking to school, well they have a big fall coming from that high up position of judgment.

But MIW do you really mean that you wouldn't have mentioned that howler unless you'd been nagged about Walk On Wednesday? I don't think that argument follows at all.

I'd have mentioned the howler regardless but I think it had a lot more impact when I was able to say "I do wish more time was spent on the dealing with educational priorities than dictating how we should arrive.

A little boy at our school was knocked down and severely injured by a SAHM who lived 800M away driving her child to school.

Anyone who thinks how they get their children to school is nothing to do with anyone else is deluded. We live in societies and communities and we all impact on each other.

Do ppl really think a mile is too far? 1 mile?

At least we have not had the lien of argument from a previous thread that schools should have car parks even if you have to pull houses down to make them :o

It's definitely inconsiderate parking and speeding at my DD's school that is the problem. We are lucky that the school has quite big grounds with an inner and outer playground. The school actually spent money putting in extra parking and drop off spaces to allow people to do it safely. However people still drive along the pavement (see my previous post), block the road (even when there is a safe parking space 3/4m away, drive at 50 in the 20 zone etc. We have been campaigning for the bad parkers and speeders to be caught out with random police visits with no success. The HT has been out asking people to move their cars (it really is only a few metres) to safer areas but only got abuse. Literally to save a few metres walk. There are disabled bays right at the door before anyone brings that up.

I really don't think its too much to object to that.

X post Andrew but as you'll see from my post having a car park doesn't solve the problem of bad parking.

I SHOULD walk but in practice I'm torn on this one:

Pros
obvious environmental benefit
health /exercise

Cons
I work p/t school hours ie have six hours per day in which to work, school run 25/30 mins one way on foot = 1 hour round trip. If I do the run both ways that is two hours out of my working day as opposed to a total of 40 mins using the car. And that bit of extra time can really make a difference.
DD's backpack can sometimes weigh 8 kilos or more (weakling emoticon)

Tbh, though I think if there is going to be a public policy or "nudging", it should target single childless commuters who only have themselves to contend with. Not harried mothers with school-age child who are often pregnant/balancing needs of toddlers/ babies/siblings of all ages (some of whom are ill at various times/at various stages of continence) and dragging around all the equipment that that entails. Those circumstances don't apply to me, but where they do, I would never begrudge a mother the use of a car.

Do men/women in suits driving alone attract the same opprobrium? Not as much as mothers with dc who always seem to be the easy targets.

LauraIngallWilder if i had done as you said I would have been blocking a country lane. So no would not have been best of both worlds

Men and women driving alone in suits don't usually drive along pavements outside schools or park across driveways .

Why don't you just do something pro-active like opposing the stupid petition? You can't be the only one who has to drive? Make the people behind this initiative think a bit.

What I find interesting is that everyone agrees that driving and parking round schools is out of control but doesn't acknowledge that they contribute to the problem.
if everyone who drives agreed to use alternative methods 1 day a week, traffic would be reduced by one fifth and those people who don't want to walk for safety reasons would feel they could walk. Just an idea.

I drive mine to school every day. Because he goes to breakfast club in the morning at 8am and I have to be at work down 3 long country lanes 10 minutes later.

I pick him up as often as I can, in the car. I live within 2 miles of the school, but across fields etc - so its a 45 min walk just for me. I'm often one of those parents sitting outside the school with a paper for half an hour. Not to bag a good spot, but simply because I have come straight from work and theres no point going home inbetween.

I reckon our school is 50/50 between walking and driving. If they did a petition about having to walk I would have a few choice words to say so YANBU

if everyone who drives agreed to use alternative methods 1 day a week, traffic would be reduced by one fifth and those people who don't want to walk for safety reasons would feel they could walk

But Swedie, what about those of us that have to work, and therefore have to drive? Im not sure my work would take kindly to me coming in an hour late because I had to use alternative transport once a week.

My children have asked me why are 'bad' and use a car to get to school. My littlest was practically in tears last walking to school week because we wouldn't get 'points' for walking if I drove them there, so I had to park a mile away, walk there, walk back to the car and be late for work so as to appear that we had walked (even though the walk is a good 45 min plus and so not practical unless I wanted to devote over four hours a day to walking, dropping off and walking home).

I have told the children I work and I need to drop them on the way and to ignore people who say using cars are 'bad' because although it is better to walk, it's just not possible for everyone.

Some people live a long way from school. Do you not use your local schools?

We live three miles away from school and it's cheaper to drive than it is to get the bus. We couldn't walk it because ds2 would never manage and we'd have to set off about 07:30 to get there

I make no apologies for driving. ds2 had to leave his other school, which was just up the road, because it was rubbish and he was getting bullied.