to think that using the local secondary school where children can walk to

[catham]

should be what every parent aspires to

today driving past my sons school (where he walks to) i was pretty horrified at the amount of cars lined up outside to pick up their little darlings, most who could probably walk up the road a mile or so where there i less congestion.

why do so many parents have to drive their kids to school? i imagine that as its the start of term so many parents are paranoid that their kids can't walk home alone but they will learn if we let them!

waffling sorry but cars are more dangerous to our kids than letting them make their own way to and from school.

[Hulababy]

Wishihadabs DD could get the bus. It would be £1.40 a day return, so £7 a week - leading to £266 a year (38 weeks allowing for INSET and holidays)

Cycling is out - it is all uphill on the way back. It really is a killer and not something I would wish on anyone tbh! Add bad weather and it would be really awful.

Alternatively DD could grab a lift with DH as he is already driving down the exact same road, and just jump out whilst he pulls up at a side road, or whilst lights are on red even. Then she could wander down to me after school and grab a lift as I am then driving that way anyway - or in bad weather I can drive up and grab her a bit closer - again not going out of my way either, but leaving work a bit earlier than normally I do. That way it is free too.

[Hulababy]

Not sure where you are but yesterdays rain was really heavy. DD did have an umbrella but even with a 2 or 3 minute walk she was pretty wet. I had the car at work. It isn't out of my walk to drive that way really. I parked legally and caused no obstruction. I didn't want to be out and about in the really heavy rain at that point in time - so why not offer DD the same seeing as I was close?!

[Wishihadabs]

Hulababy "just jumping out while lights on red" arguably contributes to what OP is complaining about. As does driving 5 mins up the road to collect your dd 'cos it's raining.

I know she has just started so hopefully through the year she will develop socially and be less willing to rely on parental lifts.

[Wishihadabs]

Seriously there is a massive circular argument here. The more dcs are driven to school, the worse the traffic gets, the less safe and acceptable it's percevied to be for the dcs to walk/cycle/get the bus (even in the rain!) the more dcs are driven . It's depressing TBH as I said upthread I will not be driving my dcs to secondary school on a point of principle (believing that learning g how to get from a to b ,how long it takes and what happens when you get up late and miss the bus is an important part of being at senior school). I can foresee arguments as the majority of their peers will be being dropped at the gates sigh

[Hulababy]

Develop socially???? What the ...

She doesn't need any help to do that. She walks from drop off point in a morning with friends. She walks with new friends to my school. She and a group of friends went to the coffee shop after school the other evening! This is not a child who needs to develop socially at all.

But it is one who uses common sense and makes the use of a lift offer to a more walkable distance rather than relying on a bus service which is slower and costs money!

The red light thing - dd's old school has traffic lights near it. They have a pull in parking areas by the entrance - so yes, DH can pull in there and leave again whilst lights are on red. It is all legal and not causing an obstruction.

My drive out of my way when it was hammering with rain. Well the drive was about 2 min max. I was legally parked in a parking bay and again no obstruction to others. Helped me too as we called at shops on way back to grab something for dd - so was actually more convenient than her walking, with a friend, to my school anyway.

Maybe rather than just looking for something to have a bit of a dig at, or try to make out my dd is socially inept, accept that others are actually capable of offering lifts without inconveniencing other people.


Why should I make dd go on the bus at extra cost to us and for a service that is slower when we are driving that way anyway at at that time??? That just isn't common sense! How bizarre to do that tbh.

[Hulababy]

Oh and the increase to traffic arguement isn't applicable here either as both me and DH would be taking those routes at those times regardless, either with dd in car or without.

[Wishihadabs]

Defensive much ? Most dcs develop in all ways over the course of a year. I'm not suggesting she is socially inept at all. Its normal for dcs to want less parental input as they go through secondary school.

I standby what I said about you driving up to meet her, not good for her or our poor planet.

[sarahtigh]

nearest primary 1.3 miles no footpath at all for at least half of it so need to walk in ditch of country road because there is no footpath she will get school bus, secondary nearest is 9.5 miles, she will get bus though i might drop i her off in car as I drive past said secondary on my way to work

she will catch school bus as local bus terminates in town centre about 1.2 miles from the school, she will need to get normal bus if she does anything after school

[Hulababy]

Defensive when you have a go at my child I guess yes. But you're not listening anyway. It costs more and takes longer if she uses the bus ad we drive by anyway. Common sense and all that.

[DadOnIce]

What parents "aspire to" and what is actually feasible in practice are two very different things. I'm assuming the OP has never lived in a village where the secondary school is five miles away along a country road. And lots of people may not wish to choose their local, nearest secondary for any number of reasons. HTH.

[Wishihadabs]

I'm not having a go at your child! I am lamenting the fact so many dcs are driven to secondary school and the fact that you seem to think your 11yo can't walk 1/4a mIle in the rain (possibly the only exercise she gets that day?)

[Wishihadabs]

I'm not having a go at your child! I am lamenting the fact so many dcs are driven to secondary school and the fact that you seem to think your 11yo can't walk 1/4a mIle in the rain (possibly the only exercise she gets that day?)

[quirrelquarrel]

waltzingmathilda bit harsh don't you think? I thought the OP was very reasonable.....in fact I've heard it a hundred times from people around me. Who do have lives!

It should be what parents aspire to yeah but obviously this is just scratching the surface. Some schools are shit. They need to be improved....and not just so traffic congestion eases up.

[Hulababy]

Not sure why not good for her. Lets face it she is walking as far as some of her new friends who happen to live right near my school. So she is getting the same length of walk, same level of independence etc.

She goes to a school where the majority of kids go on the proper school buses or have lifts at least part way due to the distances they live from the school. It's the norm where she is.

I still can't get my head round the whole idea that I should insist she leaves the house 15-20 min earlier than me and DH and pay to use a public bus to go to a place that one of us will drive directly past not much later!!! She still would have the same distance to walk whether bus or car, the only difference would be the paying to use a bus and the lengthier journey as the bus is far slower and has to stop/start more.

[Hulababy]

The rain thing - well she walked about 5 min to school to my car as opposed to 20-25 mins to my school. I was being nice in her first week and it happened to be convenient. I'd continue to do that where appropriate too.

At present dd gets plenty of exercise each week with 30-35 min walks to/from drop off to school, several PE sessions and extra curricular sports, climbing lessons, cycling and running around at home, etc. That's not an aspect of great concern to me right now. Maybe as she gets into her teens - but i can address that nearer the time.

[sassytheFIRST]

I am in favour of an exclusion zone being created by law around all schools. No cars/road traffic at all for 400m in any direction, between 8.30-9.10 and 2.45-3.30 daily. Exceptions obv - for the disabled, etc, oh and if you live in the zone, you're allowed to leave and drive to work

Not only would this encourage walking to to school, keep kids fitter etc, but people who live 500m away might walk the whole distance thus not needing to add their car to road congestion.

[Bunbaker]

When DD's school was rebuilt they included an off road parent pick up/drop off point in the planning. The logistics of this and the big car park just for the school buses was inspirational. There are 1500 pupils at her school and they rarely get traffic congestion problems because it was all thought through properly beforehand.

[DadOnIce]

sassy - I'd love to see you coming here and having a go at making that work at my DD's secondary school, where 80% of pupils are bussed/driven from the outlying villages (because there are no walkable roads).

I think a lot of people making these lofty "suggestions" either have smaller children and haven't faced the issue yet, or live in a small town with the one, easily-walkable-along-quiet-roads secondary.

[Sparklingbrook]

sassy that would be brilliant. please sort that out asap. Please can we have an exception for school buses though?

[Hulababy]

400m seems fair enough, so long as the area involved has roads, etc . Not far to walk - infact far shorter distance than I am talking of anyway and my "being nice in bad rain" would have been outside this zone anyway. But then, there is no way I'd take my car any closer to DD's secondary anyway - nightmare with all the primary children being collected (it's a 4-18y school) - shudder at being that close and competing for space!

[grumpyoldbat]

Op please reread your op and consider how it is worded and how it sounds. You effectively called any parent who doesn't live within easy walking distance of a secondary school a bad parent.

Had you said AIBU to object to bad parking on the school run blocking the road, to object to agressive behaviour by by school run parents, to object to dangerous driving on the school run or even to wonder why parents can't at least park slightly further from the school when doing the school run then I reckon you would have had much more support.

[jacks365]

Between where I live and the nearest town 5 miles away there is one main road with 4 schools on it, 3 primary and 1secondary. It's the only road through the valley so everyone uses it, buses deliveries etc. How does a 400m exclusion zone work for that?

[Hulababy]

School buses for dd's school all park away from the school anyway as roads not suitable on immediate ones. So probably about that distance as it is.

[grumpyoldbat]

Good point jacks it's a lovely idea *sassy but 100s of schools are on main roads, in some cases the only main road so the exclusion zone would cause massive congestion problems with the diversions being unsuitable for lorries etc.