To think that if school comes out at 3pm....

[Sparklingbrook]

There is no need to get to the school in the car at 2pm? Just driven past the school, there are parents there already.
That's five hours a week-waiting.

Can you imagine MN Chat if we could only post about things that bother us? 90% of the threads would be illegal.

And AIBU would cease to exist.

I once did that by mistake Balloon drove to school, got chatting with a neighbour, and walked home with her. Took me a minute to work out where my car was when I went to get in it, but had a good parking spot to collapse into it after having to run back to the school later!

That's true Sparkling

Cheek! I have been up for ages and in between footy matches actually.

I've been up for ages too, and have done 3 lots of laundry, de-moulded my ensuite grout, hoovered and dusted, and cleaned a loo - so yah boo to you Edna!

I've also done a lot of MNetting

we on our 2nd school now.

School no 1 was approx 10-25 min walk along 2 very busy rds. The rd near school bothered me as wait there ages to cross in rain and no parents would let us go, no crossing alongside that rd.
Many lived local as I did and rarly walked.
There was the rd the school was on, the church car park next door and maybe 3 small side rds.

Residents used to whinge all time.
was always in nearly every newsletter.
a couple of rows between parents about parking
1childs foo run over.
i dont drive husband does ad he used to whinge about parking all the time. The attached preschool finsihed earlier so explains why some got there early and couple used to bus bus it nd got there early.

The amount of time they hovered round after drop off in morning puzzled me.

Now new school 30min walk if kids are good can sometimes take up tp an hour.
Noticed in all fairness lots of local people do walk if they dont have to be somewhere after school ie swimming or weathers ok.
They dont hover in mornings but they do hover in afternoons as kids like to play on village green if weathers nice.,
The school has no carpark church does and theres small space to p[ark and the rdsa ajaent to shool are full of staff and pataints from hospital parking to avoid parking charges,
The main rd schools on very dangerous no crossings, lollipop man risks his life so can see why some dont want their kids walking alone.

The local preschool finish 2.45qand school comes out 3.30 so we all get there early. Childminders always get there early but think so would i as im paranod about picking my pwn child up on time never mind anyone elses.

Husbands must be jammy he always finds a space.
dd1 does breckkie club 4 mornings a week now takes pressure off.

I leave no later than 8 get there 8.50 and then sometimes late.
2.30 for 3.30 pickup.

but people think im a nutter for walking but on plus side kids have road awareness, they fit and healthy.#

I hate getting there early as then have to make convo prefer to get there just in time the run thats what did i old school and few others did the same as there was few scary mums in playground we used to try and avoid.

Edna of course it doesn't affect me. I can still be surprised though. It doesn't bother me in the slightest-why would it? Are you one of the gossipers?

no I usually have to be somewhere (work) or when it isn't work somewhere else but I wouldn't mind the odd gossip!

BAck2two You are quite right, and here I am time wasting too (and perhaps having a little grump or two)

As you were

I've been up for ages too, and have done 3 lots of laundry, de-moulded my ensuite grout, hoovered and dusted, and cleaned a loo - so yah boo to you Edna!

More than I've done - you deserve your moaning time

Edna you have to admit that over 2 hours standing gossiping is quite a lot.

I have to admit no such thing (I could quite possibly manage it) although I'd like to think it was talking rather than 'gossiping' which to me implies talking about others. I'd rather do it in a cafe or in my house over coffee though if I'm honest

Yes, I don't know why they didn't decide to decamp to the cafe or to one of their houses. I bet the teachers were a bit

It was the fact they were stood outside school all that time.

Gossiping for 2 hours (preferably longer) in a warm coffee shop over a danish - no problem.

Gossiping in a freezing cold playground or at the side of a road - no thank you!

Yes, I live in the UK. No buses. In fact, the county council have scrapped a lot of school bus routes in order to save money.

Ev1l Edna asks why do we care? Well, because it does affect us: it affects anyone with more than one school run because they can't get there early enough for a parking place. That's why parents are supposed to drop their kids and go. Not being able to find a parking place and either having to walk along the road with cars whizzing past or to keep circling until we find a place makes the children late. It isn't just us that has the problem - it's the parents who, like us, drop off at the junior school. Again, they have to because lots of the buses were cancelled. The same thing happens in reverse in the afternoons and has caused such serious traffic problems, the police are involved.

I mentioned it to one of the teachers once (they get fed up of trying to work round these parents if they're using the playground for a lesson). She said her first head even took out cups of coffee as a hint. Evidently, it was too subtle for them

What I want to know is why do they need to use the playground and surrounding pavements? Don't they have things to do, homes to go to? A few years ago, they'd have gone on to one of their houses - are they trying to save on hot water and teabags?!

@Tanith: Normally if you live in catchment > 3 miles there are special school buses. Are you saying you live

I am a new driver.

The school is a 15 minute walk away.

I took my car on Friday as I wanted to pick up an Xmas tree on the way home. I will NEVER drive to school again. I got there 10 minutes early thinking I would get a parking space but it was full of people who had got there much earlier. I ended up parking somewhere else 10 minutes away from the school.

It would have been much easier to have walked home then got the tree.

In general, I have found that unless I need to be somewhere which is more than a 3 mile walk in winter it is more hassle to drive.