To not understand why so many people drive their dc to and from secondary school?

[Dancergirl]

Surely once at secondary school dc should get themselves to and from unless it's really not possible to get there by public transport?

Someone I know - her dd has started Year 7 at a local secondary. There is an easy and convenient school bus. But she's driving her and picking up every day even though she also has younger dc at primary!

At dd1's school (she's currently Year 8), it seems lots of her friends are driven to and from. Some live locally and there are very good public transport links.

Why?? Am I missing something?

Our crap bus service takes an hour to do a 20 minute trip.

So although they mostly use the bus, I do pick up if they have places to be.

daykin - yes, my older 2 are no longer in secondary ed. (eldest is driving/funding her own car now ... how time flies ) but if we'd been in this village with all 3 getting the bus to school it would have cost us £45 per week. That's literally into the hundreds per month. Who can afford would pay that if they could drop/pick up the kids on the way past school?

They learn independence at college, uni, or when they start work. I don't know any adults who are afraid of public transport or missing out on life in general because they got a lift to secondary school when they were a kid

And as others have said if DD1 goes there fore sixth form, bus fare may well be close to petrol.

Mine mostly walks as she likes meeting up with her friends but I usually take her a couple of times a week and so far every day this week though.

Sometimes it's because she's running a bit late or she's got a load of stuff to lug around, this week the weather has been awful and no where at school to store waterproof clothing

She walks home every night

99% of the time I'm going that way anyway so it's no skin off my nose, but even if I'm not, it's 20 minutes out of my day, I'm her mum, I don't mind helping her out with a lift sometimes.

I did not use public transport to get to school, my mum drove us as she had three at the same school (and my dad cadged a lift to work as it was part on his way too) When I was 18 I left home to live abroad. I somehow managed to live in a foreign country without having previously gained the apparently vital life skill of getting on a bus. As someone said upthread- it is not rocket science and can be mastered at any age between about 11-100!

Yes of course I realise bus fares are not the same as in London! I was expressing surprise at how expensive they are in some parts of the country and can totally see why people don't use them.

But I didn't mean this post to be about financial reasons. I'm talking about parents who insist on driving, making a special trip, if there is a reliable, cheap alternative in place.

Speaking to other parents, the reason that comes up most often is bullying on the bus or behaviour in the school bus.

From what DS1 has described, the bus to his all boys school is a zoo.

DS1 has to use the school bus or take 2 normal buses to get to school, we don't really have a choice due to work/time.

See, I think that's the thing the OP probably didn't consider. In london, we are very lucky. The DCs get free bus travel, the buses run every couple of minutes, everything is easily accessible.
My dsis lives in a much more rural location. There is no direct bus to her DCs school, it would require changing onto another bus, and this is her closest school. Also the buses run once an hour and the cost per day is ridiculous.

So it's quite easy to understand why my DCs have always got themselves to school and her DC is driven in.

London is not the whole world
What works in whatever place you live in, is not the same for everybody else.

(a) she won't be going to the local secondary
(b) public transport would involve three changes for any of the options we're considering for her - it would take far too long.
(c) I would far rather drive her the potentially 50minute journey. I would far rather that than have her tired, soaking wet etc etc

But then she's 7 at the moment and I currently drive the school run twice a day anyway

I drive DS2 in a couple of times a week because lugging an electric guitar, an amp, his backpack and PE kit half a mile to the bus stop, on and off the bus and then to the music room at the far side of the campus is a bit of a struggle on his own. I've pointed out it's not very Rock and Roll having your mum as a roadie but he reckons it's better than a hernia.

Why do you care?

Well I imagine there are various other reasons other than cost, timing, reliability and even bullying.

My old neighbor, for eg. drives her eldest son into secondary as he had SEN, and couldn't cope with the noise and stimulation of the school bus. Her younger son has just started at the same secondary and goes in with with his brother in the car. To see the boys being dripped off/picked up you would have no idea of the reason.

I have a friend who drives her daughter 3 miles in the opposite direction to the school just so that she can get the bus with her best friend obsession (just in case friend talks to someone other than her on the journey) and pays £3 per day plus petrol money for the privilege!

Well perhaps those parents who make special trips are liking spending time with their teens

or are you angling for a mass harrumph about pampered yoofs/indulgent mamas?

Maybe because they just want to????????

I know that's the reason my mother did it.

I think the lack of provision of storage space for kids in school these days is awful btw. Bit off thread i know.

PE bag, big coat, wellies if (like here) they have to trudge through mud or floods to get to bus stop, cooking stuff in a bag, art folders, lunch, book bag etc. All being carried from class to class all day ... madness.

I and other parents have addressed this with the school, but nothing ever gets done. They're more concerned with ''top buttons being done up'' by far )

as you were ...

I wouldnt send a child on a school bus some of them would be eaten alive meh if folk want to drive their kids then it is up to them what is the difference between primary and secondary primary parents could easily walk their children to school or get the bus leave the car at home, My dds walk/ed to school loads walk or get a lift, there is pubic transport but as i said i wouldnt put a lone child on a bus with the pack at the back ready for them, I once saw a young secondary school child on the bus and the kids at the back were shouting abuse at him

oh this was a public bus

I'm surprised at the number of parents available to drive kids to school and collect them! I start work at 7 or 8 depending on the day (and dh , who teaches, gets there earlier).

We are lucky.£43 a month gets them a travel pass covering buses and train locally.the service is fair, and now they have all the routes worked out (bus a is near and direct but slow,so if late get train and bus b etc)

Because it's not a school bus service the number of kids on the bus isn't large (and there are different schools using it) so there isn't bus based trouble.

They also use public transport to get to after school stuff and at the weekend. Ds is saving huge amounts seeing his girlfriend in the next borough!

If you drive your kids please make sure they can use public transport when they leave home. I taught, years ago 18 yr olds who were wiped out for the morning after getting from university to us it was so stressful...about 4 stops on the local train and a half mile walk following an a tip z map! This is a journey my kids could do at 11.

Wiltshire here, the buses are an EXTORTIONATE amount. Many parents take their children to school. The few that go to the local one all walk.

DD had to get the bus and I had to suck up the cost when she was at school, I needed to be at work which was nowhere near her school.

When she went to college, the closest college was 8 miles away, that was in the same direction as work for me and I gave her a lift. Absolutely sod all to do with independence, why waste money?! I was driving right past it!

Ferrying kids everywhere can be a sign of over protectiveness but 90% of the time I'd say it's the most cost effective/time effective thing to do. You need to look at a lot of other factors before deeming parents and teenagers molly codeling, lazy and indulgent.

"I'm surprised at the number of parents available to drive kids to school"

A lot of secondary schools have very early start times these days, so parents can drop off and get to work on time, not all parents work full time and a large number work shifts.

I normally pick drop off and collect my teenage sister as the secondary is on the route to DD's primary school, if i couldnt, she'd just walk home, although its cold in the mornings now and none of the bloody kids have coats.

the kids round here have to be a certain amount of miles away from school to get a bus pass the fair is a £1 from some of the villages one way

fare*

To be honest people should mind their own business. My children walk to school we live opposite the secondary school so driving would be an impossibility.

I do get annoyed at parents driving when they are local I know of one woman who lives less than 200 metres from the school and drives her yr 8 dd there is no excuse for that.

If people live out of town and want to drive I don't judge them. I used to judge them until I found the cost of the bus.

When I was young I walked 3 miles a day to school and when I started work I had a 5 mile walk. I started work at 7:15 and had to be out in the dark in all weathers . I hated it and because of that I understand when parents want to help their children out a little.

There are lots of valid reasons for children being driven on is thread but most children who are being driven to the local school are just overindulged.

I hadn't realised parents did that these days until it became clear that my childrminder wasn't taking my children anywhere in the afternoons in order to pick her eighteen year old up from school.