To wonder why so few parents walk their kids to and from school these days?

[JellyDiamonds]

This evening I had to quickly pop into town and my route takes me down a side street where there's a large old Victorian primary school with a smallish car park that's for teachers only. It was 3.15, and despite the fact that it was absolutely glorious, warm and sunny, I couldn't get over just how many parents had driven to collect their kids from the school.

It was absolute chaos, cars double parked, parked on corners, parked at strange angles, blocking entrances to a business and even blocking the entrance to the school itself. I felt so sorry for the people who live there, most of the houses are terraces with no off street parking at all. It made me think, I was rarely picked up or dropped off by car. I always walked, even in the rain. When I got to secondary school I got the bus as it was further away. The only time my parents even picked me up by car was if we were going somewhere straight from school, which was so rare.

Surely most children live within walking distance of their primary school? And on a gorgeous late summers evening there is surely no excuse for such laziness? We have all legs don't we? Why don't we use them more often? I don't understand it...

Or maybe they are just lazy

You have obviously made up your mind so why ask?

Do you work jelly. Not everyone has the time to be casually strolling to the shops at 3:15, working mothers don't and they also don't have time to loiter around school gates 'chatting'.

No one has yet explained to me why it seems to be acceptable for parents to park so dangerously and cause such an inconvenience for residents and other drivers.....

Our school is a 30 minute walk away and I really would hate to have to walk home with DD1 after a long day. I drive half and walk half but I don't know how that will work out in the winter with another one in the pram. It's easy to judge if you were lucky enough to get a school within walking distance but we were not and despite wanting to walk I am forced to drive. The other prospect is spending 2 hours a day walking to and from school per day and as much as I love walking I don't want to spend so much time doing it.

Work!
Knob.

We live 2.5 miles from our nearest primary school and would have to cross a major trunk road with 50 mph limit (and no pedestrian crossing) plus walk 1 mile down a country road with no pavement and blind bends, to get to school on foot. It's not feasible / safe to walk

You asked why people drove.

Not why they parked dangerously.

I think working parents perform a daily miracle just getting them to school, picking them up, doing homework and cooking for them and often holding down a full time paid job too.

If they want to drive, bloody well let them!

...although none of these entirely valid points explain why it is necessary to fight to park right outside the school, on the zig zags etc etc.

Well I do have legs yes but I can't actually walk so maybe that is a good enough reason for you?

Work.

Most mums of school age children work. Everyone I know drops children at breakfast club or at school as early as possible then into work. Same in reverse.

"No one has yet explained to me why it seems to be acceptable for parents to park so dangerously and cause such an inconvenience for residents and other drivers....."

Because the parking facilities are unsuitable. Obviously.

Speaking of laziness, you're quite a lazy thinker, JellyDiamonds.

To the poster that passes the lady driving her children in and gets there quicker than her). I need to drive but even if I had the time...I can't turn right in the morning. It is literally a stressful 5 minute wait for kind people to let you in.
Perhaps she has a similar thing so she needs to be in the car when she gets to school or the commute doesn't work? Although she may just be a lazy caa

Some people park like twats because they are twats. Hth.

Also activities after school not rare these days. Most children do something after school - swimming, dancing, brownies.

At the school my child goes to I'd say the majority walk, cycle or scoot to school. There is no parking near the actual school at all but a dedicated parking spot about a 5 min walk away. It's a 3 class a year intake but only goes up to Y2, the junior school is elsewhere with what looks to be similar walking/cycling numbers. I work but cycle to work as it's only half an hour. However, I am lucky in where I live; a large village outside a university town with good cycle network. Lots of flexible employers here and very family oriented.

No one has yet explained to me why it seems to be acceptable for parents to park so dangerously and cause such an inconvenience for residents and other drivers.....

Maybe because you didn't start a thread with a title that was about parking, but chose to have a pop at those of us who have to drive our children to school because of work and distance instead.

Work. No such thing as 'catchments' in some areas. Faith schools with large catchments. But mainly, 'these days' mums work.

My DS has just started at school which is 7-8 min walk from our house. I would love to walk him there and back every day but unfortuantly 4 out of 5 days I will need to have the car near to the school to get to work ASAP and the same on pick up. My employer is letting me rearrange my hours so I can drop him off and pick up but it will usually be too tight on time to walk it...it's that's simple.

But it doesn't excuse crap parking.

I do walk DD to school, about a mile, down a very steep hill on a pretty dangerous road. I also get pissed of with the parents that drive, that park badly and that speed down the road.

However, I can quite believe that most of the parents are rushing off to work immediately after the drop-off. Most will be coming straight from work to collect. Many will live miles away. Lots will think the road is too dangerous to walk down. The walk back up the hill would be very hard for anyone with an injury, illness or disability. Lots of kids don't like to walk. Lots of kids can't walk.

I can't excuse the parking as easily, but I can imagine that some parents will only get there a whiskers breath before the hell goes, so most of the 'good' parking will be gone (but the pavement parking completely grips my shit and I cant excuse that).

Yep we all have legs, but no we can't all use them.
Yep lots of kids will be 5 mins away, but not as many as when you were at school OP. Times have changed, a lot.

I pick them up on the bus but my excuse for not walking is that it's 4 miles each way! I'd most certainly drive if I could.

I admit it does surprise me that some people drive to school when it's a five minute walk away (I'm sure it would take longer to get everyone in the car and park than it would to walk there) but many people will be on their way back from somewhere (work perhaps) or on their way to an after school activity? I would also guess that some of the people picking up at 3.15 will be childminders who need to pick children up from different locations?

2/3 children in different settings.

Work. If you finish at 2:45pm and are 4 miles away you'll be doing the school run in the car.

Catchments are all over the place these days.

Extra-curricular activities.

FWIW we walk.

Because it's too far up a big steep hill and I have got a car and parking is available near the school, that's why