Why do people drive their kids to school??

[brightonbaker]

Every day My oldest DD 11 walks to school, she is at secondary school and it is about 8minutes walk away. There is one road to cross. I walk my younger DD 8 to school, her school is the same distance. I then get home and go to work, I'm lucky I can start at 9:30.
I think it is good for them to walk to school as it is a good start to the day, exercise, fresh air etc.
I have two neighbours with older DDs about 13 and 14 who I am quite sure have never walked to school, ever. So they leave about the same time as us and get back about the same time as its only 8 minutes walk and by the time they have found somewhere to park** illegally it takes the same amount of time. So why? Why are they doing this? one of the parents does not work so no need to rush and I'm not sure what the other one does.
Really gets on my nerves so thought I'd see if there are some legitimate reasons why people drive to a very local school ?

Aderyn - exactly my point, none of those things ARE entirely private matters. There are very few things that are, when you think about it!

I agree. Secondary school children should walk, on their own, if at all possible.

This really annoys me too. We drive to school because we have no other choice. The school is an hours walk away compared to a ten min drive, I'm a childminder so have 6 children with me on the school run 3 of whom don't walk and what with timings for children getting picked up/dropped off it just isn't feasible
We would absolutely LOVE to be able to walk to school, and it is our biggest motivation to save money and try and move closer to the school.
We are so unfortunate to not have anything within walking distance and I firmly believe that we should all be doing the best we can to reduce pollution, spend more time outdoors and educate our children on incorporating exercise into daily routine.
We are so eager to relocate closer to local amenities and it really greats on me when I see children getting dropped off at school every day who live just around the corner! Also means there are no parking spaces for those of us who have no option but to drive.

The catchment area of my dc's primary and secondary schools is very small. So why do so many parents drive to/from school?

When dd was starting secondary school a mother of a child in her class asked me how dd was going to get there. I said walk - there are swarms of kids walking along the road am/pm. This woman, who lives nearer school than we do, actually said, "But what if it's raining?"

They are not private in the sense that they have no impact on others but people would think it totally socially unacceptable to say to someones face that they disapprove of those choices because socially we do think of them as private, but somehow the judgement on driving is a free for all.

But is OP walking up to her neighbours and saying to their face “you are selfish!”, though? I don’t think she is.

It’s fine to talk about the wider impact of our choices. We shouldn’t be so precious that we rage about being “judged” if anyone dares mention that something we do isn’t the best choice. And that goes for flying and eating meat and using lots of plastics as well as driving to a nearby school, yes.

(I have confronted people and told them to their face that they’re being selfish by parking on the pavement/blocking crossing points, though. Have no problem at all with that one.)

I live about a 3 minute walk to my eldests school. I drive as 5 yr old has learning difficulties and is safer strapped into his seat than beside the road standing (can be 10mins or so waiting as never on time)

I dream for the day I can walk my DC to school. I'm a Childminder & the times children are dropped to me in the morning and need breakfast & then we need to pick up one child at 8.20 then get to school for 8.40 & then I need to be at a nursery for 9am to do a drop off. Time just doesn't allow for it. Not to mention the massive rush to get home to start feeding some their snacks that go at 4pm. It's constant.

Would love to ditch the car. Every time a house comes up for sale on the road of the school I take a look. I could make it work if I only lived next door. Maybe one day!

Suki DS2 is big enough to walk, but sometimes I have to take him with me when he's overtired and would either run off or throw himself on the floor. He seems to just relax in the trolley.

I have torn cartilage in one of my knees. When it's okay I can walk fine. Sometimes it just plays up and I can barely walk. Then I drive.

Lovelymonkey I don't fly, for that very reason, even though I have friends and close family abroad. I don't routinely drive, either - though I do occasionally take cabs if I have too much stuff to carry onto the bus.

I'm sure I do lots of things that damage the environment, but I'm working on them, and I'm willing to listen when someone talks to me about alternatives, and how possible they may be.

It’s fine to talk about the wider impact of our choices. We shouldn’t be so precious that we rage about being “judged” if anyone dares mention that something we do isn’t the best choice. And that goes for flying and eating meat and using lots of plastics as well as driving to a nearby school, yes.

This. Thank you, 53rdWay.

To piss me off when they park both sides of the pavement (on it) making my walk to school harder?

Some people just don't like walking. It's a nightmare near me as I live 3 minutes away from 2 schools and people drive from just down the road.
Our council have implemented a 5 minutes zone where you could park and walk from saving the dangerous situation I describe. Ironically they drive from that zone so it's made no difference.

I drive my year 7 dd, then drop the others off at Primary we live 11 miles from school, no way in he'll I am walking 44 miles a day.

it's certainly not a non issue but there are so many excuses and valid reasons people can use to do exactly as they please I would try not to pay any attention. i personally would quite literally pay good money to live somewhere where we can walk to school, when the time comes. fuck all those ins and outs of the car!!

@Grocklebox I was going to say just that. No one knew I had a chronic illness and mobility issues until they got worse and I had to use a wheelchair. I'd had it for five years before that happened. I didn't tell anyone that wasn't family.

People drive to my local primary school because when they walk, they can't get the children to reliably avoid the dogs poo on the pavement, verges, kerbs and gutters.

Sounds feeble, but on a five to six minute walk, you would encounter up to twenty dollops, many already walked in by mistake and spread around.

Campaigns to get dog walkers to pick it up have not been successful. So people drive.

We live 10 miles away from DS's school, so we have to drive him. We're late a few times every year due to traffic jams, which I always feel terrible about because it's not DS's fault. This year I surpassed myself and we were late on the second day of term due to two cars driving into a lorry.

We're moving near to the school in the next month or so and I can't wait to walk there with DS on the first day after we move - rain or shine.

danTDM DS's school is in the three tier system and in year 4 they're allowed to walk home on their own in the summer term, to get all the anxious parents the kids used to the idea before they have to catch a bus to middle school in the autumn. DS is a summer baby so will still be 8 when he does it.

This issue is everyone's business as extra cars on the road mean extra danger, more pollution - as everyone's said.

These threads bug me as people always pipe up with unrelated reasons why they're doing what the OP is highlighting. OF COURSE if you live 11 miles away it's fine to drive, and if you have mobility issues same. That isn't what the OP is about!

Since becoming a SAHP we've done every school run on foot. I'd only get parked 5 doors down the road at peak time anyway so it would take longer to faff with car seats and park up than to walk.

I did end up driving when I was working though. At least it was off peak with DS being dropped off bang on 8am for the start of breakfast club. I had to drop DS2 off at nursery en-route to work in a neighbouring town and be in my classroom by 8:30. There simply wasn't a spare 5 minutes to lug a 3 & 5 year old around on foot. Ditto for pick-up at 5:55. I did feel guilty at using the car for such a pathetic distance!

I have the best chats with my DDs on those walks, we see the flowers coming up in Spring and all the changes through the seasons, play little word games and chat about the school day. No screens or toys just walking and holding hands. Perhaps that sounds a bit crazy but it is actually an enjoyable time of the day

Yes! This absolutely. In fact you have just made a little nostalgic lump come to my throat! DD is in her 20s now but I used to walk with her to primary (until she was in Y6 when she went alone) and our walk to school sounded very much like yours. We had all these little things we did - counting how many elastic bands the postman had dropped, hunting for snails on a grassy slope that was particularly snail-y, making up stories and generally catching up on things. Ah! lovely days!

Obviously many people have valid reasons for driving but I think you are quite right that some people behave like they have lost the use of her legs. At secondary DD walked to school alone - about a mile. I used to walk to work - about the same distance. On the way I would often pass a house where the mother and her son were getting in the car to drive to the same school DD went to. But given where they lived and the traffic at that time of day I am certain it would take her far longer to drive than it would for him to just walk.

Why do you care?

Oh and I care because it impacts on my life. I can't get my car off the drive because a lazy fucker parent has blocked me in. Again. Delivery lorries and emergency vehicles would have no hope of getting down our street from 8.45am to 9.05am or 2.45pm to 3.15pm so let's hope no-one has a fire or heart attack during that time or the paramedics would be parking 300 yards away and running down the street. Parents park half on/off the pavement so in my buggy pushing days I had to go into the road to pass their cars.

School sends out letters about "parking respectfully" and encouraging walking but it changes nothing. The issue has got significantly worse in the years we've lived here.

I do not believe for ONE SECOND that every single person who lives within easy walking distance and chooses to drive is depressed, has a hidden disability, is rushing off to work or any of the other reasons. A high number are just plain lazy.

we're in london, and I'm hoping that SK/local councils will have the courage to 'filter' traffic around schools - so that if you approach from the west, you leave to the west (etc.) That way the lure of driving to school, then driving on, would be massively reduced.

London primaries generally have mini/micro catchments. Almost nobody needs to drive; it should not be prevented, but it should NOT in any way be facilitated.

I wonder this too. For example, my son has a friend who lives at the most 10 minutes walk from school. His mum is a SAHM and drives him every day. When they came for a playdate at our house she drove round - we are also 10 minutes away. I see other parents who drive similar distances and they aren't all dashing off to work judging by the number having a leisurely chat in the street after dropping off their kids.

DD is disabled and cannot walk to school plus I have to work and would have to leave my job if I could not drop off DD at school.

Is this a good enough reason, OP?