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 ?

I dropped my kids at school one day and popped along the street to my childminders to collect something that had been left behind the day before. She opened her door to see me stood there open mouth as one of her neighbours had driven her child to school. It would have been quicker crossing the road and going in the gate than diving 50 yards down the street!

I have dropped Dd off on days when she’s had big props to take into school as they’ve been too big to carry.

Dd has just started secondary and many of her peers are being driven. School bus fares are high (we pay £41 a month for school under 3 miles away, further out are dearer. Dd’s Friend maybe 6 miles away is £78 a month) So I can see why parents drop if they are going to be near there for work particularly with 2 kids, save over £1000 a year in bus fares.
In your example op you are fortunate to start at 9.30. If you started at 9 then you may well have to do the get to school bit early, drop and dash to work for 9 like many do. I did on my office based day when dd at primary school she started 8.40am and I needed to log on to pc in office by 9am. No time to walk home after drop off to collect car.

That way the lure of driving to school, then driving on, would be massively reduced.

That doesn't make much sense.
Surely they should discourage parents who drive from home to school then back home instead.

I remember pre-DC (about 10 years ago) there being a lot of articles about 'walking buses' . Do these still exist? Surely they'd be a good solution where the parent has reduced mobility but the DC is fine?
We've always walked apart from a very brief period where I was working full time and had a train to catch and didn't think I'd have time to get to the station and back in the morning and afternoon. DC were not happy to be driven and I worked out I could manage it by getting up slightly earlier and getting a taxi from station to school on the way home if the train was late. I figure getting a taxi occasionally is still a lot better than driving a car every day.

Well in my case as a child I lived a 20 min car journey to the local primary and a thirty min car to my private school I went too.

Would of taken a long time to walk.

Lots of them have to go to work.
Some of them might have children who don't like school and will kick off when walking. I've had many a walk to school where I've had to drag a dead weight of a child down the path.

Yes, walking buses still exist - DD does it in her school.

I remember pre-DC (about 10 years ago) there being a lot of articles about 'walking buses' . Do these still exist? Surely they'd be a good solution

I work in an infant school and we have one. It's fab and used regularly by lots of children. It's a great idea.

I drive DS1 and three mates to school every other morning as their school is 6 miles away and absolutely not somewhere they could walk to. DS2 attends the school where I work, so we walk on the mornings I don't drop DS1 off (when DS2 goes with his friend) unless I'm carrying too much stuff.

The OP specifically asked about parents who drive their children to very local schools. If you live 10 miles away no-one is expecting you to walk.
I do genuinely wonder why they do this. By the time some of the parents near me have strapped their children in, started the car (and de-iced it in winter), pulled out onto a busy main road, pulled off this road onto a side road, driven up this road and found somewhere to park it would be quicker to walk and they'd get some fresh air and exercise as well.

I drive on the days I work as I haven't got time to go back for the car and still get to work on time.

I drive on the days I don't work because I want extra time in my bed and can't be arsed with the stress of getting DC out the door earlier! (Judge away ) I occasionally walk with youngest DC and am instantly reminded why I drive.

Hope that helps!

AnnPerkins thanks. I think this thread has now convinced me that next summer, at 10.5 I can meet her half way on the way home. In June. (I'll still go with her in the morning)

2 years ago I actually had an accident that meant I spent 4 months in hospital learning to walk again SO hard. I'm ok now and have done the school run since I came out of hospital, but it gets hard in the heat I get all dizzy! I suppose you could say I have 'mobility issues' but I certainly just keep on and refuse to let it affect my life as much as possible.

Parents are SUPER protective in Spain and I needed some good rational British advice. Thankyou.

lweji - round here pple 'trip-chain'. If you can't go on w your journey without going back the way you came, the appeal of getting into the car at all is reduced.
and once vehicles are kept well away from schools, then once again, the appeal of driving must fade.
hopefully??!

You can't be sure everyone lives within a half mile radius though surely? What about divorced parents for a start, or people who have moved since starting school?

My stepdaughter's school was 1.5 miles from her mum's house and 2.8 miles from my house. Now her mum lives 3 miles away too. Our catchment area is 5 miles in theory. It takes me 10 minutes in the car or 60 minutes to walk along a dual carriageway.

I know you're citing lazy neighbours in your example but some people just genuinely can only drive their children in.

Most of the moms I've seen are coming straight back home. Same as me. I walk from the same estate they live on!! It's a really nice short walk. It baffles me beyond belief!!

Yy, of course, my DH lives a ten min drive from school along duel carriageway.

I would not expect or want him and DD to walk! An hour alog a due carriageway? no.

I live a safe, ten minute walk away. Next door to several people who drive.

To repeat AGAIN the OP did NOT mean people who had good reason to drive, of course not.

But how do you know who that is dan?
If I drive and go home, how do know whether I'm a lazy person going home to watch Jeremy Kyle or a person managing a chronic illness going home to work at home?

Just because people go straight home doesn't mean they don't work.

When mine were younger and needed dropped/walked to school rather than going themselves, if I had an early meeting I'd go home and do that in case I wouldn't get to work in time to dial in.

Mine walked or were walked to primary and now get driven to high school which is probably the opposite of most peoples experiences. But ven if I'd driven to primary, I'd still get home quicker than I could get into the office so early meetings usually meant working at home.

Sometimes I drive if DS refuses to walk. It's better than getting a headache from the whingeing.

I know for a fact that none of these moms have a disability/chronic illness/job. Next....

How? As I've previously stated, no one knew about my chronic illness apart from my husband, mum and dad.

Because they are lazy feckers. Honestly Op I see this every day, I walk past people stuck in traffic or who live less than 100 metres away. Walking anywhere is an alien concept to these people, many of whom are overweight, as are their children. Furthermore most have no excuse as there is a lovely cycle path which leads straight to the school- no roads. As far as I can see none of these work as the working parents tend to drop at breakfast club so as to be in work by 9. It does bother me because it contributes to air pollution which affects everyone.

We live a 10 minute walk away - 2 minutes to drive.

We drive because the dc get dropped at breakfast club at 8.10 and I start work at 8.30...work is 5 minutes away. Having to walk the ten minutes home would be cutting it too fine though.

Grockle, because they're friends I've known for 7 years
We had plenty of talk of illness when I was ill.

Nobody is ill or works at home.
Only 12 dc's in dd's class, I know them very well, for years.

They're all in their 30's and healthy!

I'd see if there are some legitimate reasons why people drive to a very local school ?

Bullying and fear of some of the other children walking is a big one at secondary.

Also as youy say Op you are LUCKY to be able to start work later than most.

A 'duel' carriageway sounds VERY dangerous