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 read your post and initially thought so what? They can drive if they want. But thinking about it, your are entirely right. One thing I cannot stand is people who are welded to their car as if they were born with wheels and can't manage on 2 legs

Its a really poor example to set for DCs too - encouraging the idea that they have to be in a car and driven everywhere. Lazyminded lifestyle

Alongside the obesity and poor physical health/strength medical problems that will land with a thud in the future, there'll be an epidemic of flat-arse syndrome too

I live 10 minutes from local primary school and as a childminder I walk children to and from school every day. Sometimes I think I'd be safer taking the car. A lot of the drivers ignore the 20mph speed limit in their haste to get to school and drop the kids off - parking spaces are few and far between. I've been soaked by drivers going through puddles to the point where my feet can be squelching in my shoes. Trying to cross the road to get to the school is like dicing with death as some parents give the impression they would happily mow you down in order to squeeze into a parking space. And then there's the ones who park half on the pavement. 😡 It would probably be a lot less stressful if I took the car.

Because where I live it is regularly -25 and often -40 with the wind chill.

From November to March

I'm sure my neighbors think I'm young, healthy etc and should walk my child to a school. We bought our house 3 yrs ago dreaming if when DS started school, how I'd walk him the 3 streets away and walk back again. But I'm disabled and deteriorated rapidly. My neighbors don't see me in a wheelchair, only walking to the car.

Please don't forget about invisible illness and stop being so bloody judgy.

I'd love to walk to school everyday but put school with DD is a 2hour walk, I could do it at a speed walk in an hour on my own but I just don't have 3 hours to kill every day! (obviously I'm guessing we don't come under the OP guidelines as we are so far away but I do envy the mums who all walk into school together with the kids playing!)

What winds me up is the parents who do need to drive because they live a distance away or are en route to work but then try and park as close as possible to the school with little regard for others - neighbours to the school or children going to school. My son's old school had two pubs and a supermarket nearby, all of whom had given permission for parents to use their car parks but parents would insist on parking on the road leading to the school. Just lazy!! Friends of mine did it and just wouldn't even consider using one of the car parks. His new school only this week has taken to publishing the car make, model and reg of repeat offenders who park badly. Factor it into your day people!!!

in theory it's a lovely thing to say and to believe - but practically kids just really want an easy ride these days, most don't care about the environment and pollution

Kids wanting an easy ride isn't a reason to give it to them though, that's just going to encourage their laziness.

When they went to the private prep school at the end of our road they walked and when a bit older walked alone there. Their next school was too far so they were driven. My daughter got a school coach aged 5 to her school. It just depends where you live and your lifestyle. Also some parents may live close but they are driving by that way on the way to work anyway so might as well do a drop off.

I do support all moves to make parents obey local parking rules however. We do not allow parents to drive over our private roads to the school near by and mostly they respect that and the driving scheme the school has in place for drop offs.

We'd have a 40min walk over muddy fields so mine go on school buses. I used to be walked to school everyday as a kid (lived in a town then) and feel I've missed something by not walking them to school as I always chatted to my mum at that time.

The biggest problem at our school is people parking down the narrow lane so traffic is always fighting head on. There is a car park a short walk away which is half empty .

'in theory it's a lovely thing to say and to believe - but practically kids just really want an easy ride these days, most don't care about the environment and pollution'

So parent them (long distances, lack of pavements, disabilities aside).

I drive my children the ten min walk to school. Because I have 10 mins to drive the 7 min journey ( on a good day) to work, after I drop them to school. If i didnt drive I'd be late to work every day.

In these cases, where they live minutes away and have no job, it's simply that using cars is a sign of affluence and walking a sign of poverty.

My mother refused to let us walk anywhere. 'You can't WALK' she would spit in horror, 'What will people THINK?' She thought it 'common' and later 'slutty'. I once walked the 30mins home from high school with friends, not the bus, and she went ballistic, saying 'what if people saw?'

She was very Hyacinth Bucket. So, in summary, it's become a status thing. People drive because they believe it conveys affluence and status to others in their social class, and walking is frowned upon as 'common' or even 'cruel' to those who lean towards indulgence.

We walk everyday here. It's over half a mile but the traffic jams would render a drive pointless. And yeah, my mum still says it's 'cruel' and 'common'.

Op, I think you have a point, but the thread is filled up with all the exceptions.
I've been in primary ed since the 80s, and there has been a steady increase in the number of children driven to school. I know that a very large number of the children who are dropped off and collected would be perfectly capable of walking, learning to carry their own stuff and learning the life skills required to handle roads. But their parents don't want to do it for various,often silly reasons.
It's also rather sad on trips and in pe when a woman pushing 60 is considerably fitter than many of the children she is supervising.

Luttrell that is funny. My mother probably would have thought driving was the height of vulgarity- very nouveau riche.

When people say - well I drive because it's on the way to work but they will be walking from Y5 / Y6. How keen will the DC be to walk when they have been driven for the previous 5 or 6 years? What if there is a younger sibling who is still getting driven?

Also do you all really need to drive to work in the first place? I work 2 miles away and cycle or walk. I have plenty of colleagues who live similar or closer distances but drive (and then complain about the traffic). Yes, some may have hidden disabilities but not all and there is no need to go and visit clients etc during the day.

My ds school is on my way to work. The return bus fare is more than twice what I use in fuel to take him. It saves us about £150 per year. He walks home from the bus stop - 20 mins or so.
Both DC walked to and from their junior school with the crocodile (which I had to help with one day per week)

cheminotte I work in 3 different schools, 10 miles, 12 miles and 25 miles away. If I walked to the station and then from the station to my school 10 miles away, it would take me nearly an hour to get there. 12 miles away - 1 and 1/2 hours, and 25 miles - God knows! You take the work where you can and manage around it. Good on you for getting a local job. My DH has a local-ish job, and starts at 8, so no help there with school transport.

When people say - well I drive because it's on the way to work but they will be walking from Y5 / Y6. How keen will the DC be to walk when they have been driven for the previous 5 or 6 years? What if there is a younger sibling who is still getting driven?

Very. They like to be with their peers. My niece and nephew were driven to and from primary for years. One has been walking to school and the other cycling for the last four years. Both with their friends.

DD not long started secondary school. BIL works in the same area and finishes work at the same time. He offered to pick DD up. Which I thought was lovely. DD was horrified at the mere suggestion she couldn't bus it home with her friends.

I know I'm lucky to have a local job. I've only had it for a few years that and before that was commuting by train.
But it's not uncommon for one parent to have a local job (normally mum - average commute for women drops from age 30 onwards).

I regularly drive DD1 to school. It's about a 5/10 min walk away. We have a car park there though and it's just so much easier than trying to get out the door and walk with DD1 the biggest ever faffer and DD2 the buggy hating toddler. We have a system here where groups of children walk to school from various meeting points with a member of school staff so I try and send DD1 with them most mornings. Can't really see the issue though.

'Can't really see the issue though.'

We shouldn't be using cars when we don't need to, that's the issue.

My job is not really local, 45 mins drive, I do start at 9:30 but I had to negotiate this. School doesn't open until 8:55 but gates are open at 8:40, my DD is there on the dot so I can walk back and still get to work on time.

Why Maireadplastic? I own my car, pay road tax for it and work hard so I can have the luxury of having a car so why shouldn't I use it to make my life a bit easier? To be fair 4 out of 5 mornings I'm taking my car somewhere in town (very rural village) and would be passing by the school anyway but even if I wasn't it makes it an easier morning for me at this moment in time. We do lots of walking outside school time and are a very active family so it's not as if we are promoting laziness.

Yes, Brighton, I often leave mine before the bell rings if I need to dash. I too have negotiated a later work start- I am extremely fortunate to have very flexible working hours. We don't have car so there's no option but to walk the 20mins to school. Don't mind it in the least- we are always early and my 3 boys are all very streetwise (we live in London).

I don't know if people realise that the highest levels of pollution are experienced by children IN cars in stationary or slow moving traffic. Worse than those children walking on the pavement alongside you.