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 ?

There may well be valid reasons for driving DCs to school but there is no excuse for illegal parking.

I drive because school is 11 miles away, we have no bus service and it's not our catchment school.

I drive a 4x4 to school because a mini won't tow a 3 ton trailer across fields and I'm sure all of you 4x4 haters aren't suggesting that we should buy a small car just for the school run? That would be silly.

However, I do raise an eyebrow at those that drive when they literally live around the corner from school.

Miss Jeremy Kyle? Don't you mean appear on it.

I honestly don’t understand why some people get so obsessed with others lifestyle choices.

Bluntness I get obsessed with others lifestyle choices when they impact on my preferred lifestyle choice of being able to breathe air that's not so polluted that the local government gives occasional warnings that it's best if we all stay indoors.

Because I have 3 children one with ASD, one with ADHD and a very challenging 2 year old who wont use a pram so if I had to walk them to school I would be insane. Why would i make my life 100 times more difficult than it needs to be?

They get lots of exercise , attend 4 different sports clubs per week, walk the dog and out door play but I cannot walk them to school.

I have always driven mine as we live 6 miles from the school. They could get the bus (they get it home) but it would require them to walk a half mile on a country road, cross a very busy main road and wait on the hard shoulder at a bend an hour and 20 minutes before school starts. This wouldn't be so bad in the summer months but in the winter, it's still dark at that time so not particularly safe. I'm heading that way for work so drop them on the way.

However, when they were in primary school we had a voluntary one way system in place for school drop offs as the road is narrow and even if cars aren't parked, it's slow to pass a car coming the opposite way. Once cars are parked (they need to at least stop to let the children out) it is impossible to pass. One girl in my ds' class was driven to school every morning. They lived about ¼ mile, probably less, from the school but if they followed the one way system, it would have been maybe ⅔ mile, max. The girl's mother drove her to school against the traffic every day, causing complete deadlock. It had to take them at least 2-3 times as long as it would to drive the correct way and way, way longer than it would take to walk.

Because DD secondary is 11 miles away with no free transport (bus is a crazy amount and it is cheaper for DH to drive via work) and DS although only a mile and a bit is taken via me going to work and returning from work -I haven't got time to walk back home and then get to work/school.

If there aren't legitimate reasons, then it's laziness.
The same reason people fight to get the spaces nearest the supermarket. God forbid they might have to walk for 2 minutes.

and especially if you also have little ones who may be reluctant to walk (like I mean like 3 year olds),

I do understand this, but my DS was walking 40 mins to school every day from the age of 4. (Before then it was a ten minute walk to nursery.) And - while it was a massive pain in the arse for me - he did really, really well on it. We'd have a nice walk, chatting all the while, and then he'd arrive at school having had a moderate amount of exercise, and thus be ready to sit down and learn. And it's set him up to be casually active ever since - he's not one for sport much, but it doesn't matter because he doesn't think twice about walking everywhere.

So - five minutes for most 3-year-olds is perfectly doable (as long as there's a pavement), and sets them well for walking longer distances later without whining.

Most people? Because they are lazy, there are no other valid reasons. Some do need to drive, but with most very strict catchments, they don't.
Funnily enough, there are the same people who will make fun of preschoolers still in buggy. It's fine to plonk your child in a car seat apparently, but god forbids the mum decides to walk and run with a child in the buggy.

The lazy ones are very annoying: they add to the congestion around schools, park badly and creating real danger for all the children, especially in primary schools.
I have to leave my house earlier when it's rain, and I walk, because of the traffic! It takes me at least twice as long to cross 2 roads because of the lazy idiots, who are quite happy to drive past and soak people waiting to cross.

It's very amusing to see mothers (mainly) driving to school 30mn to an hour early to secure a parking space, and wait stupidly in their car when they could have just stayed home for that much longer.

It bothers me because they are dangerous, pollute the place, and force me to leave the house earlier when it rains. Ridiculous.

OP, I have asked myself that question many times. Apart from reasons above such as disability, on way to work, heavy bags/ equipment, distance, I think it may be convenience or just laziness.
Then there are the ones that turn up to park up to an hour early for pick up, just to get the best or nearest places to park.

I honestly don’t understand why some people get so obsessed with others lifestyle choices

Because some people's lifestyle choices are selfish.

I live around the corner from our school, 5 min walk at most (up hill)... however my 2 year old is so lazy when he has just been dragged out of bed so occasionally I choose to stick them in the car and have a slightly shorter walk. Or if I am going somewhere straight after I take the car... I have a big 4x4 and it’s a bitch to park but sometimes that is still easier than carrying/dragging a 2 year old up hill before the bell rings on the days he is refusing the buggy. People have their reasons I guess. One of the things about walking that gets my back up is the narrow pavement and trying to pass lots of parents, slow walking kids, buggies, etc, especially when I have my buggy.

I drive round the corner to the school because otherwise I have to walk up a massive hill which causes me v bad pains (I have an autoimmune illness). That ok with you is it? It's not really any of your business why people drive their kids to school. Maybe their kids are really slow walkers, maybe they are going off to work after, could be a million reasons. Each to their own.

We walk 30 minutes to school, because we can't afford a car and I'm loath to take a bus for that distance. I think most of the DC walk. I do see families who live near us waiting for the bus and I think "why?" 😕

Our local primary agreed with a nearby pub (a few minutes walk away) to let parents park there because the road outside the school was so congested at pick up times.

Hardly anyone did. They just didn't want to walk even a few steps.

, I'm lucky I can start at 9:30. you can, others might not be so lucky

(of course, a lot of it is that people are lazy)

I live in Australia. That's my excuse. My kids would be walking for hours to get to the "local" school.

danTDM there's a minimum age? 😕

Let's face it, if the kid has never walked in his life before starting school, parents might struggle a bit. It's still laziness and bad parenting.
Unless your child has a medical issue and is in pain walking - then of course it would be cruel, they do get used to it.

It's a very recent phenomenon to have children who are "lazy" and refuse to walk. Kids refusing to go to school is one thing, but refusing to walk.. very modern. It's frightening. Schools banning parents to add a piece of chocolate in their lunch boxes are not going to fix the problem

We live about 5 minutes walk to school. My kids would love it if I drove them and if I am on my way to work I do as its super early. However on the way back I park my car at home unless I am seriously late and pick them up by foot.

I drove my daughter to school because, by turns,

I was late
Lazy
Once, I was going on to a work thing, and someone else had paid for the limousine, and I wanted everyone to see what a big car I had. Because I'm quite small in mind and penis (if not body)

(I haven't actually got a car, it's my wife's, which she never stops reminded me about)

I gave her a lift to the station the other day, even though I shouldn't have and she had been rude to me, because I'm weak willed and if I give in and give her a lift she actually talks to me. Whereas normally, if I try to get past her to get some milk out the fridge, she says thinks like "what!!!", "Don't even look at me!!!" and "no I don't want a hug"

Also, I quite like the idea that by making an unnecessary journey I am ruining the planet and, in my current mood, I want to spread the misery to everyone else.

I just googled it, and no, there isn't. The DC's school, however, has a minimum of y6.

My son was bullied. It was both in and outside School. I took him to know he got there safely

You say she's never worked - is it possible she has a health issue? If my health is as it is now when my boys start school, my husband will be driving them because the walk there and back every day would be literally all I could physically do that day.