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 ?

These OPs are always smug, sneery stealth boasts.

tigercub genuinely interested, here - your solution to feeling better about taking an unnecessary car hourney - which isn't good for your kids, never mind other people's kids - is to console yourself about taking future, very slightly longer car journeys?

I can't think of a form of words that doesn't sound accusative, but this is a genuine question: why don't you just walk? Now for 5 mins, as well as in the future for 10 mins? You presumably do a lot of other things to make your DC's future lives better - why would you not do this, too?

Also we have a window of 15 mins to drop off so those that pull up on the zigzags at 8:55 are really irritating as perhaps they could have walked and got to work etc if they were more organised.

Me and my kids walk or cycle to school/work. One at primary about 1.5 miles, one at secondary about 2 miles. Work 5 miles.

However, I have CFS, and for weeks sometimes months at a time I will drive me and littlest every day, if I am poorly

Thing is, you are asking why these particular people drive their kids to school. Nobody here knows the answer to that. ONE, the majority of people don't do it without reason, because it is actually such a tit-ache, with traffic and parking and disapproval from all the other parents

I think it's not your business. Their kids, their choice.
People bang on about the environment but I bet those same people drive to leisure activities, go on planes, make unnecessary purchases, don't recycle everything etc.
Unless you live a life which leaves virtually no carbon footprint, it is just bitching about other people for no good reason.

I have always wondered the same thing OP. I live even closer than you to DS's school, less than a 5 minute walk. There are several parents that live within a few metres of me that drive their DC to school. When you add in the time and faff involved in getting DC and kit in the car, joining the scrum to find somewhere to park, etc it must be far easier, and quicker to walk, and yet they still do it. It makes absolutely no sense!

At my dds primary school (she's 6) the school sent out a letter about this the other week. So many parents but mainly mums drive their kids to school and there's a residential home next to school with a car park that has a sign stating visitors and staff parking only yet when the street is filled (including blocking people's driveways) they go and park in there. Anyway the residential home has obviously complained.

School sent a letter basically saying that no one is to park in the residential home car park or block anyone's drives and also they have introduced a reward system for everyone who has walked, scootered, cycled to school.

I know a lot of the mums at school and only a few go to work straight from drop off, most are either sahm or part time so no real need to drive. I have a car and the only time I drive dd to school is if it is throwing it down and that's only because I have a little one in a pram so easier to get in the car than battle wind and rain with a buggy and a child that screams blue murder if the rain covers on. Having said that though if I didn't have the car I would just get on with it

maybe people work at home so whilst it looks like they are just going back home, they might have to be back for a meeting or to deliver a piece of work by a certain time.

Because people have bad time management and are lazy.

Well done you for being selfish and not very bright if you comment without even reading the thread.

I read the thread. I'm a teacher, first class degree, masters in education, halfway to a doctorate.

Firstly, it's "not very bright" to tell me I haven't read the thread. Are you watching me? No. So you didn't see me read the thread.

Secondly, how am I selfish for pointing out that many people have reasons for driving their children to school, and asked for others to think of those with invisible illnesses, children with issues etc. I would think that's quite the opposite of selfish, and it's "not very bright" of you to claim otherwise.

Thirdly, you mention how its not excusable for disabled drivers to park illegally. Are you one of those people who don't realise where disabled people can and can't park? We are able to park on double yellow lines without kerb dashes, for up to three hours at a time. It's "not very bright" to assume we can't, without researching it first.

When the boys were primary school age, I went through a phase of driving them to school. I was depressed at the time, and it left me exhausted and unmotivated, and this was just what I had to do, to get through the day. Was it ideal? No, of course not.

Once they were at senior school, they made their own way there - walking or cycling. Occasionally there'd be a problem - they did paper rounds and sometimes there were delays getting the papers, and they'd be cutting it fine for school, so I'd drive them. Or if the weather was really dire - we live in Scotland, and they had a long walk to school, and I didn't want them arriving soaked to the skin.

You've reminded me actually...last school year a dad got arrested for parking outside our primary school. Handcuffed and taken off in a police car! Poor daughter was terrified, just left on the pavement

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.

My 5yo refused to walk from the ages of about 2 1/2 to 4 because he had undiagnosed hypermobility in his ankles (and probably knees) and it did, genuinely, hurt his legs to walk. We didn't know this and thought he was just making a fuss.
He is fine now especially with his insoles but I don't think it was anything to do with sitting in front of the TV/mollycoddling.
We used to drive to work (but park about 5 mins walk away) because otherwise it was a very long walk, but was on the way to my work/DD's nursery.
Now we cannot park nearer than our house so clearly we walk. However, as it's up a very steep hill (I won't cycle up it) I have considered driving to breakfast club (you can drive into the playground at that time) because then I don't have to cajole DD up the hill (she is 3, and small for her age so her legs are only little).

I live on a road with a large secondary school at the bottom. I worked there for years then left for another school. I'm retired now and am amazed at just how many parents deliver their offspring almost to the door.

They then turn up from 3 onwards to collect them (They finish at 3.20)

We used to run campaigns get parents let their children walk the last bit of the journey but to no avail. When taught there I was unaware of the sheer number numbers of cars as I was inside and got there before the rush and left after they'd gone.

What is annoying, and unhealthy, is that many cars are idling in that waiting time. I assume this is to keep the car warm/hot/charge up a phone. This is mainly the afternoon.

If it's cold bring a coat, if it's hot open the windows. Charge your phone before you come out.

I think it's not your business. Their kids, their choice.

My choice for my kid would be for him to be able to breathe the city air without it being so polluted that there's warnings about it. But perhaps my choice doesn't count?

People bang on about the environment but I bet those same people drive to leisure activities, go on planes, make unnecessary purchases, don't recycle everything etc.

So, Aderyn how do you expect conversations to happen, and change to occur, if only perfect people are allowed to discuss it? Because there are no perfect people. Or shall we all just live selfishly, and say nothing, and all go to hell in a handbasket?

Professor I'm sure it is legal but there are places on double yellows where it really isn't sensible for people with blue badges to park - e.g. if people park just next to our private road exit then I cannot see the oncoming traffic so have to ease out onto the road, blind, and dangerously (this is not related to school parking).
I feel that there should be additional marking in places like that.

I have to drive my dds to school. One of them is at a senior school a good 5 miles away and the other is about 20 minutes walk from our house but I have to take a different route from the senior school. If a school is 8 minutes walk away there is no way I would be driving though.

We walk most days as I don't have a car. However, when DP is here he takes us. Teen dd walks everyday to high school about 30 mins each way.

I don't really care what people do. However, there was a notoriously lazy family at our primary that must have lived 100 metres from school and they drove everyday. I would walk past them as they were getting in their car and be at school before them, that's how close it was.

@Drspouse

There usually is. Double yellows in town centres or on corners, for example, will more than likely have double yellow kerb markings that go vertically over the kerbs, all the way along. Disabled people can't park on these. Same goes for zig zag lines.

I used to go to senior school on the same road as my sibs' senior school. I used to cycle every day - they were driven by my mum. They were late most days (my mum wasn't good at punctual, or early starts) and their school gave detentions.
I was mostly on time because I was self-sufficient and my school didn't give detentions.
There was also a bus option, almost door to door (Public transport, not private school bus) but I don't think my sibs ever used it.

Some people just CBA to walk anywhere.

We have to drive our DC to school because we live nearly an hour from school but there are a few parents that live a couple of minutes(and I do mean a couple of minutes)walk from the school that drive,I can understand if your ill/disabled(me and 2 of our DC are disabled)or rushing of to work afterwards but that doesn't apply to the parents that are driving when they don't need to and it's a shame because it takes up parking spaces that others do need and causes so much more traffic than is needed.

Annie I think that people who bitch about other parents driving their dc to school while not being perfect themselves, want to change behaviour that inconveniences/annoys them, while not giving up/changing the environmentally unfriendly things they do for their own convenience.

That said, Annie, if you walk everywhere and never use cars or buses or anything else that contributes to city air pollution I accept your right to complain about others who do

jcsp I am more suprised to hear that secondary school kids will tolerate their parents dropping and picking them up from school. My dd would be mortified!

I'm not sure what distance we would have to live/what perils would need to be in place for her to allow this

High school I expect children to be able to do up to an hour journey by train or bus (including up to a mile walk to the train station). It's just good life preparation. My sil used to drive the 10 minute walk to her work. Of course she was very busy fitting in lots of running cycling and gym sessions so maybe didn't have time for the 10 minute walk

ProfessorCat I sincerely hope you are making up your profile, it would be scary if it was true and you were actually teaching.

WE WERE NOT TALKING ABOUT THE PARENTS WITH A VALID REASON, READ THE THREAD. (phew...)

You might want to go back to driving school, being disabled gives you absolutely no right to park dangerously, block other people's driveway and dropped kerbs preventing people in wheelchair to cross the road by doing so! and be a general nuisance.
Disabled drivers are required to be a safe on the road as non-disabled ones! The law is the same for everybody I am afraid.