Parents (mostly mums) taking the mick dropping kids off to school (PARKING)

[Anotherragingmorning]

Another morning another battle trying to find parking outside school. With mums mainly huddled around in playground or standing outside their cars talking while other parents struggling to find parking spots.

My DC primary school on a road with one end busy road, other end parking restrictions. Opposite school houses with driveways that now (over summer hols) have had double yellow lines installed due to parents blocking driveways. School has opened up their car park to help out but only a few spaces available about 10 and road has about 15 so In total about 25 parking spots. Causing a huge lack of space now. Takes about 2-3 minutes to walk kids in and drop off. Yet cars are parked up for 10-15 minutes at times. I know it's parents because as soon as the bell goes all the cars disappear.

Since school started I am having to drive up and down several times before finding a slot. Lucky if someone pulls out just as I come in otherwise a constant battle.
Yes this is a 1st world problem but one none the less I am having to live through almost every day. Since school started 2+ weeks ago my 2DC have been late 4 times. This morning being 4th time, and been told by office next time they are it will be marked as late.

AIBU to think this is pure inconsideration for other parents needing to drop their kids off too? Do parents really think this is their slot for however long they choose to have it?

Ds’s secondary is currentky tryingvgo think of ways to engage with parents & the community. It’s harder with secondary age but I wonder if the idea could be adapted (I was at a meeting last night where they were trying to come up with ideas.

YABU. Park much further away and walk.

The primary schools round here used to be like that and due to two fatalities, both caused by mums, parents aren't allowed to park now.
I think it's good and makes it far safer for pedestrians.
I think this is something parents need to look at before choosing their school, if you can't park safely and you need to drive, then you choose a different school.

Hahaha no am not nasty. I'm just an adult. Bought up and taught life is not fair. Sometimes we just have to get on with it. You sound like you are the problem. You don't seem to manage your kids times well. Always have an excuse why you can't do this can't do that yada yada

the parents were chatting so long that the head decided to embrace it and has opened a mini Cafe on site.

Awesome!

I know feel that you are inconveniencing other parents who HAVE to drive when you actually don't have to!
Walk - leave the house earlier you'll be back well before 9.15! Stop moaning and adjust. Your kids have been late 4 times already!!! and that is no one else's fault but your own!!

What’s really fascinating on this thread is how the “first come, first served for however long I want” mentality is triumphing in a very aggressive way.

Yes, technically if a parent gets to the space first, they can stay as long as they want.

That’s the law (if it’s unrestricted parking of course), that’s also what’s fair in theory if a person has “got up early enough”.

Does no one however see how this is the most inefficient and ridiculous way to do school drop off?!

What I’m saying is, if everyone gets there and stays 20 mins during peak drop off time - what happens then?

You get cars hovering and double-parking, restricting the narrow road and blocking vision of crossing children.

You get incredible congestion because people can’t drop and go, there’s not a steady stream of traffic but a clogged bunch of people waiting.

What would be more efficient would be a drop and go system. You turn up, pull in, take your child to the gate and hand to a teacher; then get back in and drive off.

A steady stream of cars then pull in, are there for less than 90 seconds to two minutes, then leave.

But no, this is the sharp elbowed society where on the motorway we see people completely failing to understand “merge in turn” signs hence enormous congestion.

OP, you had a point in your original post but don’t ever expect it to be answered here because the mentality is so ingrained that you’ll get nothing but anger

Oh and to the people who call the OP a c_t, a lazy f_k etc...

God help you one day if you ever lose the ability to drive and therefore lose your self-righteous anger with it.

@gindaddy
The drop off zone is a very good idea - however is not practical in every school. Not in my dc's anyway - its on a dead end residential street with absolutely no space whatsoever to incorporate this.

At my DC's school, there are parents who will arrive up to an hour before school ends just to get a parking space outside . There is a ton of space in neighbouring streets which is less than a five minute walk back to the school. Makes no sense to me...you'd rather waste an hour of your day sitting in your car than walk five minutes!?

Driven a mile to school and personally handed over to teacher...wow.

I walked to school by myself from the age of 7. I don't have any advice but just astounded at how things have changed in such a short time.

Start getting there earlier or park further away and use those things called legs!

As I said, they can’t impose rules on a public road. Schools generally only get involved if there is a safety issue with parking / drop off.

Funny that. In today's school newsletter there been a message to parents about parking considerately and not for excessivley long times (as parents have a tendency to arrive at 2:30pm for a 3pm pick up). They have said they will be patrolling the local area more - partly to police behaviour and appearance of students, but any inconsiderately parked parents will be asked to move on too.

I'm one of "the neighbours". Before my DS attended the school I had cause to complain as parents were blocking my drive every day. On DS' first week I was actually at home, looking out of the windiw fir him and someone pulled across my drive. I didnt mind as i had niwhere to be nd usually I'm at work, but the next thing I knew, the assistant head came striding along and knocked in their window, spoke to them and then they drove off sharpish!

Not a safety issue here, but the school is strict on the kids behaviour both at school and in the community and believes that extends to the parents too.

At primary school,I had to make arrangements with the traffic wardens to park in the restricted parking areas as I'm a blue badge holder. School refused to let me drive in to the car park and the main road was always rammed with parents, often lining the pavements having a natter. Other parents would just slam on their brakes and drop DC in the middle of the road as there was nowhere else to stop, people read ended others because of it. One lady stuck her indicator on, didn't check and pulled out into the side of me (stopped for another brake slammer). It was hell. The school refused to get involved even though there were accidents and near misses frequently.

I guess it depends on the school. OPs eldest DCs school tells them not to walk alone, but make a no provision for younger ones needing to be dropped extra early. It seems the younger DCs school has prescriptive rules about drop offs and collections, but doesn't have the infrastructure to make such rules feasible.

God help you one day if you ever lose the ability to drive and therefore lose your self-righteous anger with it.

I'm not angry in the slightest, but just wondered why the OP couldn't walk the mile to school. I didn't realise that she'd lost the ability to drive, sorry OP!

OP have you put this to the PTA or Governors. Could a letter be sent home to request? It might not make any difference. It didn't when our school asked parents not to park on the zig zag lines. They shifted when the Head asked the police to come. They make impromptu visits now. The caretaker or a teacher puts cones out every day. They just stop in the middle of the road. I know because I am trying to get to the carpark.
Our kids just wait in the yard. We only ask Reception parents to wait. The bell goes they line up then in. I ran a special program from 9:05am and actually had to work with kids when parents were still on the yard. They soon moved when we started chucking a ball around😄
I understand they want to natter as it might be the only adult the speak to that day but yes it is also inconvenient for others and might be why some children at our school are often late.

Actually my dh has lost the ability to drive (right in the middle of GCSE’s who he used to take to school.) He also can’t use public transport unaccompanied. It takes a huge shift in thinking and organisation (& expensive taxis, notveasy when you are a wage down).

Does your eldest not have a friend who walks to school? Drop her off at their house, they get a cuppa and a walk, then you can park a couple of roads away from primary and walk at your leisure

It is shit outside schools, but you are being unrealistic to expect to easily park outside your children schools just before school starts.

The 12 year old needs to get there early or get there herself either walking/cycling or by bus. You need to park further out and walk the younger ones in, we used to do a mile in 15-18 mins with a brisk walk. Get long, waterproof and warm jackets for winter, the exercise and fresh air will do them wonders before a long day in school.

Ideally schools would have drop and run lanes but they don't, and it likely you cant do anything about it, so you need to adjust your behaviour to get there in time.

Jesus. Leave earlier and I'm sure your daughter would be fine for an extra five mins. Then park further away. Being a single parent is irrelevant, the rest of us manage the chaos of the school run without pulling that card for no reason.

Does the secondary school really open that late? Both of our local schools open from 8am, the canteen opens for breakfast items, the library opens, there are even a couple of before school sports clubs, the grounds are certainly open for children who arrive early.

Alternatively could your daughter cycle? A couple of miles would take no time at all?

And yes I think YABU if parents are parked legally they can stay as long as they like. Sorry.

I'll ask again - what happens at pick up, OP?

DD's school had to have them handed over to the teacher at the classroom door in infants, it wasn't until juniors that they lined up in the playground so it's not a case of getting the children to hop out of the car. Parents do need to park up and walk in so would be there for a while, no point in waiting for a space!

I seriously don't know what it is with the suggestions of getting my DD to take a bus 4 mile trip, putting my kids in breakfast club, not to mention the extra cost of all this.
Who is going to pay for all this, maybe the people suggesting would like to fund it

OP why on earth would you not consider paying for childcare that you do not need, walking your children in all weather's and sending them to school soaked or change your whole morning routine so you can go and sit outside the school for half an hour in your car, to ensure you get a space, until it opens so the cf parents who are hogging the parking spaces for however long they please because they got there first and will stay for as long as they like, even although they have finished doing the thing they came to do (drop their child at school), can stand around chatting. YABVU 😉😂

@Bayleaf25

We have a high school and 2 primary schools in our town. Neither of them open their doors until 9 o'clock because they can't have children just wandering all over the school unsupervised. Perhaps sometimes if it's really bad weather and there are a lot of people outside waiting they will open the door 5 mins earlier but it's no gaurentee.

@Strugglingtodomybest

That’s wilfully obtuse at best. I did not suggest the OP had lost her ability to drive

I was more positing the “there but the grace of God” theory that heaven help anyone on here who couldn’t drive, and therefore had no right to be entitled about taking up a parking space for 20 mins while loads of parents wait to drop off

I have just joined the school run hell. I did hear about residents in houses near the school complaining about lazy parents parking on “their” roads. The school has been their since the 1800s. The houses haven’t so I kind of think. Don’t buy a house near a school.
I have never come accross anyone parking on a drive though. That is ridiculously entitled behaviour.
Trouble is houses keep being built around these schools and criteria for schools is always changing meaning more people come in from out of the area, more people are dropping off on their way to work etc etc
On the first week I got beeped at by I assume a resident as I possibly didn’t leave what the driver thought was enough space to get through the gap from the car diagonally opposite me. The car sped past so he can’t have struggled that much. Think he was just grumpy about school starting again.