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?

The children have to be handed to the teacher at the door by parent/carer

In which case the school ought to be getting a handle on the parking issues.

Sorry, but i'm baffled....why can't you just pull up (double parked if need be, or across the school gate driveway) and let your little darling pop out of the car and go in? Don't park at all...just pull up and out they hop.

There you go, solved.

It's not like you want to have a chin wag with the other mums anyway..

RumerGodden because the bold part in the post above yours explains why. The school don’t allow it.

RumerGodden OP said they have to hand over kids individually to teachers. For younger kids it's definitely preferable to do this anyway. I wouldn't dump my four year old outside the school personally (my seven year old would be OK) .

I get to school 20 mins early and park in the car park. We do reading and homework in the car.

I think you need to ease back on being so over protective with your DD1. I know you are keen to protect her but the best way to do this is to educate her on what to do in difficult situations and allow her top develop a sense of independence. You will do her no favours being over protective.

I think you need to wean yourself off getting your DD to right outside the school. Choose a place maybe halfway there and get her to walk from there then you can turn round and get back to the school with your younger 2. Or see if she has a friend near the school she can be dropped off with so they can walk together?

Could you do it the other way? Primary school kids in first to breakfast club or similar then to secondary school? Team up with another parent perhaps and share lifts? It sounds very frustrating, but you may have to find a creative solution.

You haven't says why your DD can't get the bus to secondary school OP.

*you put on your hazard lights ready to pull in as they pull out

THIS ISN'T WHAT YOUR HAZARD LIGHTS ARE FOR!!!!

God lord, how fucking entitled are some parents?! Park in the next street you lazy fucking cunt.*

Charming choice of words. What I find is, people like you, as you like to say it, lazy FC, who read something and jump in without bothering to read the thread.
Wow how silly of me. You have solved my dilemma (NOT).
Don't post comments if you cannot be BOTHERED to read further down the thread. I have already explained several times there is no next street or road close by that allows parking. All have parking permits or restrictions.

The school could ask parents to keep waiting around to a minimum but they can't enforce it sadly. Every few weeks there's a memo from my DC school asking parents to park considerately and it's better for about a week and then just goes back to normal because everyone knows there's sweet fa they can do about it, so I wouldn't bank on that being a solution at all.

Sorry if this has been asked but does your eldest not have any friends who walk the same way or get the bus? Any that get there at 8.20am so she can wait with them? A breakfast club or something at either school (I know they can work out expensive but less expensive than taxis)

Otherwise you'll just have to speak to the school to explain the lateness and take any comments about it on the chin.

We used to drive to do the school run (we moved and now walk). We parked about 5 mins walk away because we could always get a space there. We were about as far away as at least 3 of DS' classmates and were always happy to catch them up walking to school. I'm sure you can park further away at 8.35 - indeed you could theoretically park 25 mins walk away at 8.35 and still get there in time!

You can’t dictate how long other people (who turn up before you) stay in a space! They could stay in it all day if they wanted, it is not yours until someone leaves and you’re in it.

You are right yes in a way. But on the other hand it is not theirs either. It is space for everyone to be shared responsibly and with consideration. Just because someone got here first does not make it theirs for the entire duration they see fit. It's for the sole purpose of dropping of your child. Once you have done that, and you continue to hold that space. Then it is called, plain and simple "hogging" a space needed by other people. Not just me. But many parents like me who have to go through the same as me on a daily basis due to some very entitled parents.

You are saying it's not considerate and it's selfish to stand talking.

It could just as equally be argued that it's not considerate to drive a 12 year old and 2 primary aged children a walkable distance to school. You are, eventually!, taking up a parking space you don't need, which is inconsiderate.

In your situation, it wouldn't cross my mind to drive at all. My 12 yo dd would be walking, or cycling. I would warn her of the dangers and what to do. And I would be walking with my 2 primary aged.

Maybe I can suggest the school let parents know it's a drop off pick up zone only so please socialise elsewhere. Be considerate of other parents also needing to drop off their kids

This is what you wanted people to say on your thread isnt it? You simply don't want to change the way you so things so expect others to bend instead

Your problem is not a lack of parking spaces, or mums chatting, it's that you need to UNCLENCH re your eldest child

This ^^ is what you need to do. You've not mentioned SN so I'm assuming your eldest will be perfectly able to cope for an extra 10 minutes on her own.

Older child makes own way to school. Walk younger kids to school. Sorted.

YABU.

So glad I don't have to do the school twatty run anymore. Still can't believe some of the entitled twattery I witnessed over the years, by people who couldn't possibly let their precious ones feet touch the ground. I remember a harridan mother screeching at a delivery driver that she wasn't illegally parked so there was nothing he could do. She was parked on the corner of the turning into the school. No way an emergency vehicle could have got past either.

OP you live a mile from the primary school, drop your dd early enough to get back and walk. Suck it up.

Leave earlier, park 20 mins walk away, and use your legs!

it’s for the sole purpose of dropping off your child

Except it’s not - it’s unrestricted parking outwith the yellow lines, it is NOT a drop off zone. What would you say if the residents on the street all had second cars or visitors and all the unrestricted parking was taken - would they be inconsiderate too?

And for what it’s worth - I am absolutely intrigued as to where you live - I have never heard of a place where only 1 street has unrestricted parking and every other street within a 1 mile radius has permits or restrictions. (I say 1 mile because if you are able to get there for 8.35am and the kids don’t need to be in until 9am then you have a good 25min spare and you could easily walk a mile in that time.) That is simply baffling. Round here we don’t have restrictions on the street, but go north 2 streets and the restrictions start. Once you are within the circle surrounding the city with parking restrictions there are NO streets you can park on without restrictions - even the ones right next to primary schools.

Ah, I feel really sorry for you. I think you're getting a rough time on here.

Your eldest is only 12, she's barely into secondary school - and tbh, I don't think it's unreasonable that you don't want her walking on her own, You've already explained she can't wait in the library in her school so you're getting there as early as you can to drop her off.

And at the primary school, walking would make you later because of your first drop-off, and there's no parking in any of the surrounding streets.

Seriously, I'm not sure what's so difficult to understand. No, you can't force people to move but I totally understand why you're frustrated. You're zooming around every morning and it gets bloody wearing after a while.

The school my children are at, we can park a little further away and walk down. However, their last school (we switched because it was crap) we were in a similar situation - just off a main road and near a large rugby club so no parking anywhere around. Very limited parking around the school. It was utter hell every morning - hence why you have my sympathy.

While technically the other parents can stand there as long as they want, the school could be doing more to facilitate things. What I would suggest is writing a letter to the Chair of Governors - carefully worded so it's not slagging off the parents who are gassing - and say that there's a big problem which is impacting on being able to get your children to school on time. If there was a rep from the school outside, they could make sure it was treated as a drop off zone rather than true "parking". This would also ensure the neighbours are less pissed off. So really, it's not just about sorting out your problem, it's also addressing the community issue too.

If the school really can't spare a single person to stand outside for 15 minutes (at least for a few weeks until the problem is sorted and then just periodically afterwards to ensure continued compliance) then perhaps a governor could come and do it? We've done that at our school. And I'm also a school governor - this kind of thing matters.

Gosh schools nowadays seem to encourage over protectiveness - having to hand over an 8 year old personally to class teacher!

From when my dcs were in years 1 & 2 I used to drop them off at the side of the road at 8.30 am and then I watched them cross the road with the lollipop lady and then they walked down the small cul de sac to the school gates with other children being dropped off at same time. School started at 8.50 am.

Had to pick them up at gate at end of school when in ks1 but when started ks2 they were allowed to walk down cul de sac and meet me on the main road. Very useful because I waited until ks1 parents had left (finished 5 minutes earlier than ks2) and then drove up and they jumped straight in.

Does op live a mile away? I missed that. Defo walk, you'll save yourself so much grief and time! The other parents aren't going to change so that seems to be the only solution.

OP, you seem determined that no solution will work other than parents moving their cars out of the way more quickly.

As others have said you need to drop your oldest DC off earlier. This could be outside school (she will not be the only one), or at some point where other DC are walking to school that she can walk with. I get that she's new and doesn't know many people yet but walking to school with others is a good way to get to know them. She is not still a primary school child who has to be delivered to school and handed over to a teacher at a specific time.

You then drive back towards primary and find a spot somewhere where you can walk to school (I refuse to believe there is nowhere - there may be nowhere with in a 2 minute walk - broaden your search to 10 minutes walk, worst case scenario is your own house that is a mile away).

Alternatively, you are unlikely to be the only person with this issue - find another parent with the same problem and share drop-offs (one does secondary school, the other primary school).

There is no consideration in how people park at our school. It has been raised constantly in the ten years I have been travelling to & fro the school.

I have no answers I am afraid some parents just feel more 'entitled ' than others

Ps the suggestion you should adapt your behaviour to accommodate others selfishness just reinforces my own experience

I was just annoyed at the struggle of finding a parking spot taken up by inconsiderate parents who felt it was their personal right to hang about using up space needed by other parents. Not to advise me of leaving earlier which is not really doable. Or park elsewhere because if I really had that option I wouldn't be so annoyed and posting on here.

Translation: I only want to hear from me people who agree with me.

OP this is AIBU. People think YABU. Deal with it.

Oh and if you are sticking on your hazard lights as you suggest someone ought to take away your licence.