Walking vs driving kids to school

[OpportunityKnocks]

I've seen a few rants about traffic on local Facebook pages.

Every single time there is someone who says 'well, if the parents walked their children the half mile to school then we wouldn't have this problem' with an inference that parents are lazy.

Well, actually, people usually drive because it is quicker, just like they drive to work because it's quicker than walking or public transport.

Parents, like the rest of the population have stuff to do. It wound me up because a lot of comments were targeted at parents that don't work. I'm currently on mat leave and drive DS to/from preschool. I have other reasons why I drive him aside from time, but that's irrelevant. Why is my time any less valuable than someone who has to go to work? That half a mile is a 40 minute round trip walking vs a 20 minute round trip driving.

So AIBU to call these people out on blaming parents for traffic?

Our neighbour always took the kids to school in the car on his days off work. Half the time when he was working his wife would ask if their DC could walk there with us, she would come up with some reason she couldn’t take them usually when it was raining. She didn’t work and it’s only half a mile to school. I was glad when they moved.

I can understand it If you need to get straight to work or the weather is awful, but my neighbours were just lazy.

Driving your kids to school because 'its cold' is ridiculous. Put a hat and gloves on.

Walking to school and back again with all my kids (sometimes with kids in both infants and primary I was up and down that hill three times a day) was quality time

Eh bollocks. I found the school run an absolute drudge at periods when I had to do it twice a day, five days a week. A lot of the time I've contracted it out to the childminder or granny and did it once a week when I worked 4 days a week.

Doing it twice a week is nice and indeed quality time, but doing it every day when they were little was a pain in the arse and could be very stressful. At the same time, it will be also nice in September when they both leave the house at 7.30am to get the bus.

but doing it every day when they were little was a pain in the arse and could be very stressful.

God children can be so boring can't they? So demanding, so self-centred. Makes you wonder why we have the little fuckers doesn't it?

Yes, who wants to spend time with their own children?

Btw, they know when they are enjoyed or thought of as a nuisance.

I agree with Juliet, the school run is a pita. I enjoy the time with my son, what I don’t enjoy is the drivers who

a. Can’t use their indicators so I know which way they’re going so we can cross the street.

b. Park on top of the path that we’re suppose to walk on so we can go on and off school property safely without having to walk in the street.

c. Who speed through what is obviously a residential area

Parents who

a. Stop in the middle of the entryway and school gates to have a chat

b. Allow their child or children to sit or stand in the way of people coming in and out

c. Ignore you when you’re trying to get past despite saying excuse me several times and then give you the stink eye when you’ve moved around them

d. Stand side by side on an obviously narrow pavement making it difficult for people to get past them from either side

Just received an email yesterday that his school have gotten the police involved and they will be around to start fining drivers.

*Juliette