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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Walking vs driving kids to school

458 replies

OpportunityKnocks · 12/02/2020 13:27

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?

OP posts:
Topseyt · 12/02/2020 14:38

We are just under half a mile from the local primary school and it certainly isn't a forty minute round trip even if you are walking.

When my children were at that school I was a SAHM and we walked every day. Once we went to secondary school it was 7 miles away in the next town so they were reliant on the school bus. They walked the five minutes each morning to the bus stop each morning, and then back again in the evening.

I do understand working parents driving if they then immediately need their car to drive on and be on time for work, or people/children with injuries or disabilities, but other that that sort of thing we should all do what we can to minimise on very short and unnecessary car journeys in order to minimise environmental damage.

bumum · 12/02/2020 14:39

I think the thing to think about here is that yes - when parents drive there is more traffic around 3 o'clock pick up. Never mind the reasons for driving - if a car is driven the traffic worsens. I have no problem with other people driving, we all do it for different reasons. I live half a mile from the school and walk it as much as I can. This is because I enjoy the walk, I think it's good for the kids and it saves on petrol. But if it's raining, we're running unexpectedly late or I'm collecting on the way back from other errands then I use the car.

Regardless of value of time, driving a car increases traffic and pollution. You can't argue that or be defensive because it is true. But you have your reasons for driving which won't be down to pure laziness so that's ok. Ignore the keyboard warriors and do what you are comfortable doing.

Episcomama · 12/02/2020 14:39

You sound incredibly lazy to me, to be honest? Driving for a half-mike journey? Jesus wept.

Weepingwillows12 · 12/02/2020 14:40

My kids are walked to school every morning. Its about 15 mins to school then another 5 to nursery. They walk home twice a week but usually get picked up the other 3 days as they are in after school club. I think the walk is good for me and them so dont feel too guilty on after school club days as they will have been playing out, running around for an hour or so.

Most people I see driving are those on their way to work or gym after. When it rains that's a different matter. I do think it's a bit lazy to drive if it's less than 30 mins and you dont have to be somewhere.

CatFaceCats · 12/02/2020 14:42

I’m 1.5 miles to school (so a brisk 30 min walk for me, and closer to 40 with kids dawdling!) plus we are at the bottom of a steep hill, plus I’m in the NE of Scotland so it’s more often than not freezing and windy!
So I drive. I’m a SAHM and I drive my kids to and from school. Once the weather gets better, we do walk a few times a week, but between activities after school (which aren’t at school) and my own stuff to do once kids are at school, it just doesn’t make sense for us to walk every day.

eurochick · 12/02/2020 14:43

I think driving half a mile is pretty unforgivable. Walking would be better for health as well as for the environment.

Driving such a short distance would only make sense if you are passing as part of another, longer journey - to work or to another school.

We were hoping my daughter would get into a school just under a mile from us. Unfortunately she didn't and is at a school around 4 miles from us with no public transport so she has to be driven for now. There are school buses from various points around the local towns once she is a a bit older though.

Dontdisturbmenow · 12/02/2020 14:44

I totally disagree. It would take me under 5mns to drive to work. Instead I walk the 20mns every day. I consider myself very fortunate to be in this situation after having to commute miles.

I have no sympathy at all for sahp who drive to take their kids to school when walking would be 1/2 or less. Talking about time, what a joke, sahp have much much more time in the day to fit all they need to do compared to working parents.

BrimfulofSasha · 12/02/2020 14:49

Me and my partner work full time, we do have the luxury of a short commute (10 miles each in opposite directions)
OH walks DD to school, walks home and then drives to work.
I drive home from work, walk to school to pick up (at 6pm) then walk her home/to various clubs.
We live in a market town with very heavy traffic and it takes the same time to walk as it does to drive, the walk helps her wake up for the day and gives us chance to chat.

YABVU trying to justify driving just half a mile to do the school run.

CupCupGoose · 12/02/2020 14:49

I live half a mile from school. If I'm running late to pick them up, I can get there in about 8 minutes. Walking back with the kids takes about 15 minutes max so I don't understand how it would take 40 minutes. Maybe you live further than you think.

Anyway to answer the actual question, I think sahp should walk unless they are going straight out in the car after drop off or the odd occasion like terrible weather ect. I'm on maternity leave at the moment and I have soooo much more time.

TheSandman · 12/02/2020 14:50

The road through the village is swarming with cars picking up and dropping off. I know several of the mums, many live only a 5 minute walk away.

I too live in a small village. The primary school is literally 3 houses away from me. (Four if you count both sides of the road.) My neighbour used to drive her kids to school every day. Every fucking day. 200 meters up the road, dropped her kids off came back and parked the car.

lovelyupnorth · 12/02/2020 14:51

Why do you think we have some many feckless lazy people in this country.

Konicek007 · 12/02/2020 14:53

I walk 40 mins to school each way since my child was in reception.
So I walk 40 Minutes x4 each day.
I walk daily about 6-7 miles. It’s great, healthy.. I don’t understand why some parents who literally live half mile from school drive and block the roads.. I only drive if it’s absolutely necessary like pouring heavy rain and then I park in a park which is still far from school to walk- like 10 mins swift walk as impossible to ever park nearer.

NorthernSpirit · 12/02/2020 14:58

You’re a SAHM & drive your kids to school and it’s half a mile away?

Lazy.

Get out & wall. Better for health of you, your kids and the environment.

MarchDaffs · 12/02/2020 14:59

Well it's true that lots of people make journeys they could easily walk, basically because they're lazy, and that this behaviour is by no means limited to parents. But parents doing it for the school run will do so at the same time and the same locations as each other. So they probably do cause more traffic problems than the lazy fuckers amongst the general population, who spread theirs over a wider area and timeframe.

jillandhersprite · 12/02/2020 14:59

YABU - yes there are good reasons for some families to use a car and it just isn't an option not to for them.
But there are MANY cases where the use of the car is laziness.
Definitely around here there are people spending longer in traffic, getting there early to get a space and then hanging around who would rather do that than walk. I see them as the worst case of it...
Then there are others who use the car because it saves them 10/20/30 minutes but don't understand the benefits to the child and the environment for walking. Of the people I know personally , plenty do it because they prioritise their time (to have a sleep in, get a coffee, read mumsnet, etc) over the benefits that are good for their kids and society.
We have a walk to school day - the kids got a sticker/peer pressure to do it - majority managed it. Only 1 family I noticed have changed since then and I see them walking more often. Most of the rest are back in their cars and saying that they are waiting for the perfect weather, when they are less tired, when the kids aren't playing up and yes they would love to walk to school!

Waxonwaxoff0 · 12/02/2020 15:04

I walk DS to school and I work. I don't even have a car.

Some people do have no choice but to drive to school but some people are just lazy. Everyone could do with using the cars less.

As someone who doesn't own a car I regularly walk distances that a lot of people who do have cars wouldn't.

phoenixrosehere · 12/02/2020 15:05

Yabu.

A half a mile? Seriously. It should take about 15 minutes for the average able-bodied person to walk a mile. It takes me and my 5 year old 8 minutes to walk to school. It takes me 12 minutes to walk a mile. If I have both of my children it takes me 6 due to them being in a pram. Unless you’re going uphill, there is little reason not to be able to walk half a mile to drop your child off at school instead of using a car.

I drop my children off at school and nursery and then walk to my bus stop. Driving wouldn’t work because I would have to leave the house early just to get a parking spot, then drive to the bus stop (has a park. & ride) since there is little parking where I work. It would be an absolute waste.

JKScot4 · 12/02/2020 15:07

I think a 7 minute drive is beyond lazy, these are the parents that add to congestion.
Unless you’re carrying onto work, live a distance away or have mobility issues, then you should walk.
People are far too reliant on cars, our local
schools are ridiculous with cars, Id love to poll them and ask why they drive.

NellWilsonsWhiteHair · 12/02/2020 15:08

Better for health of you, your kids and the environment.

Exactly this. I don’t drive, because I live in a city with excellent public transport links and because (while I am so very far from perfect) I want to do what I can to ensure all or children live in a world which is as clean and safe as possible. I walked DC1 to school while I was on mat leave with DC2 from 7 days post partum, I walk them both to the childminder (similar distance) now I’m back at work. I love it - we chat and we see the seasons change and my kids learn that even when you’re tired and it’s raining you just pick yourself up and dress properly and off you go. (Incidentally, spending a fair amount of time outside has made me realise that we don’t actually have a huge amount of proper rain, at least in this corner of the UK!)

DC1 has always been a massive fidget and is enormously better able to cope with school if he’s had a good meander through the park on the way. We all sit down so bloody much. I get that some families (mostly, but not only, those who need to drive straight to work afterwards) have no/little choice about driving, but I’m really glad that mine don’t sit in a car to school and then have to go and sit down all day before sitting in a car again to come home...

I try to be understanding of the needs some people have to drive to school, but tbh when you have to drag your small asthmatic child past a bunch of selfish idling fuckers every morning it’s hard not to post ranty stuff on local fb pages. (I don’t do it, but I very much get why people do.)

Waxonwaxoff0 · 12/02/2020 15:11

Just checked and I live half a mile away from the school. I thought it was less.

Even if I had a car I wouldn't dream of driving such a short distance. I've been walking DS to school since reception and it takes 15 minutes.

Enchiladas · 12/02/2020 15:13

It's not about saving time though is it? Look at the roads around school 20 minutes before school finishes, they're packed with mum's sat waiting in their cars to pick up their kid/s to save having to arrive later, park further and walk a bit longer.

Of course there are always exceptions but the vast majority are just plain lazy and taking the easier option.

MotherWol · 12/02/2020 15:13

I live in London, where primary school catchments are generally pretty tiny, and public transport exists and is free for children. Every morning the road I live on fills up with parents doing the school run in cars; they often hang around and have a chat/smoke after drop off, it never really seems like they're in a hurry. So if it's not time pressures, and it's not public transport, and it's not distance, why drive? I think it's habit and yes, laziness. We need people to get out of their cars for short journeys - it's not good for kids, it's not good for the air quality, and it's not good for the planet.

LisaSimpsonsbff · 12/02/2020 15:15

So say 2 minutes to get in the car (baby in tow), 3 minutes to chat to the staff and put clothes on and get back in the car
7minutes drive each way. Including x2 timed traffic lights that. 20 minutes round trip.

Do you find quite a lot of things quite hard, OP? You seem quite... easily overwhelmed.

One of the best things about mat leave was not having to drive to work and having the time to walk everywhere.

RhymingRabbit3 · 12/02/2020 15:18

I used to work at a secondary school. Parents would arrive an hour before school ended and sit there with the engine running in order to secure a spot directly outside the school gates and prevent their precious child having to walk 100m to the area where there were plenty of spaces. I find it hard to believe it is quicker for these parents to sit there for an hour, than for their kids to walk or get the bus home. It's probably not even cheaper than bus fare once you account for an hour of petrol from the engine running!

Lipperfromchipper · 12/02/2020 15:19

I live rurally and my dc’s school is a 7min drive over to the next village... I will NEVER be able to walk my dc to school, it’s not safe to do so on small, windy country roads with no footpaths 🤷‍♀️ Some ppl REALLY have NO Choice!! Surely it’s not THAT hard to understand!!