About driving kids to school

[Rowanapp]

So I walk the kids to school, and then cycle to work. Now secondary schools are back the traffic is awful again. I hate the fumes and worry about my kids developing lungs and brains being exposed to them. Why is the traffic so bad? Key workers presumably have always been driving to work. Everyone else still WFH. I always thought parents needed to drive due to needing to go on to work but that can’t be the case it must be parents driving children to school. I live 1.1 miles from school and up quite a big hill but mine have walked from starting at 4, or scooted (but I worry about scooter because of the traffic and now are good on bikes but I can’t cycle on the road with them because of the traffic)
Why can’t these children walk? I get some rural kids can’t but in a densely populated city why not just send your kids to a school within a few miles and let them walk. It’s good for their mental health and learning and physical inactivity is a far bigger killer than covid. Obviously some children have disabilities and specific challenges but honestly when did we become like this that most kids are thought incapable of walking a couple of miles a day.

As above PP have stated,just because we are now working from home still need to start early! There is so much pressure heaped on Mums now .They have to work so need to use their car . In an ideal world all DC would walk to School In reality not that easy!

Those parents don’t ever seem to post here though.

Well I have. I drive my kids to school so they can get up later and pick one of them up every day as well because they prefer that. I don’t need to have a reason that’s deemed good enough by people like OP, I do what suits my kids. They could walk/get bus but they prefer me to drive them so that’s what I do.

I live in outer London, and many DCs do not get given their 'local' school. Parents do not have a choice, they get given a preference, but not necessarily the school they put first - or even 6th.

My DD is in L6 - I am driving her at the moment. It is an hours walk each way - she has to be in school by 8.20. Most days I cannot lift her school bags they are so heavy - school want everything taken to school and back each day in case she has to self isolate so needing her books at home for zoom lessons.

She used to go by public transport. The train she used to get no longer exists because Southern have 'improved' the timetable to meet the needs of the pandemic ie just removed lots of trains because people were told not to use them. She could go by bus (two) but TfL have restricted the numbers who can get on a bus severely, so she can't always get on the first one, or the second..... TfL have converted some buses to 'school' buses which effectively means cramming as many kids on as possible - all from different schools and years, many not wearing masks. At nearly 17 my DD is just as likely to catch covid as any other adult. she doesn't want to run that risk.

So I drive her - that OK with you?

I drive ds to college because the bus only runs once an hour. To get there for 8.45am he would have to leave at 7.15am.

Whereas I leave for work at 8am and can drop him en route.

Apart from those who are working in workplaces that are not allowed to open eg hairdressers, dance schools, restaurants, non essential shops I don't know anyone who is still working from home. My office has been fully open since last September.

Because I have to get to work. Soz about that.

I drive my daughter every day because it would take an hour for her to walk there and there is no bus service. She isn't a confident or strong enough cyclist unfortunately. I've tried to encourage cycling but she's not at all keen.

My son cycles everyday but this week I've had to drive him due to five separate incidents locally of bike theft at knife point. Three of the victims were boys at his school taking the same route home he does.

Can you think of any reason why people might not want to get public or school transport to school in a pandemic?

Obviously some children have disabilities and specific challenges

So how are you judging those who fit into your acceptable criteria? What about parents/carers? Do their disabilities or "specific challenges" count?

I currently drive my kids to school. It's over a 5 mile ride one way. We moved house and they are still at the school in our old neighbourhood. This will stop after the summer when they will both go on to local schools when they can walk/ cycle/ scoot. I will be glad when I won't have to drive them any more.

OP I’m afraid that you come over as quite smug.

My DC have always walked or taken public transport. Until now. And they are in 6th form, so I was feeling pretty smug too, that we had the school travel nailed.

However, TfL have severely restricted capacity on the buses, so at busy times, I drive them or collect them. If they could guarantee a place on the bus I wouldn’t have to.

I am working from home and need to drop my daughter off at 8:50 (on the dot due to Covid). It is a 20 minute walk back. I need to log on for work at 9 am, so have to drive to get home in time. That's life for a lot of people. I collect her at 3:25. I can be away from my computer for 15 mins or so, but not 40 to 45 mins that it would take to walk.

She would have to walk 1.5 hours. The drive is 15 minutes. She is 11.

Apart from those who are working in workplaces that are not allowed to open eg hairdressers, dance schools, restaurants, non essential shops I don't know anyone who is still working from home. My office has been fully open since last September.

Off topic, but this must be specific for your area. Very few people I know who work in London are back in the office.

Lots aren’t working from home now, many who would have previously used public transport or the kids used public transport are avoiding it, people who car shared many no longer be doing so. People working from home still have to work the same hours so need to get home as soon as the kids are at school.

Even if people are wfh they're still working and maybe can't take the extra time out of the day to walk there and back?

@Macncheeseballs

Often living far from schools and work is a lifestyle choice that can be changed

This is hilarious.

My local primary is a 10 minute walk. About 20 kids in my street go to that school. I am the only one who walks. I see people pilling kids in to cars on the street round the corner from the school....
The school also has no parent parking...
so I think it must be even harder to take the car.
It's sheer and utter fuckin laziness.
Makes me mad everyday.
My partner always says "I can understand if it's raining" it is possible to walk in the rain.

Surely this is about parents who don't work and where the school is reasonable walking distance.

Of course it doesn't pay to 9-5 working parents and/or those whose school is more than 1/2 walk away.

It's those parents who clog the roads and making it harder for those who work. The 'it suits my kids' doesn't wash. It also suits kids to stay up at 11pm on their phone but we tell them no.

Many schools are still not runnign before and after school care or clubs as well which means that parents who might before have been able to drop off and pick up earlier or later, now can't.

But the public transport thing is also relevant. I know that ds avoids coming home on the bus during peak times.

Also we used to lift share with one of his friends. They are now in different bubbles and sharing a vehicle is not encouraged.

@LaceyBetty

Apart from those who are working in workplaces that are not allowed to open eg hairdressers, dance schools, restaurants, non essential shops I don't know anyone who is still working from home. My office has been fully open since last September.

Off topic, but this must be specific for your area. Very few people I know who work in London are back in the office.

I'm in Staffordshire. The majority of our clients and suppliers, along with our accountants and similar are all back in the office. The only people who are not are a handful of admin staff at the university and council.

The point is that people don't have to justify their choices. So yes, there are people who live very close but still choose to drive, but it's really up to them. We drive often because frankly, the walk with DD is at least 25 minutes and if the weather isn't perfect, it's a tortuous 25 minutes. I'd far rather have extra time in the morning. Of course I could walk quite often. But I prefer driving so I do.

I do however always park in actual car parks, and pay the parking fee. I am 100% on the side of people who complain about school drop offs who block roads/driveways and/or drive unsafely. If you're going to drive to school, that doesn't mean you are let off all the normal rules of the road.

1. Apparently since kids went back to school last week approx. half of office workers are now back in the office.

2. We drive our secondary-age DC most of the way to school, because currently he has to keep ALL his books at home and only take in the ones he needs for that day, as one +ve Covid test in his cohort can mean the whole lot of them sent home with no notice. So each day he has to carry in a bag weighing around 10 kilos. I can barely lift the damn thing and I'm pretty sure it's not good for his developing body to be lugging such a heavy bag a mile or more to school. When he can keep his books in his locker at school again, he can walk!

I hate seeing all the cars parked on corners and all along the school road on both sides, cars parked so far on the pavement so that people with prams or wheelchairs have to go in the road. It's so unsafe! I don't feel safe crossing the road to get to school because of all the stupidly parked cars so I can't see what's coming. People seem to think they have to park their car practically up the headteacher's arse just to get their children to and from school. School put it on the newsletter pretty much every week asking parents to think about other people when doing the school run. No one listens and nothing changes.

Of course I can see it from the parents' view, few people work or live near school. Pre-Covid before WFH, I used to walk 15 mins to the school and then get the bus to work for 50 minutes but I appreciate few people would be willing to use public transport and some people's workplace isn't on a bus route. Public transport does take ages.

In my case, it's primary school. I don't understand why the parents can't park 5-10 minutes away from school and make the children walk the rest of the way. Obviously that wouldn't work for younger children but it would be fine for children in Year 5 and Year 6. I used to walk to and from school alone, that was a 10-15 minute journey.

@zafferana

1) Apparently since kids went back to school last week approx. half of office workers are now back in the office.

2. We drive our secondary-age DC most of the way to school, because currently he has to keep ALL his books at home and only take in the ones he needs for that day, as one +ve Covid test in his cohort can mean the whole lot of them sent home with no notice. So each day he has to carry in a bag weighing around 10 kilos. I can barely lift the damn thing and I'm pretty sure it's not good for his developing body to be lugging such a heavy bag a mile or more to school. When he can keep his books in his locker at school again, he can walk!

This is something people don't take into consideration.

My ds at one point was taking so much equipment in (he is doing music performance and him taking his own stuff in was easier for some stuff due to various restrictions/cleaning regimes about using college equipment) but there was so much of it.

@FightingTheFoo

You know what drives me mad? Cyclists clogging up the road at 12 miles an hour while a bus full of 20 people has to drag behind them for miles.

Why can't cyclists take public transport?

Wow.

I cycle or walk to work everyday (3 miles each way). I'm yet to see a bus being held up by a cyclist.
But you are right. If this does happen in other areas, then segregated cycle routes are the answer....not not cycling which is a healthy and environmentally responsible thing to do.