Hate the school run

[CandyFIosss]

Does anyone else hate the school run? I honestly dread it, I hate it and if I never had to do it again I would be happy, it seem unusual though and most parents seem to love it! Does anyone else hate it?

I never get this really

I walk the dc and the dogs to the gate, chuck them in and go home again. No socialising with any so called smug mums

Pick up time means a little bit of waiting around but I just take my phone and play on that until dc come out and off I go again.

I’m not there to make friends. I’m there for dc

If another school mum wants to speak to me, I’ll talk politely but I don’t go out of my way to talk to anyone

I had such anxiety about it last night I had panic attacks most of the night. I’m exhausted. I hate the cliques and the play dates. Can’t wait for secondary where I can take a step back. For me it’s the worst bits of Motherland.

what do you hate about it?
is it the stress getting out of the door in the morning?
the driving or walk?
the school gate?

Hi,

I dislike the school runs too- at the moment or school is remaining the same so drop off at the gates which is much easier and they both go in at same time so no more having to wait around for them both to go in at different times and no more watching the playground drama that tends to happen with certain parents!

can you school starter go on a scooter?

Wait?

Maybe she means wait in the playground while her children go in.

All the get up early stuff … don’t your kids have you up early anyway, or is that just mine?

Honestly, I miss it sometimes. Not the mornings, but the afternoon pick up, chatting with the other parents and walking home through the park. Only on sunny days though.

Now I get in after my 2 secondary age DC, chuck my work bag down and start cooking dinner.

Can you put your DC in breakfast club, get lunches, bags and uniforms ready the night before, you'll have to get up earlier but you'll get an earlier less busy bus, the children can have breakfast at school and you won't have to deal with parents.

Those saying they hate having to get up though.. Surely before kids you did thst for work? And before that for your own school days? I mean, that's just life. A lot of the faff and dashing aboyt can be got rid of with decent planning and organisation and prepping of uniform, shoes, bags etc the night before. The clique, social stuff, 'meh'.. I work so I'm not hanging about in my gym gear deciding which PTA event should happen. Drop the kids, nod and smile, maybe moan about weather / parking etc and go.

I don't understand this. I pulled up and stopped outside the school. The child got out of the car and went into the school and into the classroom. What was I not doing? I think the principal of the private school my son briefly attended was a little surprised when he arrived on his first day on his own after travelling by bus. I guess I took the instructions about parents not lurking in the school grounds a bit too literally. My children mostly walked home with classmates or neighbour's kids. Sometimes they took a train for one stop instead of walking.

It’s really daft to say you don’t understand it.

You might think it’s a fuss about nothing, but you can surely understand that for whatever reasons it stresses some people out?

Tbh I can see how it’s very difficult if you are doing multiple drop offs at different schools.

I don't love it. It's so fucking boring. I love the walk to school with the kids. But getting them ready and standing awkwardly on the playground is just hell.

If it was once or twice that would be fine. But every single day? Fuck that.

Who the fuck "loves" the school run?! I have never heard of this.

Although I would think if you lived in some gorgeous countryside and could walk them to school, that might be lovable. Sadly I do not

I don’t mind it, but I have the luxury of being able to walk there and back which takes a lot of the stress away.

I'm a DGM and can't stand it - when childminding. All that standing around, waiting for each individual child to be let go by the teacher when a parent/minder is visible - takes forever. Ridiculous. Who wants that every afternoon.

I’m glad it’s not just me then, we usually walk but the school is 25 minutes walk and my kids hate that and find it long so moan a lot, my youngest is starting school on Wednesday so we won’t be walking anymore and will have to get the bus from now on as usually I would push her down in the pram as it’s very hilly and she is very very slow so it can easily take much longer but now she is starting school she will have to come out of the pram so we will need to get the bus all the time now which like I said is always busy as everyone else is going to school/work at the same time

I liked it when we did it because it was a long walk and it was nice to do it, especially at pick up.

Must say though OP that the above was the longest ever sentence I’ve ever came across on MN.

@fat13

All the get up early stuff … don’t your kids have you up early anyway, or is that just mine?

Don't ask this question.

There are some children who don't wake the whole house at the crack of dawn. Hearing about them will just make you sad.

I don’t get the drama.
I worked full time, drove to School, parked in the pub car park (allowed), walked 300 metres, into playground for 8.50, whistle for lines at, wave kid off. Went to work.
Luckily DMIL picked up at 3pm on 3 days a week and me/DH the other two.
Quick wave or hello to a few mums, that was it.

Taxi or learn to drive? Appreciate it’s expensive but you’ve got several years of this ahead of you…

I cant be doing with the "chatting to other parents" bit. Sometimes I chat, often not.

But I do really enjoy walking DD tho. I've only got 1 which might make a difference but she's usually super chatty. It's obviously lots of yelling to get out the door, but I enjoy the actual walk. It makes me aware she'll only be this little for a short time (she's 8). I'm not typically sentimental about her childhood but for some reason I find the walk to school trigger this a bit.

@PluggingAway I would sleep till noon … there has been a mix up. Some lady went away from the hospital with my sleepy children and I have her awake all hours child.

Good thing they are cute.

Walking the dogs and the kids to the school gate and then ambling back home again is a bit different to getting everyone sorted and then doing multiple drop offs on your way to job you simply cannot be late for.

I do the school run 3 days a week, don’t love it or hate it. Doesn’t appear to be any cliques, sometimes I chat with mums sometimes not. Fairly indifferent about it all

We have to drive for now before dd is ready to get the bus. Nursery next door wasn't too bad because they started and finished 10 minutes later but Peak school time is door dentingly hideous, I am refusing to take my car down the dead end road for school and will park 1/4 mile away rather than have my car trashed. Even if it does take 10 minutes longer.