To have never really done the school run?

[Veeveeoxox]

DD is 8 and in Year 4 for the first time in a long time I am picking her up directly from school. She goes to breakfast club at the local nursery and then after school club they pick her up and drop her off. I love it as there's no waiting for the teacher and no parents there either, my social anxiety loves it. Even if I'm off work I still take her to breakfast club and after-school club I just pick her up earlier. Does anyone else do this just because they loathe the school run ?

Theaverageuser, no it's just some people talking to or not, other people doing the same thing. It's only awful if you don't like people

I really miss doing the school run now mine are in secondary. I'm very much an introvert and didn't really do much more than pass the time of day with the other parents, but like a PP, it got me away from my desk and having a walk, and I always liked seeing the kids coming out, looking around and then lighting up when they spotted me.

I'd give a lot to go back a few years and just have a random day from, say, 2014 or so, going out on a chilly autumn morning with a little hand in each of mine, chatting as we went down the road. I'm dead sentimental like that

@Inastatus @pinkiepiee thank you I'll prepare myself, nursery has been super friendly so was imagining the same. Weird not to be friendly if your kids are friends.

Theansweris, those moments are what it's all about isn't it,

There's no compulsion to talk to people, and surely weaving around people blocking your path is a minor inconvenience to most people?

It is until you have to do it repeatedly and having some of those people explicitly ignore you while there are others behind you waiting to go inside. It got to a point that the school had to send emails out to tell parents not to block the gates before Covid because they were getting reports from other parents and teachers.

I'm loving extended drop off in mornings and afternoon due to covid. Much quite less stressful no chit chat

@TheAnswerIsDontThinkAboutIt

I really miss doing the school run now mine are in secondary. I'm very much an introvert and didn't really do much more than pass the time of day with the other parents, but like a PP, it got me away from my desk and having a walk, and I always liked seeing the kids coming out, looking around and then lighting up when they spotted me.

I'd give a lot to go back a few years and just have a random day from, say, 2014 or so, going out on a chilly autumn morning with a little hand in each of mine, chatting as we went down the road. I'm dead sentimental like that

@TheAnswerIsDontThinkAboutIt - me too and you made me well up at that 😢 Such lovely memories.

I have a one year old so may be missing something, but what is the big deal about the school run?

Having said that when my kids started primary I loved chatting at pick up and drop off. Made friends etc. 7 years of primary with siblings. I'm over it and dive in and out

@MakeMineALarge1

My son had multiple allergies and the HT was really off about it . He had low attendance too as had regular speech therapy and physio (gave them the letters etc). She wasn’t happy saod she thought I was ‘fussing over him’ I didn’t think much of it just thought she was unpleasant though no more of it till a year or so later I did a SAR for a different reason and got the observation notes !

She had called ss twice stating she ‘had a bad feeling - couldn’t put her finger on it but wanted us investigated’ they advised that it didn’t meet the threshold

So she observed me and made notes
-that I didn’t socialise enough with other parents
-that I stood alone
-that I seemed in a rush
-that I administered medication to a younger child of mine in the playground more than once ‘for attention’
-that I was accompanied by my sister ‘very often ‘

@BrambleRoses

I have a one year old so may be missing something, but what is the big deal about the school run?

Some people find it socially awkward / challenging. Some don't. No big deal really in great scheme of parenting.

I sometimes found it boring but it never crossed my mind that anyone could find it stressful. It is such a mundane thing, like going to buy milk.

I did get social anxiety after what happened to me and then I stopped doing it but I think it was a shame as I used to like the walk etc

I loathe it too. Mine are in full time wrap around even when I’m not at Uni

YABU to unnecessarily give your DD a longer day at school for this reason. Why is the school run such a THING for some women? How is it different to commuting to work or going to the supermarket or any of the other small routine missions of normal life?

I’m having a year off because my older three are finally old enough to make their own way home and my toddler doesn’t start nursery until September. It’s AMAZING!

I enjoy the school run. I like seeing them go into school and I find it really useful to be there at drop off and pick up if there's anything that needs communicating.

My youngest is in reception and he runs to me every day still which is lovely.

I'd give a lot to go back a few years and just have a random day from, say, 2014 or so, going out on a chilly autumn morning with a little hand in each of mine, chatting as we went down the road. I'm dead sentimental like that.

Oh goodness, this will be me! That made me sentimental and my child is in reception!

And also @BrambleRoses and @TheAverageUser even if the parent vibe is a bit off it is lovely to be with your dc and hear all about their day/ school stuff.

Yeah agree it’s not social anxiety - I’m perfectly confident. It’s the ones that HAVE to stand right in front of the door so that kids struggle to get past them to come out, the ones that block the path, the ones with big, barky, ugly dogs that jump up and they wait right by the school gate entrance, the ones that park on the path as near as they can to the school so you have to walk with a pushchair on the road…I could go on.

Do we live in the same area? This is exactly what I deal with adding in dodging dog poo. Definitely unhelpful when you’re trying to catch your bus for work.

To be fair, my DC have the benefit of me having a month off at Christmas, Easter and I’m off all summer as I’m a University student.

I also spent 9 years as SAHM so have plenty of normal school day runs under my belt.

I've been doing the school run a lot more recently and initially it flared up my social anxiety (still does a bit) but I do really love talking to my kids on our walk home now. It's a great time to check in with them and I will miss it when I can't do it again. I have really surprised myself that something which I used to avoid could be turned into something I look forward to just by changing the way I look at it. The awkward playground stuff, that's just the obstacle I have to get past to get to the wonderful walk home with my DC. I will miss it now when I have to stop doing it as much. I feel like I am more engaged with my DC and know who their friends are, things like that. I still don't really speak to any of the parents though

I have social anxiety but not related to school run, we live in a very diverse area with 20 + languages spoken at our school so the most interaction between parents is a nod and wave.

I have one school Mum that I will have a brief “how are you” with because her DC started the same time as mine (we’d both into the area at similar times), her English wasn’t great then but it’s almost perfect now and she’s far more confident at speaking to other parents than I am.

How is it different to commuting to work or going to the supermarket or any of the other small routine missions of normal life?

There’s etiquette in those things imo that there isn’t in the school run (at least in my area). My commute is I wait at my bus stop, say hi and thank the driver, sit in a seat and put my ear buds in until my stop, thank the driver, get off the bus, walk into work.

Buying groceries, I can pull up my app, scan and shop, load bag or pram as I go, pay on my phone, show the staff worker I’ve paid and leave. If I need to go to self-scan, I wait in line and pay at till and done.