Should schools be telling parents to walk kids to school?

[bellamountain]

This isn't an argument for the environment or to keep kids fit but to stop the roads around schools becoming so dangerously congested and for parents who do need to drive their kids, to be able to do so and not have to battle for parking. I take the kids to school and then have to shoot off to work, any one doing the same and the car is essential. However, the majority of the mums at my school do not work, they could easily walk their kids the relatively short distance but choose not too. They all have huge cars and all aim to get as close to the school as possible, it makes crossing the road dangerous, even with a one way system in place enforced by the school. Parents also sitting in their cars with the engines idling with the heater or air con. I'll be the first to admit that I love my car and I couldn't live without it, but when I'm not at work I walk to school and back. It's far less stressful yet the same parents clog the roads every day. I swear it's a pissing contest sometimes to flaunt who has the nicest car and this is a state school!

To be fair, schools are by and large chosen on their proximity to your home, in a way that jobs aren’t
and supermarket trips usually involve lots of bags that aren’t necessarily easy or practical to carry

One of the local primaries to me (but not where my DC are) have a credit system for kids who walk or scoot to school, and credits go towards activities and treats at school

it’s possible because it has a minute catchment, and also a pushy parent cohort who wouldn’t want their little darlings to miss out on anything

They’ve also signed up to the safe streets scheme, so the road that the school is on gets closed off with a temporary barrier at drop off and pick up time, so even if parents wanted to come by car, they would have to park a few roads away

If you’re so concerned you could park five minutes walk away from the scull with little impact on your timings.

If it’s so easy then you should “nip back” for your car!

I drive the 5 minute walk to Dc1's primary school because I then drop off DC2 at her school (a 45 minute walk away) and then have to get to my work for 8.15/8.20. I do think I should get up earlier and just walk her there and back but those extra ten minutes on bed always seem to win out.

If not working I would always rather walk to school though if walk wasn't too long. I used to enjoy walking to school when I was a kid.

your post implies that you can only be arsed to walk to school when it suits you. If you feel that strongly about it, you wouldn't drive there ever. Get your own act together befor you start petitioning for all schools to dictate what all parents must do.

I will add, because I drop early to breakfast club congestion isn't a problem.

A lot of the students round here use wheeled trolley bags when they go to the supermarket.

An incredible proportion of car journeys are fewer than three miles so lots of people must be making journeys by car that they could do on foot.

I don't have a car myself so have no skin in the game but it's something I've noticed: people talk about how "the school run" "slows down traffic" and so on, when really all traffic slows down traffic. This particular type of car journey - not a leisure journey - attracts a lot of opinion about how it's a problem to fix. I think it's no coincidence that, in a country where many millions of short car journeys happen every day, the type of short car journeys perceived to be made by mostly women and children is particularly and frequently deemed inessential, a problem, an obstruction and so on.

Schools should encourage the kids to walk to school by themselves or in small groups imo. At least after the first couple of years. These elongated years of “school runs” didn’t exist previously - it was a matter of showing the kids how to get to school and then letting them do it.

I do believe if it is feasibly possible you should encourage your kids to walk to school. DH worked nights and he would walk DD to school before going to bed, it was just as quick to walk than it was to drive, park up etc. When DD was in the last couple of years a Primary she would walk home alone whilst DH slept. She prefered to walk than having to go to after school care.

But obviously our circumstances were different, and lots of kids use to walk home so DD was never alone. It was a deprived area so it was money in petrol if you picked up your kids.

Ah that old chestnut of why don’t schools do something about X or Y over which they have no jurisdiction. In the last week we have had parents emailing us to tell the council the traffic lights are out again, to report a pothole near the school, to complain about the ice cream van parking near school and to contact the council about the leisure centre changing hours for public swimming so their children can’t swim at weekends. 🙄

Why do you drive then?

youre being a bit of a hypocrite.

This thread has made my night. 

I recently discovered Motherland and have watched each episode about 50 times in the past few weeks. I love it.
Your job as a script writer, OP, is much more important than those of us who are going straight back home. 😯 I say script writer. More autobiographical.

Particularly love @orwellwasright's comments.

We're still yet to establish, OP, why you haven't rearranged your working hours so you can walk to the school and back?

Kudos to you for walking in the rain though, such a rarity in sunny England!

We have School Streets in our London borough, which has been a great initiative so far. I think using the car for all short journeys should be discouraged, but OP I am killing myself laughing at your inability to see that you are part of the problem. You imply that getting to work after drop off is the only valid, time sensitive commitment. If someone doesn't work, it doesn't make their post school run activities less important than yours.

My sister drives her youngest to school because the eldest goes to special school on school transport and she cannot leave the house until the eldest has been picked up.

When we hear about non essential journeys it's always women and children getting in the way of legitimate road users. Even though children are, unlike employees, tourists or people going to weddings/birthdays/etc legally obliged by statute to be in the place they're heading to.

that is such a good point! I can’t believe I hadn’t though about it that way before.

More people should indeed walk, but also, more of the people who need to drive should be prepared to park a little further away and walk the last bit so they’re not all squeezing into the same roads where kids are walking. You could start with that bit, OP?

I think you should drop being the other parents diary manager tbh.
Knowing and managing the ins and outs of every parent at the school your kids go must be exhausting.

And, fwiw, just because you think someone goes straight home, doesn't mean they don't have to be home for a certain time.
They could have medication to take, wfh to log on, a man coming to fix the heating. Whatever.

Unless you really do know everyone's diaries for every day, you dont really know what anyone does after drop off. They could be desperate to get to the swinger party before the whipped cream gets warm, fuck all to do with you.

Deny it all you like but you are part of the problem because you drive there.

I am part of the problem because I have to drive DS to school because of his disabilities meaning he can’t walk or access the school bus. I wish I didn’t have to but I do.

his primary often ran schemes to get people walking, they even had a walking bus. But people still chose to drive.

Well, why don't YOU do that?

As always it's 'other people' who should make sacrifices & changes.

My school tried asking parents to park at the church hall (large car park, easier to get out onto the main road if you’ve somewhere else to go after drop off), 3 mins walk away (yes, I timed it once).
Nope. They wouldn’t do it and we can only ask.

I thought most schools encouraged it anyway tbh, I know my DC’s school does. In ways I’ve felt grateful we walk even though it’s a 1.8 mile walk so not around the corner. The parking near their school is an absolute nightmare, people always park on double yellows and even double park. Crazy.

This thread is hilarious.

Same happened with my DC’s school. Large car park about a 3-4 min walk away but barely anyone does it. Some Mum’s get there 30 mins early to secure a parking spot directly outside of the school 🤷🏻‍♀️.