I REALLY hate the school run

[Remembersweetvalleyhighbooks]

For some reason, I looked forward to it Pre Dd and imagined it would be *Fun..wtf 🙈
I hate the rushed, stressy mornings, i’m organised but getting Dd ready can be hard at times. Drop off isn’t *As bad, quick kiss and hug at the outside door bit, it’s the pick up I don’t like. I wait in my car until the last minute when the door opens, then rush up, can’t stand the awkward standing waiting around everyone does. I hate if the teacher comes over to me and wondering what she wants to say to me. I just want to get my child and go home. Sometimes when I think how many years left I have to do this for, day in, day out, I feel panicked
Anyone else, or am I just a proper weirdo?

It sounds like you have too much to do in the time available and I really sympathize with that. It's why I don't think working arrangements like yours are actually good for staff, though I know on MN that makes me a dinosaur boss. But it doesn't mean five hours is, in and of itself, such a short time that no one could possibly get anything done in it. I do think that people who don't work but insist that they don't get much time because 'the school day is so short' have lost perspective a bit.

It is a chore, but eventually they are old enough to take themselves to and from school. I bet other mums standing there are feeling the same. Could you invite a friend of child’s over after school to play? They would make new friends in their new school, and on days when your child is invited back to their new friend’s house you could skip pickup altogether. Rinse and repeat with other new potential friends for your child. Mum network saved my sanity when my children were small

@Hardbackwriter I'm actually self employed and working from home and being self employed is the only way I've been able to remain in decently paid professional work as a single parent with no co-parent on the scene (school holidays and school run challenging with any kind of regular office job unless you work in a school or something). So while it is not ideal to work from home, it also enables me to carry on my career rather than have to work an office job and wrangle time off from my boss or whatever. Doesn't make it easy but for some of us it's a career saver in that respect. So don't write off working from home - for some of us it's really the only half decent option. (Unless of course I spent a lot of money on an office outside of my home).

Isn’t it what you sign up for having kids? 🤷🏻‍♀️

And there's me hoping to alter my work hours so I can do it a few times a week when mine starts in September😂

I more or less do it already though, just to a childminder/nursery and unless we are running a bit late, I really like the time we spend walking and chatting together on our way. But there's no pick up/drop off time for all so don't have the hanging around at the end of the day. I may well agree with you when there is!

(If we weren't walking distance and I had to battle traffic/Park somewhere I would also agree.)

I love it! Love being part of the school community, seeing his face coming out of school, chatting to other parents. I will miss it so much when he's in secondary school.

I purposefully moved to a house within short walking distance of a primary school. Having to get in the car and find somewhere to park in a busy place etc every day / faff with car seat and so on is my idea of hell. I love walking down the road to school. Fresh air, sunshine, saying hello to people I recognise. Sometimes I have a chat, sometimes I don't. I like feeling part of a community and being able to just have a few people I smile at / interact with daily really brings me joy.

I can't say I love it. I'm shy and sometimes feel a little awkward there but generally it's fine.
I think it's a bit of a first world problem really. Is the rest of your life really easy to feel such strong hatred over something so mundane?

I kind of miss it! Nowadays at secondary I have to wait in the car a million miles away. However rather than a 10 minute walk to the little primary school in the village it's 45 mins in the car each way so I do have a captive audience for a little chat!

It's a lovely part of being a parent and will be over before you know it, unless of course you have kids very far apart!

I hate the school run for another reason. My child is a newbie, a few years in and previous school parents were lovely.

This school my child is happy at but the parents are downright awful, bullying, I’ve tried with them and they are so up and down I’ve stopped bothering. Some are abusive, as in asbo. The school are rubbish at letting the children out on time. They don’t get that we should be able to nip and get the children. It should not take half an hour a day combined with parking to pick up.

I love my children but am looking forward to high school years so I don’t have to associate with people of a different religion. I have no problem with them, I don’t care about skin colour, their religion, but clearly they have one with me, like to Catholic, Protestant divide.

@Busymum987 Youre catholic and they’re?

This. It's another mumsnet oddity like not answering the door.

What's an "Elizabeth "?

@Katemax82 I was a combination of them both! Leaning more towards a Jessica though

The OPs user name refers to a series of books about a set of twins in SoCal.
One being sporty and boy crazy, (Jessica); the other being academic and enjoying long chats with her bff Enid Rollins.
I too was a mix of both (high level!) but really I just wanted to live in their Spanish style house with pool in the garden. Such was my ambition in the early 90s.

I absolutely hated it. I'm autistic though. But I'm so so lucky I got to be involved in dds school life. Drop off / pick up / nativity / reading / performance / trips. But I still feel sick thinking about it.

I despise the school run due to the cliquey/judgemental mums. One has a staring problem just stares at me with a look of disdain. Never said two words to her, she doesn't know me! It feels like a mini social arena: people forming little cliques, subtle judgments, unspoken hierarchies - it's like being in secondary school all over again, but now with coffee cups and pushchairs.