To think this is just laziness

[Miacoe]

I live in a heavily residential village neighboured by another village (village 2) and a medium size town. We have a two-form primary in my village that my DS goes to, and a one-form primary 20 min walk away in village 2, and another primary in town 15 min walk away.

Catchment area for the school is solely our village. Which is a 15 min walk radius.

At drop off and pick up time the main road outside the school is absolutely rammed with cars. Barely anyone walks to the school. Why is this, when the furthest they would have to walk is 15 minutes each way?

I asked my friend and she said its because people come straight from work, however this primary school has no after-school club or breakfast club provision (dont get me started on that) so it's usually not the preference for working parents, when the other nearby schools have both of these clubs. A lot of parents in DS's class are SAHM's.

I just can't understand their reasoning for wanting to get into a hot car, get all the kids strapped in and drive for 2 mins to their house, when it would probably be quicker to just walk? It takes about 10 minutes to get out of all that traffic anyway as parents will double park. Is it really difficult to walk for 5 minutes?

This causes a huge problem since its a ribbon village and the school is on the main road through, essentially at drop off/pick up time the road is blocked for everyone.

Mums that do this - what's your reason for it?

I work from home and had to take my lunch break at school pick up - would not have had time for the walk, wait in playground and walk back.

You don’t know people’s circumstances so stop being so judgey!

Surely it would be faster to walk in these circumstances detailled above?

Not the exact same circumstances for me - we can do a 20 minute walk to the school bus stop and I like to. However I cannot count the number of times we're about to leave and then my six year old announces "Wait! Wait! I have to poo!". Even if I asked her three times since she got up if she needs to poo (Among various other ill-timed distractions). I think it's become a bit of a Pavlov's dog situation. It's not like arriving a few minutes late to school. If we're late the bus goes, so by the time they've finished whatever rubbish has delayed I have no choice but to bundle them in the car.

So sometimes we walk, sometimes we are delayed by poo, sometimes I cannot manage the walk due to a health condition. Good enough reasons?

Work hours 9am - 3pm with no lunch break to facilitate school drop off and pick ups. Car was the only way I could manage this (while keeping fingers crossed no roadworks or other hold ups on the way to/from the office). Hybrid working means on the days I wfh I can walk to/from school which is much less stressful. However needs must and on office Based days the car is essential to make it work.

Coming from work, dropping off at childcare. Car needed.

Coming from work, don't have time to drop the car and walk.

Your circumstances are individual to you and vice versa.

Sure I'll just tell my boss I'm late every date because someone on Mumsnet said I was lazy for dropping my kid off in the car on my way to work so now I leave the car and walk back for it

Many,many parents in my kids school go immediately to work from school. If they work 9-3, like a lot do, they would obviously need to drive to school.

Grandparents providing childcare and collecting the kids from school to take back to their house outside the village?

It’s a silly thread to start really, for the simple reason that it will attract all the people who have a decent reason for doing this, who actually will probably be a tiny minority of all those who do it, and the OP will be none the wiser about why the vast majority of those at her school are doing it (PS you’re probably right OP).