Talk to Allianz about school run stress and you could win a £250 John Lewis voucher NOW CLOSED

[AngelieMumsnet]

The team at Allianz would like to hear about Mumsnetters' experiences with school run stress,

Here's what Allianz have to say: "The school run is an important component of every day family life and we are keen to help families across the UK make the process as enjoyable as possible."

So, which factors cause the highest stress levels on the school run? Maybe it starts with getting everyone out of bed on time? Or perhaps it's getting everyone out of the house on time?
Do you have any tips for making the school run a smoother and less stressful experience? If a stressful school run is unavoidable, how does it affect the rest of your day?

Whatever your experiences of school run stress, Allianz would love to hear about it.

Everyone who posts on this thread will be entered into a prize draw where one winner will receive a £250 John Lewis voucher.

Please note your comments may be included on Allianz's social media channels, and possibly elsewhere, so please only post if you're comfortable with this.

Thanks and good luck,
MNHQ

Oh and top tip for lowering stress is the soothing power of Radio 3 Breakfast in the kitchen while preparing and eating breakfast. Much as Holly Golightly thought that nothing bad could ever happen in Tiffany's, I think that as long as Petroc Trelawney is introducing a Pergolesi violin sonata in the background then the morning is basically under control.

Parking? Parking!! P A R K I N G!! Argghh, just thinking of it stresses me. Finding a parking space at the supermarket on Christmas Eve is easier

I have 2 school age kids, my daughter is great and once she is up she will be ready in about 15 mins. My son on the otherhand is a total nightmare. I leave all his clothes beside him but he still manages to lose his tie!! I once found in the leg of his trouser. Once hes sorted its not too bad

The most stressful thing for me is trying to get out of the front door. Somehow no matter how hard we plan and organize they always manage to forget something, lose something or decide they don't want something and dash off to change it. Then we get in the car and they complain all the way there and I try to shut them up by putting the radio on whilst simultaneously trying to avoid the morning traffic jams. It's fun really!! :-/

My husband and I are both teachers so we have extra school run stress in the morning. Having packed lunches ready the night before is key and checking that school bags are ready.

We run mornings along military lines! It starts the night before, making sure bags are packed, any extras are organised (ie. gym bag), clothes and shoes are organised, homework finished and packed. I make the lunches the night before too. I make sure the children go to bed on time so that they are not tired in the morning. We also have a no tv rule in the morning so there are no distractions. I sound awful don't I but we are never late and the stress is low

We find that getting everything ready the night before and not allowing TV in the morning until they are completely ready works best for us! Oh, and me getting up and out of the bathroom first as I take the longest!

Aim to start with plenty of time to avoid arriving flustered and to be able to park near school gates. Double check car for items left behind including homework.

Great tips here. DD has just started Reception and with DS at nursery at a different location, next week is going to be a challenge as we need to be in two places at once. So I plan to lay out clothes and bags the night before, have snacks packed and ready and most importantly, make sure everyone has an early night so we can get up in good time and hopefully avoid the rush.

Getting out of bed is usually stress free as I only have one child however getting out of the house on time is not. My son finds all sorts of things which eat away at the time, finding book bags, a shoe, his coat or sweatshirt. Once is was caused by World Book Day as he needed to dress as Bart Simpson and had not given me the school letter!

Have to be at work within 5 mins after dropping her off about 2 miles away, that's a stressful 5 mins!

We need to leave at 7.50, which means 7.10 is the absolute latest I can drag my bum out of bed.

Thankfully it's just ds7 and I, and neither of us need to be fed so it's clothes on and out the door.

The only thing that ever disrupts this is realising at 7.45 that ds doesn't like what's on the lunch menu that day and wants a packed lunch. This usually coincides with the day I have no fresh bread and nothing remotely looking like a packed lunch and involves a sprint into the tesco garage on the way to Grannies house

My main stress is getting my 7 year old out of bed. He is not a morning person at all and it can take half an hour to coax him out of bed. He then comes downstairs in a grumpy mood and ends up arguing with his brothers. Usually by the time we leave the house he's just about cheered up....

the other stress for me is lunchboxes. Doesn't matter how many times I vow I'm going to start making them the night before, most mornings I find myself frantically cutting sandwiches at 8:30!!

Everything ready the night before yet miraculously when it's time to walk out of the door my 2nd son is unable to find his shoes. The same shoes he was wearing the previous day have been whisked away by the shoe fairies meaning we all have to search whilst the stress levels rise and the minutes tick down. Eventually we make it to the car with everyone blaming everyone else for the delay and we are then able to argue for the entire journey!

the school run is full of traffic, four kids arguing i9n the back of the car, and someone has always forgotten somehitng. saying that I love it.

My children walk to school so there is no stress apart from getting them up in the morning

School runs are only stress for our family if we're late. Over the years we've managed to improve this by sleeping on time, preparing lunchboxes the night before and laying out everything needed for school before sleeping.

There was a time when DS1 who is now 17 was young, when we'd rush and forget things all the time and I'd inevitably end up snapping until DH pointed out to me how important it was to send the DC to school in a completely happy and settled state of mind and I realised that when we became fustrated on the school run, it ruined my day and probably gave them a bad start too.
Age and experience has taught me better organisation and we now have a comparatively serene exit and the school run is usually a time when we hold hands, talk about surroundings, they tell me about what they anticipate at school and other small talk. Sometimes, I talk to them about nature and teach them names of various plants and their properties as we pass by gardens and sometimes we count snails. Its actually a lovely part of the day.

I always wear my trainers and run all the way back, usually talking a longer route so I get a bit of morning exercise in too.

The dreaded school run is for me about the actual drive, park, walk process. We can take control of the routine at home and apart from the odd hiccup our mornings are down to our own manageability. However, once in the car we are at the mercy of so many external factors. Traffic, delays, accidents, road works, bad third party drivers and then the final approach is often congested as parents all try to get their children to school safely and in good spirits for enhancing learning in the day ahead. Many schools have inadequate access and poor parking provisions which exasperate the procedure. I wish more consideration was given when infrastructures are put in place for schools. More parking and more 'walking trains' would help alleviate some of this.

well the school is literally at the top of the street, but usually one of the kids forgets something and we have to run back (or I end up taking it up to school later)

I'm dreading my first school run as my son is unpredictable and I fear it will be a bad experience for us both. It's hard to get my son to eat anything quickly so getting a good breakfast in him before dashing to school is difficult I would feel bad leaving him at school after having sharp words with him.

Order and routine are the answers.

The only part that can be stressful is getting out of the door. There's always a suddenly remembered note that needs signing, or money needed for something, or dithering over whether a coat is needed. It's all plain sailing either side of that.

the actual school run is fine - we all cycle to school, so it is over in 5 minutes. It would be easier if some drivers took a little more care, but generally it is fine. The hardest bit is getting out of the door!

We never had any stress. We live outside London, between a major city, a useful town, the countryside and the sea, and can walk to school in five minutes. Our two-year-old son learnt to read by reading the street names en route!

The school run is much improved if you walk and don't drive, not always possible I know but if you can it helps a great deal :)