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MNHQ

Share your stories of disastrous school runs in the car with Direct Line - £300 voucher prize draw!NOW CLOSED

161 replies

MichelleMumsnet · 25/09/2015 14:54

Direct Line have asked us to find out Mumsnetters’ stories from the school run.

Here’s what they say: “We recently found a fifth of drivers didn’t know if their motor insurance policy entitled them to a hire or courtesy car following an accident or theft. Yet 77 per cent said one was either critical or important to them.”

We know that the school run can be a pretty stressful part of the day and with this in mind, we’d like you to share your most horrific or funny stories from your school run with your family. What kinds of things have happened to you whilst on the school run? Maybe you’ve been in an accident on the way to school? What happened and how did you continue your journey? Or you might have driven off with your handbag on the roof, perhaps you've even forgotten to bring a child home?! Whatever your stories are we’d love to hear them!

Everyone who posts on this thread will be entered into a prize draw to win a £300 Love2Shop voucher!

Thanks and good luck
MNHQ

OP posts:
southernsun · 28/09/2015 11:03

We only live a 5 minute walk from school so its a very rare occasion we drive. One of the days we did was as it was raining really hard and I was not keen on getting wet. In the car we jump, park at school, get into playground and drop DS off, all fine and so far all dry. Run back to the car, slip on a drain cover and go bottom first into a nice muddy puddle, leaving me soaking wet and having to walk home to get changed and waiting for it to stop raining enough to go back and get the car.

julieef · 28/09/2015 11:28

we were taking our children to school then going onto work, my son complained of a tummy ache, we pulled over and he was sick, then we carried on with the journey, as we were both working and didn't have any time to take still sent my son to school. but he was fine no more sick, maybe just ate his breakfast too quick

pinkisthenewpink · 28/09/2015 11:38

On my PFB's first day at school it was really, really snowy and icy. I was super stressed driving to get there on time, to get there in one piece and just the worry over my DC and how he was going to get on. Parked with no cars near me in an area of the car park that was pretty empty. DC got out, was a getting pushchair out for other DC by the side of the car.

Lady drives up and waits for me to move myself so she could park. She could have parked in the bay one over, or the bay the other side but apparently it HAD to be the one I was standing in with not yet 5 yo full of beans and trying to strap in a wiggly 1yo.

So I muttered to myself about her choice of spot not being very helpful considering the empty car park, only to realise that she had her window wound down fully and had embarrassingly heard everything. She then gave me an earful (rightly I guess, she can park where she likes) and I realised she was a parent at the school my DC had started. So I was quite mortified, worried I'd be black-listed from the playground and was stratospherically stressed. Hideous! Luckily the school runs got better from then on....Grin

helly27 · 28/09/2015 11:42

Going home after a technology lesson with a tub if fruit salad I have to break hard daughter drops it lid comes open and sticky fruit juice and fruit salad everywhere, I'm sure she didn't want it for her pudding.

JonSnowKnowsNowt · 28/09/2015 11:53

Julieff - it's parents like you who keep D&V bugs circulating round schools, causing misery and vastly more time off work for more parents! I doubt your son 'ate breakfast too quick" - he had a bug, and will have passed it on to many other children, whose parents will have had to take time off work. It is selfish behaviour.

barbsbarbs · 28/09/2015 11:57

when I was putting my four kids to go the school and I dropped the car keys down the drain, it was also poring with rain and the baby was crying uncontrollably. I had better school runs, I must say

andy07 · 28/09/2015 13:08

Probably the worst one was being late already, so i quickly parked up rush to get the kids when i came out a car had parked into the back of my car. i had to wait until they eventually return to their car. I cant say i was best pleased when i confronted them. The lady then accused me of backing into her car instead. She actually became very vocal all in front of the school and children eventually the police arrived and the neighbour of whose house we had parked in front of came out and explained she had seen the other lady bash into my car. eventually she did own up but i have to say that was my worst school run ever. Kids still talk about that day

Anononooo · 28/09/2015 13:10

every car school run is a disaster....for the environment. Smug cyclist's face!

Cherrybellyboo · 28/09/2015 14:25

I was dropping dd at preschool and my youngest was her car seat that attached to the pushchair. When I got back to the car it wouldn't unclip from the pushchair so I couldn't leave. We were in a village a few miles from home in winter, and I didn't want to go back into the preschool, so I sat in a little church for an hour before I managed to unclip it. Eek

farhanac · 28/09/2015 15:46

Distracted by gremlins nearly ran over the lollipop lady, she always glares at me to this day

chrin · 28/09/2015 16:42

I used to walk my grandsons to junior school. I worked in an office so usually wore high heels, one particular day we were half way to the school when I skidded on some ice and ended up doing the splits plus the heel became wedged in a grate. We were very late getting to school that day

TrollTheRespawnJeremy · 28/09/2015 16:43

DP does the school run in our house.

One day I had a call from the school as DD hadn't arrived yet and it was 9.45. I called home and there was no answer.

I was getting into a right old panic at work, finally DP picked up his mobile- he and DD had had a cuddle on the sofa and fallen back to sleep.

I'm glad I don't have to deal with it regularly as I find it so stressful!

momb · 28/09/2015 16:49

When my eldest was a toddler we'd be up and out of the house before 7 so she had breakfast at nursery and was always pretty hungry from first waking up.
One morning we got stuck in a traffic jam on the dual carriageway for over an hour (usually a 10 minute journey) and she was starving and screaming the car down, so I rummaged in her day bag and found some rice cakes and some dried apricots. My mind was clearly not on the task in hand (I'd basically just given her both packets over my shoulder).
When I next looked all the apricots were gone.
Eventually got to nursery and practically threw her in the door as I was so late to work. Fortunately mentioning she'd had apricots and ricecakes in the car but might need more breakfast, I left.
On arrival at work there was a message to call nursery.....they would keep her as it wasn't an infection but I needed to be aware that a small child who has eaten their own bodyweight in dried apricots produces vast, vast quantities of orange liquid poo. They had already gone through three changes of clothing and could I please not do that again. Oops!

imacmum · 28/09/2015 18:09

My six year old daughter was in the car with me and we went to pick up her brother from a different school. She was wearing her Sleeping Beauty outfit and a sparkly tiara and was very tired after a World Book Day at her school. While we waited in the car park, she climbed into the front seat so we could talk and cuddle. When she saw her brother come out of school she was so excited that she stood up on the front seat and somehow managed to headbutt the windscreen with her head. She started to cry and hold her head while I cuddled her and made comforting noises. When my son got in the car a few moments later he immediately asked why there was a large crack down the passenger side of the front windscreen. Guess her head was harder than we thought! Had to have a new windscreen but luckily she was ok

tamalyn1 · 28/09/2015 18:49

having 3 children the school run was always pretty hectic but luckily i didnt drive unless i was taking them to a club or something, anyway one day we were all waiting outside school and my toddler was playing with her little friend and confused talking parents i managed to buckle up the wrong child as we were chatting and drove off before we realised and it wasnt till my son asked me why were were taking katy swimming with us that i started screaming OMG lol luckily katys mum was waiting for us wit my daughter in toe and was pretty cool about it oops, ha ha

skyeskyeskye · 28/09/2015 18:53

I was on my way back from work to collect DD from school so was in the car. I was literally yards from home/school when I got caught up in a little traffic jam.

I reversed back to let a car through then next thing heard a massive bang as the bus in front of me REVERSED into me. I got out and starting shouting at the driver (I was in shock). He claimed that he hadn't seen me (I had followed him up the road for quite a while!) and also that he hadn't done any damage, whilst watching water pour everywhere out of the radiator!!

I managed to drive my car to the local bus depot just down the road, where I showed the owner the damage and got their insurance details.

They tried to deny liability, claiming it was my fault (however I was stationery and he reversed into me). The insurance claim was over £2.5K and I was lucky that it wasn't written off. It needed a new radiator, bonnet, headlights, bumper, aircon unit, the works!

i try and avoid school run traffic like the plague now!

alsproject · 28/09/2015 19:52

My son's friend sometimes joins us on the school run. One day, the friend was sick over my son who in turn was sick all over the car. I had to stop the car and get out as I really cannot cope with that smell!

BellaWella86 · 28/09/2015 20:45

We very rarely drive to school (as we only live down the road), but on the one occasion I did choose to drive (illness made me weak!) my 1yo decided it was the perfect opportunity to fill his nappy. With no changing facilities nearby and no option to leave him in the car, I unloaded the pushchair and rushed my daughter in. Such an awful stench! I had to apologize to several passers-by!

kerryv · 28/09/2015 20:46

Very rarely drive to school, but if was raining so I took the kids in the car. Roads were mental. Got to school and ds had forgotten his lunch. So home again, and we were late for school!

Cailin7 · 28/09/2015 22:18

We do not drive to school, we always walk.

Fantasyland · 28/09/2015 22:35

I have had loads of disasters on the school run!

I had a blue Ford Focus and another mum at my sons school had the exact same model and colour and even a similar reg to mine and we often parked near each other.
One day after picking my son and rushing to get home up I broke my car key in her car door as I was struggling to open her car door thinking it was my car.
I failed to realise it wasn't my car despite her car being very clean inside and mine always has stuff everywhere.
We actually became friends after this.

Also I always thought it was only in films people put things on top of cars and drove off without realising they hadn't got them off the roof but I have done this with my sons book pack.
Whilst trying to find my keys and then strapping my son in the car seat I just forgot I had put his bookpack on the roof.
What's worse I didn't even realise as I drove off his book pack falling in the road behind me. Luckily one mum saw and as my son has an unusual name she was able to track me down and return my sons bookpack.

sweir1 · 28/09/2015 23:00

I got a parking ticket this year on the first day of term!

fm201069 · 28/09/2015 23:05

When I drove mine to school and I only noticed after I dropped them off they'd been sick in the back. Not nice!

buckley1983 · 28/09/2015 23:46

I pick my LO up from preschool on my way home from work - Often I would finish late so I would ring my husband to pick LO instead. One particular day, I was determined I would not finish late - spoke to my husband at 4pm & assured him I would be picking LO up. Shortly after, I took a phonecall from a client which triggered a mad rush off work - I managed to get everything done, but was surprised when my husband callled at 6.10pm - 'hello!' I said jauntily - 'are you still at work?!' he asked, horrified - as he said this I realised I hadn't actually asked him to pick LO up.. fortunately nursery is only 5 mins from our home so husband was able to rush & get him. I was mortified that I was so immersed in work I had forgotten make arrangements. Needless to say, I was brutal in laying down the home/work barriers that point onwards. Still feel awful about it now :(

finleypop · 29/09/2015 09:19

We went out to the car at school pick up time to find we had a flat tyre. It was freezing cold with snow on the ground & I had to do a dangerous & probably comical run to the school a mile away to try to not be late to pick up our son