Inspired by michie's school drop-off/pick up vent

[NMAmy]

Do you drive your kids to school? Not pre-school but anywhere from grade school through high school.

When dd was young, I used to take her to Latchkey in the mornings and pick her up there in the afternoon but when she was older, she'd walk back and forth to school. This year, the school is further away and she takes the bus. (9th grade.) Yesterday, she and a classmate were making a video for history class so I took her in since she had a lot of stuff to carry. I was amazed at the number of parents who drop off and pick up their kids at this age. This school is further out of town, so buses are available for just about everyone.

If there is a bus available or the school is close enough for your kids to walk--do you drive them and pick them up? If so, why? I work full-time so it's never been an option for our family.

Just wondering why--I'm not judging anyone! I'm sure the reasons will make sense when I see them.

 

[mickeyboat]

I bring my kids to school. They are in K. They keep asking to take the bus (they take it to day care after school), but I haven't told them yes, yet.

There are two reasons:

1. I hated riding the bus to school. I always had a ton of stuff, and if it was raining, it messed up my hair and clothes. The kids say they will just use their umbrellas.

2. The bus is supposed to arrive at 7:35. If it gets there even 5 minutes later, I will be late for work. I can drop them off at school at 7:30 (sometimes the cafeterial doesn't open until 7:35), and get on the interstate much quicker from school than from home.

Denae

 

[pirateofthecarolinas]

My DD9 attends a magnet school. The bus ride is 45 minutes each way. She rides the bus in the morning and I carpool with a friend in the afternoons.

My DS11 rides the bus but it is only a 10 ride.

 

[BuckNaked]

Our kids ride the school bus because to drive them would be a nightmare. Rush hour traffic across the bridge to get to the school, then rush hour traffic back across the bridge to get to work. Luckily, we don't have to worry about that hassle.

 

[Christine]

My kids both do not have bus service because they attend schools outside of our district. But, whenever bus service has been available and it fits in with my working schedule, we use it.

 

[hentob]

Maybe some parents do not like the fact that there are no seatbelts on the bus

I drive my DS7 in the mornings, b/c he would have to be at the bus stop @ 7:50. School doesn't start until 8:40. No way is he going to get up early just so he can ride around town for almost an hour to pick up other students.

All of my children take the bus home.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

I've thought about this subject a lot. My twins were expected to walk to school at age 7 since we live within a mile of their school, bus is not an option after 1st grade. I had one or two days a week that this was a problem for me due to work. Not only did I feel they were a tad too young to walk alone along a major roadway, the crossing guard was leaving her post before school started (but that's a whole other subject).

Anyway, my kids were the only ones out there walking, just about everyone else drove. I think it's because people are worried about abduction and other bad things that can happen in this day and age, at least that's the sense I got when I was trying to figure it out myself. Personally, I think the exercise is good for the kids, and remember how I walked to school by myself across railroad tracks and everything when I was younger. Today, it's different.

 

[LisaNJ25]

My sons walks... he is in 7th grade and its only 3 block away. When he was younger I would drive him and pick him up.

My This fall my daughter is going to the same school as my son. So they will be daughter is in 1st grade. I drive her. Her school is across town and we have no bussing. I have a sister who is in 10th grade and they high school is right next door to the elemetery school that my daughter goes to. My sister gets out first, walks over to get my daughter nad than I have a metting spot where I pick them up. They have in the past when it was warm walked home. But only becasue they wanted to. Its about 20-25 minutes and there are always other kids with them.

only 3 block away. I am so happy. I will probably just put the babies in the stroller and walk her down. I will not let her walk alone in 2nd grade. My son will be in 8th grade than but he starts before her. After school when he gets out it may work out where they can walk home together.

The parking at my schools are nuts... I honestly cant stand driving them. You have the rudest people who dont think they have to follow the laws.. they double and tripple park to drop their kids off. My blood pressure tends to boil in the morning.

I will be so happy in the fall when I can walk her.

 

[agnes!]

Well, here are my reasons...

1) There is no bus service from our neighborhood to DD's middle school.

2) If she did walk, there aren't sidewalks the whole way, some of the time she would have to walk on the "side of the road". The school is at least 1 1/2 miles & there aren't other kids for her to walk with. The roads are *very* busy in the morning. Plus I just don't feel comfortable(for a variety of reasons) letting my DD walk alone to school.

3) If there were bus service, *I* would have to get up earlier. As it is, I get up at 6:30 & am not a morning person at all. Ooooooo, I can hardly wait until high school. Their day starts even earlier...oh GOODY I'll have to get up at 5:30 and then get my teenager up early too...yay.
When my DD was in grade school, her bus would pick up kids around 8:10am...but school didn't start until 9! Keep in mind, her grade school is only about a two minute drive from the house. The route tok so long because her bus picked up kids for two different schools and in the morning let the other kids off at their school first. No way was I getting up at 7am so she could get on the bus after 8 so she could start school at 9. Btw, we would leave the house about 8:45 & she was never tardy.

agnes!

 

[CEDmom]

My DD is in 1st grade and either DH or I drive her to school and pick her up. On the days I am in my office she goes to the before and aftercare program. Because of this our district won't bus her. However, I think of it as a convenient excuse because I honestly don't want her on the bus. I'm not crazy about our current district (we're moving in May) and there have been reports of ongoing problems on the bus. I just didn't want to have to deal with that.

 

[YourMajesty]

DS 8 rides the bus to and from school by choice (although I do like him to take the bus home). My DS 6 is in kindergarten and I take him. My kids are nigth and day. My oldest like the socialization the bus riding offers while my younger one likes to sleep late and the leisure of having his mom take him. My youngest is only in K for 2 hours and 10 minutes...so I pick him up mid morning.

 

[jennyl772003]

My DS takes the bus. When he was in EC I drove him, but I worked nights then.

If he takes the bus, he gets picked up at 7:15. The school doors open at 7:45, so that gives me an extra half hour to get myself to work then if I drove him.

He likes taking the bus, and walking is not an option for him since he is visually impaired.

 

[NMAmy]

3) If there were bus service, *I* would have to get up earlier. As it is, I get up at 6:30 & am not a morning person at all. Ooooooo, I can hardly wait until high school. Their day starts even earlier...oh GOODY I'll have to get up at 5:30 and then get my teenager up early too...yay.
agnes!

One good thing about having teenagers, agnes, is that they can set their own alarms and get themselves up for school. I tell dd that it's good practice for her--unless she plans on having Mommy go to college with her. That was a pretty good incentive.

Any parents of high schoolers take their kids to school and pick them up? The few times I've taken dd or picked her up, the parking lot has been packed so I know it couldn't be an isolated incident. DD is dying for her driver's license at 16 so I know she'll be wanting to drive herself then. A whole new packet of worries coming up for me!

 

[mainewmn]

We live out in the boonies and the bus ride in the morning is about 1 hour long. I bring my kids to school on my way to work. I leave about 15 minutes earlier then I would have to and drop of my DS 13 to the middle school first, then continuing on my way to work is the high school where I drop of my DS 15. They both take the bus home because I have to work and no ones available to pick them up at that time. However since I’m a salary employee and have to travel for work there are quite a few Fridays that I take off to make up for the work I did on the weekends and I pick up my boys on those days as well. Like I said it’s a long bus ride for them, I don’t mind it takes me only 20 minutes to pick them up and back home and they prefer it to taking bus, but they take the bus when they have to.

 

[cats mom]

Do you drive your kids to school? Not pre-school but anywhere from grade school through high school.
(snip)
If there is a bus available or the school is close enough for your kids to walk--do you drive them and pick them up? If so, why? I work full-time so it's never been an option for our family.

Just wondering why--I'm not judging anyone! I'm sure the reasons will make sense when I see them.

We are far enough that bus service is provided - just barely. School is 1.54 miles away.

I'd consider letting them walk that distance - but not with the busy streets they'd have to cross.

As for the bus - We are one of the last stops on the route.

Works great in the morning and my kids usually ride the bus.

Not so great in the afternoon. School gets out at 3:30 and if they ride the bus they don't get home until 4:15 or later. Most days they DON"T ride home.

Reasons:
We have a lot going on in the afternoons and I like to have them home sooner than that.
Also the bus is VERY crowded in the PM (not so bad in the mornings) If everyone rides the kids have to sit crammed 3 to a seat (and yes that is still within acceptable standards, both district and state - I checked)
It gets HOT here and that just sounds miserable to me.

 

[jacksonsmom]

My son is in K.

He really wanted to ride the bus in the beginning, so I let him try it. Although growing up *I* had bad experiences on the bus, I couldn't let my feelings about school buses be his.

Well, the second week of school the school bus totally blew up my son's stop!! She didn't even stop. She later claimed she didn't see him. Now I don't know why my son didn't say anything, maybe he was unsure since it was just his 2nd week of school.

OK, we let that go....
Then about 2 wks later he comes home saying a kid is pushing him on the bus. I don't want to jump the gun so I quietly talk to his bus driver if she could just maybe watch and see what is going on.

Well one week later he comes walking off the bus with a huge scratch near his eye. I thought maybe he fell outside but then he told me it happened on the bus!!!

That was it. Now I drop him off and pick him up. It works out so much better, plus he is home about 30 mins before the bus would normally bring him home.

I don't know what next year is going to bring. We will have to see if he wants to ride the bus or not.
I secretly hope he doesn't, but if he does we will probably give it a try again.

 

[mickeyboat]

Maybe some parents do not like the fact that there are no seatbelts on the bus

Our busses have seat belts, and the kids are required to use them.

Denae

 

[cats mom]

One good thing about having teenagers, agnes, is that they can set their own alarms and get themselves up for school. I tell dd that it's good practice for her--unless she plans on having Mommy go to college with her. That was a pretty good incentive.

Any parents of high schoolers take their kids to school and pick them up? The few times I've taken dd or picked her up, the parking lot has been packed so I know it couldn't be an isolated incident. DD is dying for her driver's license at 16 so I know she'll be wanting to drive herself then. A whole new packet of worries coming up for me!

I agree - my teenagers get themselves up for school!

We gave DD access to a car and let her drive herself when she made cheerleader in high school. Far too many early morning (no way I was getting up and driving her when she had to be there at 5am) and after school practices.
Letting her drive is much easier for me
You're right though it is a whole new set of worries.

 

[Cthia]

I drop off my DD11 at school. She would be considered a walker but where the school is located I don't feel comfortable with her walking. It is very different from when I use to walk to school. The road is very busy in the morning with all the commuters and she has to walk up a big hill to get to the school. She would have to leave the house at 7:15 or earlier to be at school on time., too early for me. I rather give her extra time to finish breakfast and get ready for school.

Afterschool she attends the afterschool program and gets picked up from there by my DH or her dad. I only have another year of her attending the afterschool program and at that time I will have to find other arrangements or let her walk home.

I will continue to drive her to school even when she is in high school. She is in the 5th grade now and I have to drop her off by 7:35. High school starts alot earlier.