Teenagers being driven to and from school

I used to get one of the old rickety steam trains to college ( 50's ) after I'd left school but was always glad because if it was a pea-souper out I knew the train would only have to follow the track as opposed to being on the road where you couldn't see a hand in front of you. I remember the seats were like sitting on horsehair. No graffiti though and pictures still in-situ.

Imagine the moans and groans if it was the same today.

There’s a new initiative in Sparkbrook, Birmingham, where adults stand in a spaced out chain along popular routes to and from the local school, so children who feel unsafe for any reason on their walk to/from school can approach an adult for safety. It seems to be receiving a good press so far. Clearly the school is within walking distance of homes. It does discouraging bullying and any potential mugging though. So far, so good.

Times change - in Denmark some children do make their own way home from school by bus or riding a bike, but parents who can take time off to fetch their children from school, do so even with the teenagers, or if they are in one of the top income brackets have an au pair with a driving licence who fetches the children.

Our generation tends to see this as molly-coddling. The children's parents regard it as due care and attention.

I was driven to and from school due to being sent to a school that was some distance from home and not on a bus route - later I was driven to and from the train station to get to and from school.

When I left home at sixteen I suddenly had to walk, cycle or take a bus - it took quite some getting used to. I was quite cross that my parents hadn't made me face up to the reality of being grown up rather sooner and let me do more for myself while I was still at school.

Flexible working hours, Monica. That’s how my ds and dil manage it. Their two dc have been at different schools/nurseries for four years now, so there’s a lot of to-ing and fro-ing.

What surprises me, is that nowadays, when most children have two working parents, how they manage to be able to do the school run. Dropping off children on the way to work I understand, I did that myself, but it does assume your route to work and to school are roughly in the same direction.

DGC's school is in the opposite direction to both their parent's work places and DS leaves home a good hour before they do. When the children were at primary school, which was very close, they were walked to school in the morning, but went home with a friend on days neither parent could collect them

It might be easier for many parents to drop their children off on the way to work. If I collect my grandchild from school, we get the bus back to my home as I don't drive, they love getting the bus.

We lived in a remote cottage in Cornwall so both Children travelled on the school bus. My oldest grandson has a bus pass for school but, because he is autistic, one of us collects him from school if he stays on for any activities that would mean missing his usual bus. His brother walks to primary school except when he has to take his double bass in, that does require the car!

Paper monster, I get that completely, of course there are reasons for driving to school, just not in my local one though!

Here school bus/ train passes are free and can be used on the trains where I live to go to into Paris at the weekend. However, some parents do drop children off on the way to work but children start school at 8h/8h30 and finish at 4h30 for nursery and primary and for some up to 6 pm in the evening in secondary. Before the pandemic, the local schools had pedibuses, starting from different points of the town, run by parents.

I taught teenagers at college - who were still half asleep in the mornings - as they'd been driven to the door. Of course, some were really fidgety and unable to concentrate too, having had no fresh air or exercise.

I’ve noticed this in the last ten years or so, both primary and secondary. I get the primary aged ones are probably being dropped off en route to work but the 11+ age group? In my town the local secondary school is incredibly oversubscribed so mainly local. And looking at the catchment area probably maximum of 1 and a half miles as the next nearest secondary is less than 2 miles away.
It is 100 metres from the beach with ample parking in seafront car parks. However, the sheer number of cars trying to park/double park as near to the gates as possible is ridiculous. If they could manage to walk to the beach carpark it would make much less congestion in residential roads.
Mine went there in the 90’s and 00’s and walked the half mile as did all of their peers. Lugging guitars, cricket bags and books. The only time I drove to school was to meet them at the end of schooldelivering cricket gear that had been forgotten as too heavy for me to carry!
There are children from the same road who are now driven and picked up every day. Same with the roads around the next local school.

Josieann

I think bunking off school would be an interesting thread!

I dropped one of my DC off at school on my way to work. I'm not saying she would have bunked off but it was to make sure she got there on time, especially at exam time!

She's a teacher now ???

Jaxjacky

Not to mention parking in local roads, with some blocking driveways, a bugbear locally.

We have a school round the corner and I’ve had to ask several drivers to move back from my driveway - they think nothing of blocking it. I’ve also had to ring 101 regarding a school run parent who insisted on pulling up outside my house and sitting with the engine running whilst waiting for her DC - sometimes for 10-15 minutes. She did this several times and I was getting fed up with the noise and smell from the exhaust so I went out and asked her could she please turn off the engine. I was met with abusive language so when she turned up the following day I rang 101 and a PCSO patrolled the roads for a few days at school run times. Never saw her again.

I’ve a primary child. We walk. But when she gets to secondary she won’t be able to as there are no suitable roads to walk along. There is a school bus. It will cost £70 a month. Or I could drive her for a fraction of the cost.

I dropped my children off at school on my way to work- but we lived 4 miles from the school.

I queried this recently with my own DGC (and their parents) They walked to primary school but now in
High School they have a bit further so mum drives them. They both carry musical instruments to and fro but even so, surely they don't need a lift!

My DC had to walk to school although they occasionally got lifts.

I have been reading my cousin's obituary. She died aged 91 and was brought up on a farm. No buses in those days so she and her brother walked the 5 mile round trip to school.
My walk wasn't as long but at least a mile each way.

My other DGC live in a fairly remote part of Scotland. The older one gets the school bus each day but the wee one has to be 5 before they'll take her so DD drives her to pre-school 3 days a week. 25mile round trip twice a day and then on to swimming and ballet classes.

Galaxy

Most parents are dropping their children on the way to work, so a journey that would be made anyway.

But this was parents collecting children from school at 3.30 - 4.00.

I think bunking off school would be an interesting thread!

Witzend I think as a child we lose all the conception of time. Poor parents when the child is late home, horrible feeling

I once decided that the best place to skive school was the bus stop directly opposite my dads shop. Not sure using a bus made me very street smart ?‍♀️

That's true Galaxy but I would also like to mention that some of the parents are heading for the gym or the local coffee shop. (The gym wear is the giveaway!)

Many more mothers now work, so dropping them off on the way (I’m talking primary age here) makes sense - many just wouldn’t have time to walk them and be on time for work.

As for going home for lunch, that’s something else that must happen a lot less with both parents working.

I used to have a long walk to the bus stop to go to school, with my elder sister on the way, but on my own on the way back - from age 6.
I once missed my usual bus - dawdling - and didn’t realise that there’d be another if I waited. So I walked - dawdling again and stopping to look in the pet shop I’d seen so often from the bus.

My poor mother was frantic! I was probably at least an hour and a half late.

I just worry how all these cossetted children will manage once they get to university.

So many don't, M0nica and then struggle.

Most parents are dropping their children on the way to work, so a journey that would be made anyway.

All my grandchildren generally walk to school unless it’s pouring down. My children walked to school as well. I had to travel to senior school by rail and bus on my own.

IMO, it’s important they learn basic life skills as early as it’s safe to do so. Additionally, discouraging the use of private transport at this time of global warming, it’s essential. I use our old car as little as possible as well, leading by example.

The major difficulty faced by some children is that their school may be very difficult to reach by public transport so leaving little choice but to drive them.