young mothers at the school

Oh dear, I remember my uncle getting the first car in our street - chalking out battleships, hopscotch and playing out until sunset. I once got run over though - by a bike! I wonder if some children's only bit of fresh air is the bit between the school gate, the car and the garden gate to the house. Maybe they could invent some sort of chute to bypass that too.

Down here in London children are driven by their Mothers in their, Chelsea Tractors, 4 by4s, or they are on scooters and career throught the streets, whilst their Mothers are on their 'phones.They rarely walk.Oh dear, my Grumpiness is beginning to show more than I like!

I live on an estate and the primary school is in the next street. My children walked to school themselves because there were no busy roads to cross. Morning and evening now the school street is double parked with cars and the overflow use our street parking everywhere and making it impossible for children to walk safely. I think it is disgraceful that parents can not walk a few streets with their children. I have to keep my porch door locked in case DGC get out into the street at drop-off and pick-up times. I have seen police in the street but they seem powerless to prevent indiscriminate parking.
I have noticed too that the first thing the mother does after allowing children on to the pavement is to clamp the mobile phone to her ear and proceed to hold a conversation while little ones are left to own devices. If anything happened to the children there would be an outcry from parents about unsafe streets so why oh why do they not take their responsibilities seriously.

It is a concern that a number of local authorities have economised on lollipop persons.

My daughter lets her 8 yr old walk to school with a 7yr old and her 6 yr old brother. The have quite a way to walk and have to cross a busy road in the town. (they have done this for 12 mths)
GS can be very naughty and easily distracted and I hate the idea of GD having this responsibility put on her young shoulders....but is it my place to say anything ? They walk to school but as GS is only in Primary 2 he has to be picked up from his classroom.
I know it is difficult for our D as she also has a 23 mth old and a newborn but if anything happened I would never forgive myself for not saying something.

I cringe when having to pass a school in case wee ones run out whilst Mums are chatting or on phones !!!!

Our girls were lucky to attend a tiny village school and were picked up and dropped off at the door by a minibus...even at high school as the mini bus met the 'big' bus in the village.

I don't really know much about the school run where I am living now as I don't live close to one and have no cause to go to a school. However, where I previously lived in London, the nursery school just around the corner worked very hard with parents to discourage the use of cars and to ensure the safety of pedestrians, including the children. A new secondary school was being built at the time that I moved and has, I think, opened this September. They also were developing a policy about parents delivering their children by car and encouraging cycle use. While it is not strictly speaking the responsibility of the school to "organise" the journeys to and from home for the children, I think it is helpful if they discuss safety issues and a travel policy with parents.

My family has had a dire warning about young children running ahead along the pavement. My cousin's eldest son was doing just that with his father only a little behind him, when he spotted a friend the other side of the road, ran across to see him, was hit by a car and killed instantly. A lovely boy gone in seconds and no amount of bellowing could have prevented it. We have all since been especially careful with our own children. So, no, maundymoney you are not being at all unreasonable.

My youngest DGCs walk to school with the "Walking Bus" that way they are learning the highway code and the importance of being responsible on the way to school.I have seen some mum's drop off their children and then leave them in the playground to their own device's while they go off in their car's.We have also had "no show's" at fayre's etc that have been arranged the mum's seem to consist of a small number of faithfuls and a lot of parent's expect the fund raising and entertainment to just happen if by magic.

We had a summer craft and veg show in the village and tried to get young families along - the children won prizes for designing the catalogue cover, parent association did the tea and cakes. Bowls of help yourself sweets were out. Nope, of the 38 children with pictures and craft exhibited only the 3 whose parents were doing teas were there, even the caretaker who lived literally opposite, didn't bring her children along but there they were hanging about in the street. None of the teachers turfed up. The headmaster - nope. One little boy's granny took his prize home for him. Yippee for Grans again.

When my children were at the local school there were hardly more than half a dozen cars parked outside and I only drove when the weather was very bad or we were going on somewhere; now, 20+ years later the whole street is crammed with cars - most of them live in the village - and very few walk. In fact some have to park so far away that they may have well walked the same distance from their home! Walking with your peers is a social event and here the walk can be through Castle grounds or via the beach, so no hardship. There are so many outside activities for them these days that no wonder they don't have time to just 'be'

I hate this. When my children were small I had a friend who always let her 2-3 year old run on ahead whilst I was always very strict about making my daughter hold onto the pushchair.
I also dislike seeing little ones scooting alongside a busy road. It only takes a second for them to be in the road and under a car.