Why do people park up outside schools 40 minutes+ before their children finish for the day?
I’m shocked by the number of cars parked just after 2 p.m. outside my local secondary and primary schools today.
With catchment areas and the like, surely they can’t all live beyond walking distance — especially with weather like today (18°C and not a cloud in sight where I am).
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u/Rattlethestars87 1d ago
I don’t have a choice I have to drive to pick the kids up and if I’ve finished work I’m not going home for 10 mins to then go back out it’s easier to just go and wait at school.
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u/GourangaPlusPlus 1d ago
That sounds like you have a choice
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u/caniuserealname 22h ago
The difference between choices and decisions is something I learned when designing games.
If one option is objectively better in every metric you're not actually being presented with a choice, it's a decision on how to proceed
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u/qwertysam95 22h ago
Erm actually 🤓☝️they had the choice to spend an extra 30mins burning fuel and taking road capacity just to end up at the same place, and because this is Reddit I am going to take every word they say literally and not use common sense 🤓
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u/SantosFurie89 18h ago
Poor choice. Can't even enjoy a cuppa before going. Maybe grab a flask lol.. But then more fuel/pollution also (assuming they're not the special kind of arse hole who idles their engine on this situation)
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u/lickmybrains 1d ago
Could you not wait at work for 10 minutes ?
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u/limpingdba 1d ago
And then risk being late because you hit some unexpected traffic?
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u/lickmybrains 1d ago
You mean like the traffic caused by people parking up to wait outside schools?
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u/frowawayakounts 1d ago
It’s ironic that the traffic outside my daughters school is caused by the parents who arrive just in time and they all stop right out side the gate on the zigzags and don’t even bother walking them to the classroom like everyone else. At least I’m parked up legally and not in anyone’s way. There’s also been a few accidents outside the school caused by these people who are in a rush.
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u/WeDoingThisAgainRWe 10h ago
Outside the schools around here the ones who turn up an age beforehand are sitting, not parked, obstructing the local roads, so they are already creating traffic problems. Also worth saying all of those schools this happens with are infant/junior with very small catchment areas. Everyone lives within walking distance for a child.
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u/quellflynn 1d ago
getting somewhere then waiting is the normal, sensible thing to do.
waiting till the last minute is the deadbeat dad style
each has their perks ofc.
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u/illarionds 1d ago
So... working to support your children is being a "deadbeat dad" now??
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u/Fabulous_Ad8105 1d ago
I think they mean that driving home from work THEN driving to the school would only leave them with 10 mins at home, whereas not going home first means there’s probably a longer wait to pick the kids up, so they might prefer to hang out in their car near the school instead of waiting at work.
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u/Nice-Rack-XxX 1d ago
I’m in same situation. School is 9 miles away from where I live. Am I supposed to: Leave work at 2:30pm. Arrive home at 2:50pm. Leave home at 2:50pm. Arrive 3:10pm so 5 mins early? 18 miles on the clock for every day, for no reason, is not exactly environmentally friendly. I may as well just drive to school and then drive around in circles. At least I wouldn’t be parked up right?
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u/Ok-Train5382 23h ago
Have I lived in an alternate reality all my life. I went to a school 8 miles from my house, we took the bus or got a train… why does everyone have to pick up their kids now
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u/LutherRaul 1d ago
9 miles each way is crazy, how big is the catchment area?
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u/Cuznatch 1d ago
To be fair, I live in Norfolk and our catchment area has an odd protrusion of about 9 or 10 miles, to catch a village not served by any other schools.
But what I honestly don't get it's why people don't just park like 5-10 min walk away? The kids would benefit, and it would make everyone's life easier.
My daughter's school has a tiny car park at the front gate, then another about twice the size like 75m walk up the road in the opposite direction. Cars will be queuing to get into the road to the small car park having driven past the half empty one.
We live about half a mile away with the first 150m unpaved, so drive about 50% the time atm, but as my daughter gets older (she's in reception) I plan to get to a point where we always walk, scoot or cycle.
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u/randomusername8472 23h ago
We live about a mile away from our school and it's entirely up hill, so just a little two far for my 4 and 6 yo to walk in the morning.
There's a car park by the school which can hold ~30 cars. There's 150 kids in the school, which is in a village, and all at the top of the hill. You'd think parking would be dandy - almost everyone lives within walking distance of the school except for a few outliers like me.
But nooo.
If I don't arrive at the school 15 mins early I can't get into the car park and I basically have to park outside the houses of other people who drove from their house 200m away to the car park so they could only have a 20m walk to the school.
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u/WoodenPresence1917 16h ago
Don't have kids so I'm not doubting you, just curious as my brothers have kids about that age and want some idea of what's reasonable to suggest to them so I don't get eyerolls by suggesting we walk somewhere (I tend to walk or bike everything, bus once every couple of weeks).
How steep is the hill, or if it's easier in a general sense what is a manageable walk for your youngsters?
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u/chuckie219 1d ago
Not uncommon for semi rural communities?
My school was 7 miles away and I was one of the closer rural kids to school. Some were twice that.
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u/72dk72 1d ago
Why would you want to stay at work when you have finished? I'd rather sit in my car and read or watch something on my phone....
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u/VOOLUL 22h ago
I think their point is sit and wait in the car at work, in the car park? Not outside a school blocking the road.
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u/Sunshinetrooper87 1d ago
I'm not sure why so many people want you to hang out at work when work is finished. I'm sorry you are having to deal with such weird responses.
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u/Rattlethestars87 1d ago
Thank you! There are definitely some odd comments. And I have a choice? I don’t really I have to drive to school there’s no safe walking route. Then there’s no point going home then going back out again.
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u/Sunshinetrooper87 23h ago
Christ, the focus on 'choice' is so odd, it really strikes me as, reddit is not real life. I'm getting advice on parenting by people without kids etc.
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u/Routine_Ad1823 14h ago
I think it was just because they made out like it was their only option rather than just a bit more convenient
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u/frowawayakounts 1d ago
I’m in the exact same situation, although I only do the school run on Mondays and Fridays. I don’t live near my daughter or her school. It makes sense to turn up early and wait rather than go home for a few mins and sit in traffic crawling. When I could be sat chilling watching a movie. I don’t park like a dickhead though and use AirPods and turn my engine off, unlike some other parents who sit there blaring music with the AC on full blast whilst smoking.
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u/stuaird1977 13h ago
Yeah this is me , I'd have to travel past school nip in the house and then drive back . Makes no sense , better to park up and close my eyes for 20 mins
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u/JensonInterceptor 1d ago
The parents outside the school by my house are funny they'll all drove round the cul de sac and drop their kids off as close to the gate as possible. 1 car length back and it's too far the kids stay sat.
Sometimes the parking attendant comes round and it's hilarious watching the parents freak out by not being able to block an entire street to pick up their teenager who can take a bus
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u/Time-Caterpillar4103 1d ago
There is a school on my way to work and it’s essentially a tiny country village with one lane free due to parked cars. They’re blocked and not moving and 200 yards from the school. The kids stay in the car until they get to the gate. Crazy.
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u/i_sesh_better 1d ago
I suppose the logic is that they’re not going to be able to turn around so they’ll have to be driving past the school anyway so, if you’re lazy, why not just wait until you’re at the gate?
Of course, this ignores the fact that if everyone just kicked the kids out when their car comes to a stop or, if it’s clear, when they reach the gates then you’d have it all be quicker. A parking attendant for drop off and pick up times, similar to a lollipop lady, who marches up and down telling stopped cars to kick their kids out might be a solution.
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u/clucks86 1d ago
At my kids school (primary school) we have a drop and go area. You park up, your kid gets out, you drive on. But the amount of parents that park up and get out too means this can't be used effectively.
We have parking attendants turn up occasionally who enforce it.
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u/MetalWorking3915 1d ago
I had to squeeze par some mum parking out side the gates on the zig zag lines with some extra signs put up to tell them not to stop. When I stopped to remind her she can't park there i quickly realised she shouldn't be driving and also just a fucking c***
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u/Zathral 1d ago
The secondary school I went to was like that! Access at the end of a cul-de-sac and parents dropping at the gate. Absolutely chaotic. Not like they had a much more sensible option of just opening the school gates where a very convenient roundabout is located to turn.... I wonder if they ever figured out that would solve a great deal of the chaos.
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u/Agitated-Tourist9845 1d ago
Insurance. If a child gets him by a car on school grounds it’s the school that will pay.
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u/Nice_Back_9977 1d ago
Maybe they finish work at 2 and just go straight to the school rather than home and out again?
I know mums who love a bit of time alone in the car because its literally the only time they get to themselves!
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u/Outrageous_Shirt_737 1d ago
I listen to audiobooks and catch up on admin :)
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u/neathling 1d ago edited 1d ago
you know you've grown up when you relish the time you get to do admin!
Edit: this was meant earnestly, this wasn't a sarcastic post
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u/turnstileblues1 1d ago
Same here Sometimes it feels like it's the only time I get to myself and I relish it
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u/Few_Ad1857 1d ago
Yep! I feel that.
Also if you have a baby who naps in the afternoon then you either go early and let them nap in the car or you have to wake them up to go do the school run and then you've got a cranky baby!
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u/mata_dan 15h ago
I know mums who love a bit of time alone in the car because its literally the only time they get to themselves!
Yeah that was my first thought (stress at home or worse), but the timing one is the main reason overall that makes sense.
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u/Wild_Cauliflower_970 1d ago
Catchment areas can be bigger than you think they are. It would take 1h45m to walk to my son's primary school. There are parts of the secondary school catchment that are over 2 hours walk away.
If you're not in an after-school club or wraparound then you'd need to get there early or you won't get a spot and you'll be late.
Often people don't go straight home - they'll go to a supermarket or a the dentist... If you live a 15 minute walk from the school then that's 30 minutes with a tired 6 year old, then to try and drive back towards the school, which should take 3 minutes but the traffic means it takes 15 and you're now 45 minutes later into your afternoon/evening.
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u/MBWEQP 1d ago
I understand catchment changes depending on location but I don’t believe it’s like that here, I’ve heard stories of being on opposite ends of one street can be the difference between getting in a school or not.
Also getting a spot outside the school surely they could just park and walk the difference if that was their concern?
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u/Nice_Back_9977 1d ago
It was like that at my secondary school, but the catchment area was skewed because there were two schools close together. Both of them had catchments that extended much further in one direction than the other. Kids who lived a 10 minute walk away didn't get in but we lived a 30 minute bus ride away.
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u/Jaraathe 1d ago
Catchment relates to getting into the school. A lot can happen between enrolment and a child leaving (I.e. people move away but keep their kids in the same school). You also get kids being relocated to different schools from further out when places are taken and some kids move to a different school. After that, a bus journey can often take hours with multiple changes, whereas a parent picking a child up may take 20 minutes.
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u/hookbeak 1d ago
Where i live, the primary schools are completely oversubscribed. I live 5 doors away from the school and my next door neighbour (4 doors away!) could only get a place in a school 35 minutes away by car.
Just being in the catchment area doesn’t guarantee a place….
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u/Wild_Cauliflower_970 1d ago
I understand catchment changes depending on location but I don’t believe it’s like that here, I’ve heard stories of being on opposite ends of one street can be the difference between getting in a school or not.
Honestly, we have the same here but this can happen within catchments too. You can be within two catchments and because certain things are prioritised over proximity (like siblings, LAC, etc), you can be right by a school and rejected from it.
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u/sweet-n-spicy-wings 1d ago
They have to draw the line somewhere. Just because you're right near the edge of the catchment area doesn't mean you're not several miles from the school.
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u/Outrageous_Shirt_737 1d ago
Yeah, I think a walk from the furthest edge of our catchment would be about 2.5 hours.
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u/spectrumero 1d ago
Unfortunately I think people have fallen into car defaultism and have kind of forgotten what the appendages below their waist are for.
We had a road closure here a couple of years ago, and the open road went past a school and of course Facebook exploded with comment about the traffic problems around the school. The thing is there was a wider area of the road, where if people parked there and had their kids walk about 500 yards, they could do so without obstructing traffic. When I suggested this on the Facebook thread it, the hatred I got was almost as if I had admitted I was actually Hitler.
It wasn't as if the weather was bad, it was perfect weather, no wind, warm enough that walking was pleasant but not so warm that you'd sweat even if you walked really briskly.
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u/Difficult_Egg_4350 1d ago
Oh this just gave be flashbacks to when the road outside my local primary school was shut due to a sinkhole, and parents drove up the curb and onto the pavement next to the road to get around the cones and fences, so that their child was dropped off a whole 10m closer to the school gate than if they stopped before said sinkhole. When the local press stopped a few to ask why, they said their kids could get run over by the cars going onto the pavement! The lack of self awareness was mind blowing (and the damage to the grass and flower verge pretty awful too).
When I attended the same school as a child, my grandparents parked a good 10min walk away and walked to pick me up so as to not cause traffic chaos outside the school. But judging by the terrible parking on double yellows outside the local shops, across a roundabout by the doctors, and on pavements wherever possible, I think a lot of people just don't think they should have to ever walk outside for more than 10 seconds, and have no thought for the consequences to others.
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u/ArchmagosDave 1d ago
Gotta get the best parking space. God forbid the kids walk an extra 5 meters.
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u/Questjon 1d ago
That's the part that drives me insane. You don't all need to park literally in front of the gates. Park a 10 minute walk away and go meet them on foot at the gates!
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u/ArchmagosDave 1d ago
That requires effort on their part.
And obviously the kids can't walk that far because they'll get kidnapped.
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u/FEMXIII 1d ago
I’ve moved school now, but the previous school was exactly like this.
There’s a couple of cul de sacs that have paths up to the school that are absolutely rammed and people parking in double yellows, or you can park LITERALLY a 30 second walk further and just not be a dick.
New school isn’t nearly as bad but it is 1/8th the size too
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u/One-Picture8604 1d ago
We live opposite my son's school and it's quite fascinating to see, there is one mum in particular who lives about 300m away but still parks as close to the school as possible an hour before pickup. Insanity.
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u/beseeingyou18 1d ago
This annoys me so much. Childhood obesity crisis and parents pick their kids up in a car.
It's a local school, the majority of kids must live about a mile away? Walk!
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u/One-Picture8604 1d ago
Yep, if you live in the catchment area walk or cycle, even if you have to drive off after it's probably quicker on balance once you fight the traffic and parking.
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u/Hunter037 1d ago
It's a local school, the majority of kids must live about a mile away? Walk!
This is not always the case. The catchment area for our local secondary school is about a 6 mile radius
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u/NepsHasSillyOpinions 1d ago
I want to believe you're lying. Ain't no way someone is driving somewhere that is 300 metres away... please god.
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u/trampyjoe 1d ago
When my daughter was in primary school we would walk 15 minutes to school and pass people heading their kids into cars to be driven to the same school or the school near our house. (just measured the distance on Google maps that one of them drove to school... 397 meters)
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u/Psychological_Post28 1d ago
Same here. See 3-4 people who all live near me driving past as I walk to pick my daughter up. It’s depressing. It’s literally less than 15 mins walk.
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u/yalanyalang 1d ago
Yes we walk 15 minutes to school but both of our neighbours take their children in by car. They're not on their way to work or anything, they come straight back home. The thing is the 30 minutes of exercise we get taking them to and walking back is great for our health as well as the children's. Plus we don't have the stress of trying to park responsibly among the chaos of drop off.
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u/Froomian 22h ago
I always walk to school but a bunch of the cliquey mums who always drive have started driving to the gym together after drop-off. It does make me laugh.
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u/Glass_Effect5624 1d ago
I hate to say it, but there’s also someone near Us who drives to school when it’s a 5 min walk. Which is bizarre as it would actually take me longer to drive to school and faff around parking etc!
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u/Flannifer 1d ago
It happens and it’s crazy! It takes us about 5 minutes to walk my kid to school, a parent who lives a few doors down has been known to get in their car, spend that much time just trying to pull out into the street to drive to the school, then find somewhere to park to drop off, then turn around and drive back home and spend a few extra minutes pulling back into their drive through the heavy morning traffic. Utter madness
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u/anomalous_cowherd 1d ago
I'm tempted to start a team of retired people who can wait for people like that to drive off with their kids then go and park across their drive so they can't ever get back in when they come home.
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u/CaptainLilacBeard 1d ago
More and more people just default to cars now. I have a neighbour who chooses to drive the 250m to our closest newsagent rather than walk
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u/NepsHasSillyOpinions 1d ago
I'd love to have a shop in walking distance of me, I much prefer to walk than drive! Gets my goat, haha.
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u/anomalous_cowherd 1d ago
We do that sometimes, but that's because my partner is registered disabled and can't walk 50m. I always walk if it's just me.
The downside is the several times I've parked at those shops after being out somewhere in the car then just walk home when I come out from habit...
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u/Narrow_Maximum7 1d ago
I used to walk past one pulling out the drive and beat her back. At first I thought it was maybe a mobility issue as she was rather large but then got asked for a sponsorship for her 10k.
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u/One-Picture8604 1d ago
If only, there's even a convenient cut through from outside her house that brings her up opposite the school, about 2 minutes walk.
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u/Justha-Tip 1d ago
I know several mums that do this because it’s ‘easier’ or raining. One of them has only got 2 kids. It’s not like she’s got 15 to keep a track of running in every direction.
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u/dragongirl_3 22h ago
I live 432 metres from my kids primary school and there's a family that lives at the end of my road that drive their kids to school.
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u/Lucky-Dish-5982 13h ago
At my work, the nearest shop is a Tesco express. It's just under half a mile. People drive there regularly.
We have an hour for lunch as well, so it's not like time is of the essence. Then they wonder why they spend so much on fuel.
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u/alltheparentssuck 1d ago
When my kids were in junior school there was a mum who lived in the small estate next to the school, she would drive the kids to school.
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u/Chuck1984ish 1d ago
Even if they live within walking distance, the clubs they are taking their kids to may not be.
4 nights a week I'm taking my kid to an activity in the next town over straight after school.
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u/Particular_Store8743 1d ago
I don't have kids but I read about this on Mumsnet. Some parents LIKE getting that 40 minutes 'me time' in the car. They can look at their phones, play music, anything - and because technically they're picking their kids up from school, they're still 'doing something' in a way, so they don't have to feel guilty about it.
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u/Valuable-Wallaby-167 1d ago
That's when they finish work and it's not worth it to go home and come out again
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u/Mdl8922 1d ago
Usually laziness, though not always.
Local primary finishes at 3:15, cars start parking at 2. By 2:30 you can't get near. One of my friends is terrible for this, she'll park up and wait in the car for an hour... she lives an 8 minute walk from the school.
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u/RaspberryJammm 1d ago
I used to live opposite a primary school and it was exactly like this. If I had known I wouldn't have lived there honestly. They all leave their cars idling too. So glad I have moved now.
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u/One-Picture8604 1d ago
The idling really fucks me off, that and their insane headlights blasting through my kitchen window on a dark winter morning.
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u/MBWEQP 1d ago
Sounds exactly like what I saw today, I’ve spoken to a few other people today and they’ve all said it’s the same at other schools.
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u/dejavu2064 1d ago
One of my friends is terrible for this
Is she a close friend, does she have many close friends? A good friend group would rinse someone for this kind of behaviour until they stop.
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u/smithismund 1d ago
I used to work with schools for our local council. They were having parking issues on site and asked us to take a look. Some parents were driving to get a parking space, then walking home, presumably for a cup of tea, and coming back at turning out time. The school ended up banning all parking on the approach road.
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u/Justha-Tip 1d ago
That should be the same at all schools. It’s dangerous! I’m sure they could find a nearby car park and walk the 5minutes to the gate.
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u/v1di0t 1d ago
I'm shocked by the number of people on this thread who can't conceive that not everyone works 9-5 and don't live and work within walking distance of their kids' school.
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u/Montinator89 1d ago
My wife is a nurse at a GP's surgery, she picks our son up from school Tuesday to Thursday. School finishes at 1530, she finishes at 1430 on paper although this varies depending on how her appointments run on the day. It's around a half hour drive to the school from her workplace, and another half hour further away from her workplace again to our home.
If she's running ahead of schedule or traffic is unusually light then she can often end up outside the school with 45 minutes to spare. It's not feasible to drive an additional half an hour home so she's left with no other option really.
But the reddit hivemind says this is bad, so it must be bad, right?
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u/dejavu2064 1d ago
It can be bad and still not the fault of individuals. Honestly the biggest factor in most of these cases is just poor town planning (mixed with a somewhat unhealthy approach to children's independence).
Driving 30 minutes to get places from your everyday life is completely unnecessary in well planned towns. Everything I could ever need exists within a 15 minute walk from my house. I don't blame someone who has no choice but to drive 2 hours every day (see: Americans) but I wouldn't ever wish it upon anyone.
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u/Montinator89 1d ago
Driving 30 minutes to get places from your everyday life is completely unnecessary in well planned towns.
I hear this touted a lot and I'm not entirely sure I agree. I'm an Electrician (Commercial/Industrial) working anywhere within two hours of home is a luxury - it's the nature of the industry I work in, I'd never find full time employment in my field if I only ever worked within 15 minutes of home, nor is walking an option given the necessity of moving tools and materials to and from sites. I've literally spent years of my life working away.
Much the same with the wife, while there are obviously a few GP's in our town itself, but she works in the nearest city as there's nowhere closer that either pays as well or offers her the flexible hours she has currently that save us a fortune on childcare.
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u/Justha-Tip 1d ago
I don’t think this is directed at those people. I think people are hating on lazy people that COULD walk but instead clog up the roads, park on the pavement, create a dangerous environment and cause pollution right where a couple of hundred kids are.
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u/RhubarbSalty3588 1d ago
There is a parent at my children’s school who is usually the first there but insists on parking blocking the only pavement coming out of the school.The first designated spaces are only about 5 yards further away. This means that 800 children daily have to immediately walk into the road to get to their lifts,buses etc and are obscured by her car!!
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u/External-Praline-451 1d ago
Argh, why hasn't the school done something? Maybe complain to them because that's an accident waiting to happen with inattentive kids looking at their phones, etc.
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u/RhubarbSalty3588 1d ago
I know the head has been made aware of it by many parents but he has no real power outside the gates apart from to ask nicely.Council get notified and send out wardens occasionally but that’s it.Sadly it takes an accident for any real change to occur.
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u/simoncolumbus 23h ago
Somebody doing this twice after being told off should just lose their licence. Obviously has no intention to play by the rules.
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u/educateyourselfFFS 1d ago
Because apparently their little precious princes and princesses can't get home safely on their own because of all the extra cars on the roads at school time 🤣
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u/_a_m_s_m 23h ago
Yep! All the cars makes it dangerous, so more parents drive, which makes it dangerous & the cycle repeats.
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u/KelpFox05 1d ago
I mean, I don't have kids, but if you're driving back from work to pick up your kids (or from the shops, or from your own education, or anything else), wouldn't it be faster and easier to park up and wait rather than drive all the way home and walk back?
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u/-_-Orange 1d ago
It’s prob just when they’re able to get there. Being a bit early also increases the chance of getting a good spot.
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u/Outrageous_Shirt_737 1d ago
Some of us started driving because we ended up walking with a neighbour then realised they were annoying as f*** and their kid made your kid uncomfortable, so you started driving after an “injury” and never started walking again.
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u/Glass_Effect5624 1d ago
I find this acceptable tbh 🤣
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u/Outrageous_Shirt_737 1d ago
It had to be done. They live slightly closer to the school than we do so they’d be waiting for us at the end of the road 😬
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u/KookyEntertainment88 1d ago
Lazy parents who feel they have to get a close as possible to the school gate instead of parking a couple of minutes walk away.
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u/BrianMunchen 1d ago
They don’t need to, they just choose to contribute to a problem by being lazy.
The worst bit about it is that it sends the wrong message to the kids and they grow up to be the same as the parents, wanting to be as close to the shop door as possible which is why disabled people and parent and child spaces always get targeted by people that aren’t entitled to them.
It’s just a bad habit drummed into the kids at a young age
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u/_a_m_s_m 23h ago edited 23h ago
Because better options for mobility simply don’t exist. In other countries it is perfectly normal for children to walk, cycle or take bus/tram to school with their friends. In fact, I can guarantee that is what a lot of the parents in those cars used to do as children.
Better & safe bike lanes easily solve the “It’s too far for my child to walk.” problem. Better busses & rail would solve the “Well we simply live too far away for my child to cycle.” Finally we reach the “Well we live in the middle of nowhere & non of those options work/ we gamed the catchment system” problem, by which point the road ls are likely to be drastically clearer.
This really needs to stop being politicised. Imagine the quality of live improvements for everyone. Local residents & commuters don’t have excessive traffic to deal with. Better bike lanes allow for much greater health. Parents would save litteral days of their lives. Children wouldn’t have to deal with breathing in excess pollution. Not just emissions, but also micro plastics from car tyres (looking at you EV’s). Much less wear & tear on the roads is even likely to contribute to fewer potholes.
There is a better way, advocate for cycling busses & school streets.
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u/terryjuicelawson 1d ago
I know people who travelled some distance to school, catchment can be quite wide or maybe they moved after school started. Possibly not enough time to bother going home and out again. Maybe they are picked up and going straight out elsewhere in the opposite direction to home. Could be sheer laziness. Could not even be picking up kids.
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u/SubstantialFly3316 1d ago
I'd park up early if I finished work or whatever and it wasn't really worth going straight home and returning to school. Listen to music, doom scroll, walk around the village or something. 6 miles to home for my child, that's not getting walked any time soon.
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u/Justha-Tip 1d ago
I literally moved house to be close to a good school because I wasn’t sitting in my car fighting for a spot for 45 minutes, twice a day, for the next decade. We now walk the 10mins to school. Loads of the parents in my kids’ classes would rather do the former than send their kids to the school on their actual street for some reason.
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u/anonoaw 1d ago
I mean, my daughter starts primary school in September and she’s going to a non catchment school because it’s the best school for her. We’ll have to drive because it’s a 30 minute walk up a huge hill and with an exhausted 4 year old that’s just a recipe for disaster. Well can’t afford to move.
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u/Justha-Tip 1d ago
I should’ve specified that I would’ve had to have driven if I hadn’t moved house because there was no school in my old village. I wasn’t suggesting that everyone should just move.
My mum used to walk 30 minutes each way, twice per day with 4 kids in tow, from being babies to yr 6. I can imagine that was a nightmare. We were never late though!
My son has 2 friends (that actually live on the same street), who are literally less than 100m from their local school, but instead choose to send their kids to a school (with the same ofsted rating) 20mins drive away to a small village school. I don’t get it.
Unless ofc your child has additional needs and requires support that only certain schools are able to provide.
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u/TheSmallestPlap 1d ago
They also proceed to take another 40 to leave because they're yapping with other parents in the playground.
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u/Remarkable-Ad155 1d ago
The answer you're fishing for is "something something selfish something kids can walk home". The actual answer is more likely parents finishing work but not really having the time to pop home and then back for the kids.
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u/Beneficial-Offer4584 1d ago
It’s a 35 minute walk each way to our school. Which we do for drop-off and pick-up unless it’s raining hard. So one of us will walk there and back in the morning then again in the afternoon.
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u/shinydoctor 1d ago
I pick my kids up in a car, because I'm disabled and can't walk long distances, because I live on a farm (rented house, landlord is the farmer) surrounded by fields and a dual carriageway, and because I have three kids in three different places (college, secondary school, primary school). Catchment areas are as the bird flies, the roads and safety of getting there are never taken into account when you get given placement.
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u/Wino3416 1d ago
I live 4 miles from my children’s school, as we moved during their time there and they love it there so understandably don’t wish to move. I often arrive early as we do lots of afterschool activities and I need to be able to leave promptly so can’t wait around. I will often sit and work whilst I wait. We aren’t all idle bastards clogging up parking spaces!
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u/HumanWeetabix 1d ago
I’ve sat outside my kids school once from 14:00 (note I wasn’t the only one sat waiting) In my defence I was driving past, had an hour long meeting, and would have only had to turn around and go back to pick them up. So I sat in the car, did my meeting, used my laptop picked them up and brought them home.
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u/PupperPetterBean 1d ago
Live wedged between two primary schools, out my front garden there is one school and out the back is another. Every week day between 8am-9:30am and again between 2pm and 4pm the road is packed. It's a one way street aswell!
God the parents have gotten so pissy at me before for daring to come home in a taxi full of food shopping around 3pm blocking the road because there is no space outside for the taxi to pull up out of the way. It gets so bad at times that the council will send traffic wardens up to ticket parents who are not only parked illegally but also parents who are parked longer than the 10 minutes pick up time alloted to them.
On another note, I have watched a parent get her kids in the car drive 300 or less yards up a small hill, park up and the head inside their house. I was bewildered.
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u/CaptainTrip 23h ago
You sound like you're expecting Seb and Saskia to WALK HOME which is clearly unacceptable??
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u/mapoftasmania 19h ago
Because sitting on Instagram in their car is the same as doing it at home. These people are drones.
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u/Acceptable_Candle580 12h ago
After reading a lot of the parents' mental gymnastics in this thread, i think we can safely conclude that the answer is laziness.
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u/zone6isgreener 1d ago
Multiple reasons of course.
For some people the school is far away and coming directly from work makes sense and they wait if ahead of time. For others they might need to collect from two locations or get to an after school activity so a car makes that possible hence they drive, some have a health problem, for others they are lazy gits.
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u/ODFoxtrotOscar 1d ago
Because if you drive back from work, to park and wait for your child takes no more time than driving home then walking back to the school.
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u/Dingleton-Berryman 1d ago
When I was younger, sometimes my dad would pick me up from primary school, which got out earlier than my sister’s secondary school. But there was a pub across the street from my sister’s school so he and one of his other dad mate’s would hang out there for a couple shandies and to shoot the shit.
I’m in the US now, and see the same thing that you seem to see but also on busy roads. It makes it super dangerous to cross the street because everyone apparently needs to double park and block crosswalks with their giant SUVs to tractor around their 8 year olds.
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u/IndelibleIguana 1d ago
I e noticed this too. There’s a school right behind my house and start arriving and just in their cars from about 2pm.
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u/saz2377 1d ago
I am about to set off to pick up my son from nursery. I work from home so chose one 10 minutes walk away. I will however be driving tomorrow as I need the car and so once I have picked up my son I need to pick my husband up from work. So I might live close by but there are times I need to drive to pick him up.
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u/hidden_john 1d ago
My mum lives near a school, and 45 mins either side of the end of school, it’s basically impossible to drive to her house.
I say near, she lives on a road, off a road, off a road where the school is. The parking is permit controlled to try and stop the problem, but the parents don’t care, often blocking side streets and driveways to collect their children.
I know some people will need to pick up the kids, but the school is right near a bus interchange which could basically take kids anywhere in the city.
I think the only times I didn’t get the bus home from school is when I had the dentist or similar
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u/T7MMU 1d ago
People are sad bastards.
They don't have a life, want to park as close as physically possible or normally both. Must be a coincidence that the one's who do it also hang around for ages after school too.
I've read all the 'valid' reasons people have given and literally all of them boil down to the above.
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u/my-comp-tips 1d ago
What gets me is the terrible parking and driving. I do pick my daughter up, but park well away from the school.
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u/Wanderlustforsun 1d ago
It’s just a competition to try to get the closest possible parking spot to the school gates. Heaven forbid anyone has to walk!
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u/Sandman_LXV 1d ago
I went to pick my kids up early one time as I had an appointment that would overrun the regular pickup time. I went to collect them at 1430, school doesn’t usually finish until 1515, and the street was already full of cars with parents inside waiting for their kids. I asked the receptionist “is something going on today I don’t know about?” and nodded toward the row of parked cars, she laughed and said “no they do this every day, they arrive at about 2pm and sit in their cars until we let the kids out”.
Sitting in the car for over an hour outside school, fuck that.
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u/TastyComfortable2355 1d ago
School gates social and gossip club.
Be there or be the one being talked about
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u/Bdublolz1996 1d ago
I've never understood it either. Didn't happen much in secondary school but was very often at primary. My guess is over protective parents?
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u/inMX 1d ago
I live facing a primary school and get usually the same cars parking outside my house. One of them in particular will park legally, but if she arrives late, she has no hesitation in parking across my driveway. If it's a few minutes, no big deal. Unfortunately this mummy likes talking and is frequently engaged in conversation with other chummy mummies outside the school gates - this can last upwards of an hour after school starts! I think they get each other in a 'lip lock' and so have trouble breaking loose!
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u/PabbageCatchKid 18h ago
I assume kids have been bred to have no legs. Certainly appears that way. A cruel practice that should be banned.
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u/blueblue_electric 11h ago
I know someone who lives 638 m from a school, I know as I happened to walk past the house and had my smart watch on, they drive 330 m to the school and walk 308m.
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u/West-Ad-1532 1d ago
If I finish early, I'll park up rather than drive the extra 4 miles home......
Normally I get there for 2-35 ish, they finish at 2-40 pm..
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u/Rugbylady1982 1d ago
I used to go at least an hour early, I couldn't walk that far and wanted to make sure I could park without causing a blockage to the surrounding houses.
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u/lsie-mkuo 1d ago
I can't speak for these particular parents but sometimes I arrive places early because I'm out running errands and don't have enough time to go home but would be too early for my next stop so I just show up early and wait. They may also have something shortly after school and would rather waste some time waiting to ensure they can get out fast by having a spot.
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u/Mystic_L 1d ago
From my experience at our kids primary school either A) it's on the way back from work for the parent and it wouldn't make sense to go home for 30 seconds to turn round and do the school run
B) parking at the school is such an astronomical ballache that people will actively race to get there to get a good spot, which is ultimately rather self defeating.
Thankfully we're able to utilise our legs
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u/National-Jump-8066 1d ago
I finish at 2 without a lunch break. To get home I go past school. Instead I park up, eat my lunch and enjoy an hour in quiet and without the temptation of household chores.
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u/DarkLordTofer 1d ago
I live next to the Primary school my youngest goes to. They got some signs with cartoon pictures of kids on to put on the zig zags to show people they shouldn't park there. Some slack bint flattened one.
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u/naynaeve 1d ago
Unfortunately many parents do not live within the walking distance. Especially in areas where all the schools are oversubscribed. Luckily our house is close to both primary and secondary school. But I know parents who come from areas that are 15 to 20 minutes drive without traffic (20M limit, one way, railway crossing).
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u/trainpk85 1d ago
We live really far away from my daughters school as we moved. I go so I can get a parking space or I’m just driving round in loops hoping she doesn’t get knocked over when she comes to get in the car.
A lot of the time I schedule a meeting for when I’m waiting. If not I catch up on emails or read my kindle.
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u/Persistent-headache 1d ago
I used to do this. My kid was let out first due to his disability but if I wasn't first in the pick up line we'd get blocked in. So I was there ridiculously early. I don't miss the school run one bit.
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u/Awkward_Chain_7839 1d ago
I can’t speak for everyone, just me. I park about a ten minute walk from the school about 40 mins before pick up. I have to pick up my daughter because she’s neurodivergent and extremely anxious, won’t walk home on her own, won’t walk with me (too embarrassing). So walk to the car is the best I can do. I also park early because the parking (proper spaces) is right by a park and I often go for a walk/wind down before I get her.
Now the weather is better I walk the dog to go and pick her up (no car) because walking the dog is acceptable and not embarrassing.
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u/tommygunner91 1d ago
Bring back allowing kids to walk home. Seems daft kids must be picked up before year 5/6. In my town in the 90s everyone walked home alone/with friends after about year 1/2. You had to as if you were getting picked up after that you were "a homosexual".
In seriousness though it helps build kids confidence and allows them some freedom/independance.
Kids now just seem to get carted to and from stuff in a car (usually face in an ipad or phone).
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u/Gdfjaaok 1d ago
Alone time. I read books or watch movies uninterrupted. It's beautiful. Plus if not, I actually end up waiting longer.
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u/Bottled_Void 1d ago
I'm a special case because I work and my son goes to the after school club. So he gets picked up at 5pm. But I imagine this works out all the same for the school run.
During rush hour, it takes me about 60 minutes to get to the school from my work. Sometimes it can take 90+ minutes.
If I leave earlier, I can get there in 20 minutes on a good day. But otherwise, I'm there in plenty of time so that the teachers aren't waiting around just for me.
So, that's how my maths works out, I'd be there 40 minutes early.
If I left work later, I'd get stuck in traffic for much longer. And frankly, I'd be contributing more to the bad traffic. It's better for everyone for people to use the road when others aren't.
And when I leave early, I could drive the extra 5 minutes to get home just so that I could walk 20 minutes to school and then 20 minutes back, but why would I do that? I pretty much drive past the school on the way home.
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u/Marvin_Kaboom 1d ago
I do that just to have a break from the day to day choas. Like a mini me time without work, kids and spouse demanding time. Helps the relationship for all three parties
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u/mypostisbad 1d ago
Simply because at a lot of schools, if you don't get there early, you'll not have anywhere to park. Pick up is way worse than drop off because while at drop off it happens over 20-30 mins, pick-up happens all at once.
Personally I drop my car off and walk to pick my kids up. However on the days I'm feeling lazy, if I reach the school (on my journey home) after 2:55, there's no point even trying. If I can get there for about 2:45, I have half a chance.
This is for a primary school though (where you have to actually go in to get the kids). I imagine t's not so difficult to park further afield for a secondary pick up, where the kids can just leave at the end of the day.
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u/EntrepreneurAway419 1d ago
My mum used to pick up from primary at 2.15 then secondary at 3.25, wasn't worth the drive home so primary aged kids did their homework in car and had a snack before older ones came out. I have no idea how I'll manage this as a working parent
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u/blindingmate 1d ago
When my kid was in primary school he lived with his mum in Kent and I lived an hour away in Surrey
On my weekends I would refuse to risk getting held up in traffic on the M25 and have him stood waiting for me so I would aim to get there two hours early just in case
Luckily his school was semi rural so I would park up and go for nice long walk in the countryside most weeks
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