Author Topic: Super crazy school pick up line  (Read 5155 times)

texastumbleweed

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Super crazy school pick up line
« on: June 10, 2017, 12:16:14 PM »
Any tips for how to deal with a long pick up line at your kids school?  Biking isn't an option.  Occasionally, I can walk or carpool, but most days I will have younger siblings with me and it is too hectic to have them walk around the area.  So for those of you who also are having to do a long pick up, what do you do?  How do you not go crazy thinking about the gas or other stuff you could be doing?  Or keep the younger siblings happy during the wait?  (So far this hasn't been an issue, they seem content with books and a snack, but they are getting bigger)

sol

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Re: Super crazy school pick up line
« Reply #1 on: June 10, 2017, 12:19:37 PM »
Can your kids ride the bus?  That's usually more time for them, but less for everyone else.

If they're old enough to walk off site, you could always pick them up three blocks away. 

texastumbleweed

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Re: Super crazy school pick up line
« Reply #2 on: June 10, 2017, 01:44:49 PM »
No buses.  She is at a private school and their bus is only for kids who live very far from school and too little to walk.  Good thoughts though. 

Dee18

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Re: Super crazy school pick up line
« Reply #3 on: June 10, 2017, 02:54:58 PM »
Do you have to pick up right after school?  My daughter's school allowed later pickups so she went to the library for 45 minutes every afternoon.  Then there was no line.  Or try to arrange a carpool, even if it's just with one other parent. 

I'm a red panda

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Re: Super crazy school pick up line
« Reply #4 on: June 10, 2017, 03:48:11 PM »
Figure out about how long the line lasts. Get there at the tail end of it and just drive right up to the line while it is moving.


Or- can you park a few blocks away, walk to the school and then walk back to the car with the kids?


FINate

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Re: Super crazy school pick up line
« Reply #5 on: June 10, 2017, 04:01:39 PM »
Our plan for next year (but with electric assist):



Though you did say biking wasn't an option...so park and walk? The school year we just finished had one day that we had to pick up with the rest of the school (half-day kindergarten that ended at the same time as the rest of the school on Wed when everyone has a half day). We found it was quicker and less painful to park at a nearby park and walk a few blocks for pick up on those days.

marty998

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Re: Super crazy school pick up line
« Reply #6 on: June 10, 2017, 05:44:42 PM »
Get on the parents association of your school and argue for eliminating the pickup line/banning cars from within 200m of the school, or changing it so it is not a safety hazard.

Always thought it is better to demolish an obstacle rather than finding a workaround.

I'm a red panda

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Re: Super crazy school pick up line
« Reply #7 on: June 10, 2017, 05:54:38 PM »
Get on the parents association of your school and argue for eliminating the pickup line/banning cars from within 200m of the school, or changing it so it is not a safety hazard.

Always thought it is better to demolish an obstacle rather than finding a workaround.

How do you suppose children get home from school then?

marty998

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Re: Super crazy school pick up line
« Reply #8 on: June 10, 2017, 06:12:09 PM »
Get on the parents association of your school and argue for eliminating the pickup line/banning cars from within 200m of the school, or changing it so it is not a safety hazard.

Always thought it is better to demolish an obstacle rather than finding a workaround.

How do you suppose children get home from school then?

You can walk your kids to your parked car in the next block?

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Re: Super crazy school pick up line
« Reply #9 on: June 10, 2017, 09:24:31 PM »
Get on the parents association of your school and argue for eliminating the pickup line/banning cars from within 200m of the school, or changing it so it is not a safety hazard.

Always thought it is better to demolish an obstacle rather than finding a workaround.

How do you suppose children get home from school then?

You can walk your kids to your parked car in the next block?

That only works when a few parents do it. It would be just as much of a problem if every parent parked and walked.

Our car line helps jeeps the kids safe because there are not hundreds of kids in the street. they are sitting next to the building waiting until their parent is 2 cars from a door opening spit, then they get up and wait in right where their parent will pull up to.

If every kid was walking away from the school, Wed have to worry a lot more about kids in the parking lot and street.

Walkers are not allowed to leave the school until the buses are gone, and we've usually gotten through at least half of the car line by that point anyway.  The wait comes from parents who get to the school 30 min before school let's out. The whole line is done 20 min after classes are done.

MayDay

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Re: Super crazy school pick up line
« Reply #10 on: June 11, 2017, 06:28:03 AM »
Our school end time is 3:35. Parents start lining up at 2:45 or 3. Crazy.

If you show up at 3:45 , no wait! They've just finished the whole line but the kids don't have to wait.


SwordGuy

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Re: Super crazy school pick up line
« Reply #11 on: June 11, 2017, 07:27:26 AM »
I walked to and from school in 2nd and 3rd grade.   It wasn't hard.   Why can't the kids walk to and from school?

Or at the very least, walk a couple of blocks?

Khaetra

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Re: Super crazy school pick up line
« Reply #12 on: June 11, 2017, 10:41:06 AM »
I think it depends where you live in relation to the school.  For the elementary kids in my neighborhood, the walk is pretty safe and short.  Middle-schoolers however are bused just over 20 miles away, so no walking there, either bus or pick-up.  High schoolers now have a choice as to what school they want to go to so they can either drive/bike to the close one or drive to one of the others.

gaja

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Re: Super crazy school pick up line
« Reply #13 on: June 11, 2017, 11:44:04 AM »
Get on the parents association of your school and argue for eliminating the pickup line/banning cars from within 200m of the school, or changing it so it is not a safety hazard.

Always thought it is better to demolish an obstacle rather than finding a workaround.

How do you suppose children get home from school then?

You can walk your kids to your parked car in the next block?

That only works when a few parents do it. It would be just as much of a problem if every parent parked and walked.

Our car line helps jeeps the kids safe because there are not hundreds of kids in the street. they are sitting next to the building waiting until their parent is 2 cars from a door opening spit, then they get up and wait in right where their parent will pull up to.

If every kid was walking away from the school, Wed have to worry a lot more about kids in the parking lot and street.

Walkers are not allowed to leave the school until the buses are gone, and we've usually gotten through at least half of the car line by that point anyway.  The wait comes from parents who get to the school 30 min before school let's out. The whole line is done 20 min after classes are done.

I have never heard about any school using this car based system in any Nordic country, and in every school I've attended, worked at, or had my children attend, I have not seen problems caused by parents walking. Parents are generally urged to let their children walk or bike to school. Most schools have a car free zone, to protect the children who are getting picked up by parents (on foot) or are walking home by themselves. It is not perfect, but the problems I've seen have been caused by the few parents who are driving their children to the front door, not all the other parents who park a few hundred meters away and walk in to get their children, go to the school by foot or bike, or let their kids walk home by themselves.

This classical photo from Germany shows why people parking their cars and walking, biking or riding the bus, generally are not a problem, but a solution to congestion problems:

mm1970

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Re: Super crazy school pick up line
« Reply #14 on: June 11, 2017, 02:48:00 PM »
Get on the parents association of your school and argue for eliminating the pickup line/banning cars from within 200m of the school, or changing it so it is not a safety hazard.

Always thought it is better to demolish an obstacle rather than finding a workaround.

How do you suppose children get home from school then?

You can walk your kids to your parked car in the next block?

That only works when a few parents do it. It would be just as much of a problem if every parent parked and walked.

Our car line helps jeeps the kids safe because there are not hundreds of kids in the street. they are sitting next to the building waiting until their parent is 2 cars from a door opening spit, then they get up and wait in right where their parent will pull up to.

If every kid was walking away from the school, Wed have to worry a lot more about kids in the parking lot and street.

Walkers are not allowed to leave the school until the buses are gone, and we've usually gotten through at least half of the car line by that point anyway.  The wait comes from parents who get to the school 30 min before school let's out. The whole line is done 20 min after classes are done.
Our school has a mix, which is why I don't think it is much of a problem.

1. Let out times are staggered for younger and older grades.
2. Some kids take the bus
3. Some older kids walk home
4. Some parents get in the car line.  It's a loop.  The sign says if your kid isn't there, keep circling.
5. Some parents park and walk a few blocks.
6.  Some kids stay later for after school care

My kid is #6, later for after school, but I do occasionally have to pick him up early.  And he's never waiting because he never gets picked up early.  I ALWAYS, when dropping off or picking up in "prime times", park the car and walk a few blocks.  If I manage to avoid peak times (like if I'm at school 1/2 hour early), I can park in the lot.

My neighbor is the one who impresses me.  Her 2 older kids are in preschool 2 miles from home.  They walk and/ or bike.  She's been doing that since forever, so for awhile she pushed a double stroller and carried the baby on her chest.  Now her kids bike and she pushes a stroller.

In any event, if I were picking up an elementary kid and I had 2 younger kids in the car, I wouldn't be parking and walking unless I had an appropriate stroller.  It's a complete PITA.  I would do what someone else recommends, which is show up at the end of the line, so you aren't waiting.

Keep a note on your phone as to "what time" you get to where your kid gets in the car.  Do that for 2 weeks.  Show up 1 minute before then.

LiveLean

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Re: Super crazy school pick up line
« Reply #15 on: June 12, 2017, 03:09:18 PM »
We live one block from a private school where we go to church. We don't send our kids to private school for any number of reasons - overrated, overpriced, etc. - but if we did the car line would scare us off anyway as the school does not let kids in walking distance walk alone. They would, however, have let us walk to pick up our kids. They would not have been allowed to walk home themselves, a distance of 7 houses -- the school goes through 8th grade.

By comparison, I walked a quarter mile to catch the bus in first grade --- in 1976.

And we wonder why kids aren't independent anymore.

Our kids go to a magnet public school that does not have bus transportation. The car line is a mess. Thankfully a bunch of us get creative and park around the corner. The school doesn't care how far the kids walk.


Laura33

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Re: Super crazy school pick up line
« Reply #16 on: June 12, 2017, 04:53:45 PM »
Gad, you couldn't pay me to drive the pickup line.  Such a horrible design -- the cars need to loop around the parking lot, where cars are trying to pull out, and then drive right across the walkway where all the walkers have to cross, and then leave through the bus loop with the buses. 

Luckily, there is street parking a block away.  So on the few days when I need to get him right after school, I park there, and my kid crosses at the crosswalk with the crossing guards and walks down the street until he sees me.  Easy peasy. 

mm1970

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Re: Super crazy school pick up line
« Reply #17 on: June 13, 2017, 10:56:03 AM »
We live one block from a private school where we go to church. We don't send our kids to private school for any number of reasons - overrated, overpriced, etc. - but if we did the car line would scare us off anyway as the school does not let kids in walking distance walk alone. They would, however, have let us walk to pick up our kids. They would not have been allowed to walk home themselves, a distance of 7 houses -- the school goes through 8th grade.

By comparison, I walked a quarter mile to catch the bus in first grade --- in 1976.

And we wonder why kids aren't independent anymore.

Our kids go to a magnet public school that does not have bus transportation. The car line is a mess. Thankfully a bunch of us get creative and park around the corner. The school doesn't care how far the kids walk.

My younger kid is almost in kindergarten.  We are working pretty hard to get him to stop running into parking lots.  AND working on him stopping with us before crossing streets, because "you are short and cars cannot see you."  "I'll jump!"  Well, recent studies showed that *most* kids are able to safely cross streets on their own at the age of 10.  Some earlier, some not until later.

Which is crazy.  My husband walked 0.6 miles to school 4 x a day - to school, home for lunch, back to school, back home.  By himself.  In kindergarten.  He started kindergarten at BARELY 5.

No way in hell I would let my almost-5 year old walk the 0.5 miles down the street to kindergarten.  Just.  No.

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Re: Super crazy school pick up line
« Reply #18 on: June 13, 2017, 12:02:29 PM »
Get on the parents association of your school and argue for eliminating the pickup line/banning cars from within 200m of the school, or changing it so it is not a safety hazard.

Always thought it is better to demolish an obstacle rather than finding a workaround.

How do you suppose children get home from school then?

You can walk your kids to your parked car in the next block?

That only works when a few parents do it. It would be just as much of a problem if every parent parked and walked.

Our car line helps jeeps the kids safe because there are not hundreds of kids in the street. they are sitting next to the building waiting until their parent is 2 cars from a door opening spit, then they get up and wait in right where their parent will pull up to.

If every kid was walking away from the school, Wed have to worry a lot more about kids in the parking lot and street.

Walkers are not allowed to leave the school until the buses are gone, and we've usually gotten through at least half of the car line by that point anyway.  The wait comes from parents who get to the school 30 min before school let's out. The whole line is done 20 min after classes are done.

I have never heard about any school using this car based system in any Nordic country, and in every school I've attended, worked at, or had my children attend, I have not seen problems caused by parents walking. Parents are generally urged to let their children walk or bike to school. Most schools have a car free zone, to protect the children who are getting picked up by parents (on foot) or are walking home by themselves. It is not perfect, but the problems I've seen have been caused by the few parents who are driving their children to the front door, not all the other parents who park a few hundred meters away and walk in to get their children, go to the school by foot or bike, or let their kids walk home by themselves.

This classical photo from Germany shows why people parking their cars and walking, biking or riding the bus, generally are not a problem, but a solution to congestion problems:

I have no doubt it works in other countries. But neither our schools or roads are set up for this.  It would be a giant mess at the many schools I've worked at.

It would take planning to institute a system like this.
Already the neighborhoods near the schools get crowded (with people who don't live there) when people park in them to walk to avoid the car line.

My sister has actually tines that car line takes less time, but she parks and walks to the school to spend time chatting with other moms rather than sitting in her car. Walking from home isn't an option- it's 8 miles!

FireHiker

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Re: Super crazy school pick up line
« Reply #19 on: June 13, 2017, 04:25:16 PM »
I am so thankful that we don't have to deal with this since our kids go to on-site before/after school care. Although, I would be happy to deal with it if it meant I wasn't having to work anymore! In our neighborhood (and our last neighborhood) if we had to be there right at the time that school gets out, we park a couple blocks away and walk. It works very well because of the specific setup of the two neighborhoods, and is quicker than sitting in the damn pickup line. For my oldest, in middle school (too far to reasonably walk unfortunately) we would either come late or carpool with three other families and park in a neighborhood about 1/4-1/2 mile from the school on a street with no houses (recommended by the school).