Driving Kids to the Bus Stop

[LiveLean]

As a kid growing up in Virginia, my bus stop years were 1974-1984 or so. First Richmond, then Northern Virginia.

I cannot imagine the amount of grief and embarrassment a kid back then would have endured had his parent driven him to the bus stop or, worse, hung around until the bus came.

Just one of many, many ways today's kids are wrapped in bubble wrap. And we wonder why they struggle meeting traditional developmental milestones.

[GuitarStv]

I walk my son to school each morning (about two or three blocks).  While we walk each morning, we pass by the homes of two of his classmates who are driven every day.  But the funny thing is, because of all the traffic around the school, it takes these parents a long time to get out of the parking area . . . so I usually end up walking past their houses on the way home before they make it.

As a species, we truly deserve to die of climate change.

[getsorted]

Never mind the bus stop, it's still insane in front of the school building!

When my son started school, we were living in the UK, and there was no such thing as the "drop-off line" of cars in front of the school. You either walked or your parked somewhere (not nearby, usually in a field or a side street, as the school did not supply any parking!) and walked your young child to the school gates. By about year 3, your kid would die of embarrassment if you walked them to the school gates, so they went alone.

Now we're in the US and sitting in the line of cars idling outside the school every morning feels utterly bizarre. And yet here I am, doing it, because I haven't figured out what else I should do when I need to be at work 15 minutes after he has to be at school. Start times are changing next year, though, so he may get to "be a bike kid" after all. 

[Roadrunner53]

author=Zamboni link=topic=126222.msg2970416#msg2970416 date=1643568362]
Gah! The thing about having porch lights on is completely moronic. People are idiots about outdoor lights. Having a lot of lights on all night outdoors is actually terrible for nocturnal wild animals. And Matt, my new neighbor behind us, put a floodlight on his BACK porch that is not motion sensor: it's on all night shining right at our bedroom window. Are people really this freaking scared of the dark?

I have the same neighbors. They moved from NY to CT so I am assuming having no street lights in the neighborhood freaks them out. When they first moved here about 5 years ago, they had so many lights on I can imagine you could have seen it from outer space. Lights inside and outside! I am assuming one of the neighbors must have said something to them because they toned it down. Of course their floodlights are pointed to our bedroom window. I have blinds and black out drapes but still! GRRRRR!!! They still are very erratic on the lights. They will go for a long time period with no outdoor lights on. Then they will leave the floodlights on for a few weeks straight and even during the day. I do not get it!!! Recently we have had a bear roaming the area wrecking garbage cans and for about two weeks his lights were on 24 hours a day. Now for about a week they all have been off. I cannot figure out what makes him leave it on during the day. So, here I am talking about outdoor lights and I just ordered some motion lights for my house. With people cutting off catalytic converters and syphoning gas lately in the area, I decided to go with some motion detector lights. Also, it may scare off the roaming bears. Not to mention our home heating oil is totally out of control and last I looked it was $4.99 a gallon and I wouldn't be surprised if people start syphoning the oil out of the tank. At least these lights only stay on for a little bit and when no motion is detected, will turn off.

[Shane]

A few years ago, when our daughter was in 2nd grade, we spent a winter in a small town in western Japan. There, parents were forbidden to drive their kids to school. Instead, the school set up neighborhood meeting places, from where kids could walk to school in organized groups. Usually, there was a 5th or 6th grade kid carrying a flag in the front and back of a line of 12 or 15 littler kids. From our apartment to the meet-up spot it was ~1/2 mile, and from there to the school was another ~3/4 mile. Once our daughter got used to the routine, she seemed to enjoy it. Spending that time alone with other kids her age, every morning and afternoon, seemed like it was good for her.

[RetiredAt63]

A few years ago, when our daughter was in 2nd grade, we spent a winter in a small town in western Japan. There, parents were forbidden to drive their kids to school. Instead, the school set up neighborhood meeting places, from where kids could walk to school in organized groups. Usually, there was a 5th or 6th grade kid carrying a flag in the front and back of a line of 12 or 15 littler kids. From our apartment to the meet-up spot it was ~1/2 mile, and from there to the school was another ~3/4 mile. Once our daughter got used to the routine, she seemed to enjoy it. Spending that time alone with other kids her age, every morning and afternoon, seemed like it was good for her.

We did that on a much more informal basis when I was a kid.  Our street was on the edge of our school district.  The girl next door, my sister and I would start walking.  As we went we met up with other kids who lived closer.  We would be 8-10 kids by the time we got close to school.  There were crossing guards at main intersections.  I did this from age 6 on.  Reversed for the walk home.

[shureShote]

A few years ago, when our daughter was in 2nd grade, we spent a winter in a small town in western Japan. There, parents were forbidden to drive their kids to school. Instead, the school set up neighborhood meeting places, from where kids could walk to school in organized groups. Usually, there was a 5th or 6th grade kid carrying a flag in the front and back of a line of 12 or 15 littler kids. From our apartment to the meet-up spot it was ~1/2 mile, and from there to the school was another ~3/4 mile. Once our daughter got used to the routine, she seemed to enjoy it. Spending that time alone with other kids her age, every morning and afternoon, seemed like it was good for her.

Oh nice. Definitely strength in numbers. And as you said I could see that structured but unstructured time would be good, plus of course the simple positive impact of walking.

[Morning Glory]

Driving kids to the school bus has an even lazier twin: Driving trash to the compactor.  Apartment complex has only one compactor located near the gate,  it's about 1/2 mile round trip for me and I'm in the 9th closest of 12 buildings,  so most people are closer. I usually just include it on the route when I walk my dog. Every time I go there I'm passed by at least 3 or 4 cars with trunks open or trash hanging from mirrors or balanced on the roof. Most of the time they are going out anyway so I sort of get why they think this would be efficient,  but there are sometimes 2 or 3 idling cars there. Occasionally I see one turn around and go back into the complex after dropping off the trash. At least once a week there is a broken bag of trash where the driveway curves that I can only assume fell off someone's car.

We have a small wooded area between us and a school and a few parents from the neighboring mcmansion development will drive in so their kids can walk through the woods instead of having them walk the whole way or going in the hellish car line (i dont blame them for not wanting to use the car line but the reason the walk is so far is because their hoa recently built a fence so nobody could get between the two without going through the main gate). A few of them use golf carts to do this and one dad even goes all the way through the woods to the back of the school playground on his golf cart.

[Syonyk]

Driving kids to the school bus has an even lazier twin: Driving trash to the compactor.

Huh.

I mean, I drive my trash to the dump every 18 months or so when the trash trailer is full...

[Siebrie]

A few years ago, when our daughter was in 2nd grade, we spent a winter in a small town in western Japan. There, parents were forbidden to drive their kids to school. Instead, the school set up neighborhood meeting places, from where kids could walk to school in organized groups. Usually, there was a 5th or 6th grade kid carrying a flag in the front and back of a line of 12 or 15 littler kids. From our apartment to the meet-up spot it was ~1/2 mile, and from there to the school was another ~3/4 mile. Once our daughter got used to the routine, she seemed to enjoy it. Spending that time alone with other kids her age, every morning and afternoon, seemed like it was good for her.

A school crocodile! We had them when I went to primary school; sometimes they would have a teacher at the front, holding the front end of a thick rope, and all the children would hold the rest of the rope. The teacher would start furthest from the school and pick the pupils up on the way to the school.

[Cassie]

I grew up in Wisconsin as did my kids. We all walked to school which was 8 blocks unless school was closed. You just have to know how to dress. My youngest son had asthma. People are turning their kids into snowflakes and we wonder why some people can’t deal with any discomfort, etc.  Ugh!