Today is the last day of this half term and I couldn’t be happier. My 4 year old loves Reception and I support him with everything from getting to school on time, completing his homework to providing cakes for the Halloween party and much more. Being a full-time mum of a school aged child really is a full-time job and I need a break next week as much as he does!
We’re really lucky that we live 3 minutes from school so although mornings can be a rush I don’t have to worry about finding a parking space when I drop him off. I see so many mums frantically drive around trying to find somewhere to park, not easy when the school is on the main road and the side streets are full of other mums trying to park.
3 wheels good, 4 wheels bad?
The Car People know that the school run can be a nightmare if you’re travelling with children in heavy traffic or terrible weather. So they recently asked 3,000 members of the UK public “Should the school run continue?”, and a whopping 65% said no.
The school run is inevitable for a lot of people. Schools have a wider catchment area so parents need to drive further, the weather, lack of public transport or just not wanting our children to face a long walk before school contribute to lots more people on the road. Of course this has a knock-on effect for other road users too, my husband always notices how much quieter the roads are when the schools are on holiday.
I’m not sure what the answer is. Children have to get to school safely and on time so I’m not sure staggered starts are an option, or realistic for parents who work. You can read more about the School Run Survey from The Car People here. I’d love to hear your experiences in the comments below. How long does the school run take you and do you have any top tips for surviving it?
Post written in collaboration with The Car People
I only learned to drive 4 year ago and that was because we had moved house but our daughter was in the last year of 1st school (3 tier system) I didnt mind the 2 mile walk to school – it was much easier than taking the car and I lost a lot of weight walking 8 miles with a pram but I couldnt have managed pushing a newborn through the snow, hail and heavy downpours once winter hit. Our School is only a 5 min walk now as my little boy started Reception in September – my daughter goes to a Middle school which takes her roughly 30 mins to walk (collecting friends along the way) I rarely collect her and never take her to school due to heading in the opposite direction.