pick up kids after school and carpooling (day care, parents, daughter) - Parenting -Children, problems, school, daycare, behavior, age, teenagers, infants - City-Data Forum

evergreen00 · 04-04-2013, 04:40 PM

Hi - my daughter is in kindergarten at a public school and I'm picking her up after school everyday and drop her off at an after school program, only to pick her up again in a little over an hour and go home. I find this very inefficient as it interrupts my busy schedule (I have a fulltime job).

I'm thinking of using some kind of carpooling service, if there's one. For example, other parents help picking up and dropping off my kid in exchange for gas money etc. However, I'm having difficulty locating this kind of service.

I was wondering if other parents went through same issues and knew of such service?

Thanks a lot in advance

Mattie · 04-04-2013, 04:49 PM

I'm wondering what the benefit of an after school program for only an hour is? Where we live, the after care programs send buses to the elementary schools, so that kids that attend take them instead of the regular school buses.

germaine2626 · 04-04-2013, 04:57 PM

Most of the working parents in my area have their children attend before and after school day care programs either located at the school or at a day care that provides transportation.

You may want to contact a taxi service to get an estimate. Or contact other parents in your daughter's class to see if you could either switch off days driving or pay for gas if they drive.

Good luck. Most parents provide their own transportation if their child doesn't ride a bus or go to day care (as they do not want the responsibility of someone else's child in their car).

evergreen00 · 04-04-2013, 05:11 PM

Thanks for the replies. The after school program ran longer than an hour. I'm picking up her up early because of early dinner time at my household.

Hedgehog_Mom · 04-04-2013, 05:14 PM

If you have a neighbor who stays at home with school-age children, you might ask if she would be willing to pick your daughter up and watch her for that hour. A lot of SAHM's would be glad to have a little bit of extra money and an extra kid for an hour a day isn't that big a deal.

I wouldn't want to use a taxi service for a kindergarten age child...it would be scary for her to go with someone she didn't know and might not be safe.

Lots of daycares do pick up kids at the schools, I'm sure you could find a daycare that picks up at your daughter's school.

evergreen00 · 04-04-2013, 05:25 PM

Thanks for the great advice! Will definitely look more ...

I wouldn't want to use a taxi either, scary apart, I don't think I'd be able to afford it going daily. Another parent of the same school would be ideal ... I just expected this to be a common problem and that there should be some kind of service that facilitate this already.

Momma_bear · 04-04-2013, 05:26 PM

When my kids were in elementary school the local daycares sent buses to the school to transport the kids. Maybe there is another daycare that has bus service. You might consider seeing if you can hire a college student to pick up your daughter and watch her at your house for an hour after school.

maciesmom · 04-04-2013, 05:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by germaine2626

Most of the working parents in my area have their children attend before and after school day care programs either located at the school or at a day care that provides transportation.

This was my first thought and how it worked when my kids were young.

germaine2626 · 04-04-2013, 06:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by germaine2626

Most of the working parents in my area have their children attend before and after school day care programs either located at the school or at a day care that provides transportation.

You may want to contact a taxi service to get an estimate. Or contact other parents in your daughter's class to see if you could either switch off days driving or pay for gas if they drive.

Good luck. Most parents provide their own transportation if their child doesn't ride a bus or go to day care (as they do not want the responsibility of someone else's child in their car).

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hedgehog_Mom

If you have a neighbor who stays at home with school-age children, you might ask if she would be willing to pick your daughter up and watch her for that hour. A lot of SAHM's would be glad to have a little bit of extra money and an extra kid for an hour a day isn't that big a deal.

I wouldn't want to use a taxi service for a kindergarten age child...it would be scary for her to go with someone she didn't know and might not be safe.

Lots of daycares do pick up kids at the schools, I'm sure you could find a daycare that picks up at your daughter's school.

The taxi services that I was referring to are specifically designed for schools and usually have the same driver with the same school route everyday. My school district uses a service called "Go Kids Go" where it is cheaper to hire this licensed, bonded service for transporting one or two special education students to and from school rather than having them ride a small or large school bus.

Private pay parents can also use this service. Maybe your area has something like this, too.

Katarina Witt · 04-04-2013, 07:10 PM

Having done lots of carpools over the years, I'd say, be careful. I finally decided I was never going to be in another carpool again after some bad experiences.